Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[Wood]

Hey Chris, CP

What do you think of this deal: http://gr.pn/RTSZyV

I'm looking at the $469 for 6 nights. Some of the reviews seem to not like the resort since they have specific restaurants and other stuff for VIP customers vs the average person.

IMO it looks like a pretty good deal, if anyone has any experience there or knows anything about it let me know, we might jump on it

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Wood

Hey Chris, CP

What do you think of this deal: http://gr.pn/RTSZyV

I'm looking at the $469 for 6 nights. Some of the reviews seem to not like the resort since they have specific restaurants and other stuff for VIP customers vs the average person.

IMO it looks like a pretty good deal, if anyone has any experience there or knows anything about it let me know, we might jump on it

I think it could potentially be a really good deal, if you could get a cheap flight to Puerto Plata. On the major airlines, flights look to be above $700 roundtrip after taxes from YYC.

It would be nice to pair that with a cheap charter flight to POP, but unfortunately cheap charter flights to POP are not nearly as common from YYC as they are from Eastern Canada.

In terms of quality, I currently have the Cofresi ranked as 66th out of 81 all inclusive resorts in the Dominican.

So it kind of becomes a question of how cheaply you can get to POP and back. Assuming it cost you $700 roundtrip after taxes, you could compare it to any 7 night packages that cost less than $1000/per person after taxes or less from the Canadian tour operators ($700 + $234) on the typical sites . Packages to the Dominican are generally more expensive from Western Canada though, and this year there doesn't seem to be too many great deals to the Dominican.

So then it kind of becomes a question of whether or not you also want to compare it to packages in Mexico or Cuba, where you typically get the most resort for your money. But, to some, there's the added value of it not being Mexico or Cuba!

Overall, I'd say that if you can get your total cost to under $1000/person after taxes, it's a pretty decent deal, for that quality of resort, in the Dominican. You'd probably want to go with the mindset of expecting a solid 3 star to be pleased.

[Tron_fdc]

I'd like to take this time to tell Westjet to get bent.

I'm trying to fly to Palm Springs next week, and it seems like the fare is going up by the hour. Usually no problem right? Book online says you. Well I have a credit, and in order to use it I have to talk to an agent. Unfortunately, the next available agent can call me back......if I make an appointment they will call me sometime tomorrow. Likely when the fare is sold out or $200 higher than this morning.

This happened to me 3 weeks ago when I was in LA. For what ever reason it's become next to impossible to get through to a "superagent" to get my fares done properly. What's the gig Westjet? Are you getting too big for your own good? Are these growing pains?

So yeah, anyone see any cheap flights (one way) to Palm Springs on Thursday next week? Pretty sure WJ is the only direct option, but for the price I'm seeing ($450 w/tax) I'll connect. Are there any options anyone knows about?

[Brannigans Law]

When is a good time to book for late September round trip to anywhere in Europe? I don't care where I land just as cheap as possible. On Airtransat it seems that flights 3 weeks out are cheap right now, under 700 dollars to London. Seems a little sketchy to try and plan for a month in Europe and book 3 weeks before you go ...

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Nice! I think barring a pretty unusual price drop, that's about as good a price as one can hope for. Not to rain on the parade, but compared to the cost of flying to Winnipeg, a lot of destinations can look like a steal Hawaii is an extreme example, which is often found hovering at $500 roundtrip after taxes from Calgary, and 4.2 times the distance of YYC-YWG !

Flying within Canada is frustrating to say the least.

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

When is a good time to book for late September round trip to anywhere in Europe? I don't care where I land just as cheap as possible. On Airtransat it seems that flights 3 weeks out are cheap right now, under 700 dollars to London. Seems a little sketchy to try and plan for a month in Europe and book 3 weeks before you go ...

I'm also curious about this. I am planning a 1 month Europe trip for summer of 2014. I'm also flexible on leaving date and where I land. Since AirTransat is a charter, will they typically get cheaper closer to the departure date like all-inclusive vacations do?

[Tron_fdc]

Gonna try to tweet WJ, good idea.

I swear to god, I think someone is tracking my search history and jacking prices wherever I look. Thursday flights are more expensive on every site I look at, no matter if I'm flying into LAX, PSP, PHX or SAN. It's insane......almost like it's being broken down to a science by the airlines. It's within DOLLARS price wise to fly into a coastal city, rent a car and drive to PSP vs just flying direct. Conspiracy I tell ya!!!!Collusion!! Something!!

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I swear to god, I think someone is tracking my search history and jacking prices wherever I look.

They have been known to do that. Clear your cookies before searching again.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

I'm also curious about this. I am planning a 1 month Europe trip for summer of 2014. I'm also flexible on leaving date and where I land. Since AirTransat is a charter, will they typically get cheaper closer to the departure date like all-inclusive vacations do?

Yep, since Air Transat is a charter, they do sometimes start to drop their prices around 4 weeks before departure. Condor is the other charter that flys to Europe from YYC.

It's almost always London or Manchester or Frankfurt that sees the big drops in price. Sometimes Amsterdam or Glasgow, Scotland. On rare occasion, Paris.

Chances of a decent drop are definitely higher in September, after peak summer travel is over.

Will be interesting to see if Air Canada Rouge offers up any unusual prices from YYC this year (AC's attempt to enter the cheap leisure travel market to Europe).

On the major airlines, prices tend to remain pretty static to Europe. There has been some sub $1000 fares on KLM & Air France in the spring, nothing for summer/fall yet.

[Brannigans Law]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Yep, since Air Transat is a charter, they do sometimes start to drop their prices around 4 weeks before departure. Condor is the other charter that flys to Europe from YYC.

It's almost always London or Manchester or Frankfurt that sees the big drops in price. Sometimes Amsterdam or Glasgow, Scotland. On rare occasion, Paris.

Chances of a decent drop are definitely higher in September, after peak summer travel is over.

Will be interesting to see if Air Canada Rouge offers up any unusual prices from YYC this year (AC's attempt to enter the cheap leisure travel market to Europe).

On the major airlines, prices tend to remain pretty static to Europe. There has been some sub $1000 fares on KLM & Air France in the spring, nothing for summer/fall yet.

So for a 2nd half of September to early October trip you'd suggest waiting for Air Transat or Condor to drop their prices around late August early September?

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I'd like to take this time to tell Westjet to get bent.

I'm trying to fly to Palm Springs next week, and it seems like the fare is going up by the hour. Usually no problem right? Book online says you. Well I have a credit, and in order to use it I have to talk to an agent. Unfortunately, the next available agent can call me back......if I make an appointment they will call me sometime tomorrow. Likely when the fare is sold out or $200 higher than this morning.

This happened to me 3 weeks ago when I was in LA. For what ever reason it's become next to impossible to get through to a "superagent" to get my fares done properly. What's the gig Westjet? Are you getting too big for your own good? Are these growing pains?

So yeah, anyone see any cheap flights (one way) to Palm Springs on Thursday next week? Pretty sure WJ is the only direct option, but for the price I'm seeing ($450 w/tax) I'll connect. Are there any options anyone knows about?

Try book it on expedia.ca if it gives you the same price. Collect airmiles? go through airmilesshops.ca. We do that for most flights now if expedia gives us the same rate.

NM...i see you have a credit you need to use

[Tron_fdc]

Got a twitter response about 30 seconds after I sent them a comment. That's actually pretty impressive.

[Knalus]

What's the best way to search for cheap flights to London for this upcoming May? When do flight sales tend to come for that destination?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

So for a 2nd half of September to early October trip you'd suggest waiting for Air Transat or Condor to drop their prices around late August early September?

My biggest fear is always telling someone what they should or should not do when it comes to suggesting when they should pull the trigger. Mainly because it's impossible to predict if a fare will drop. Even the airlines themselves have really no idea what fares or dates they're going to drop, until they see what the demand is like, relative to what they expected. So for a person to try and predict it with any great accuracy...

There are certainly drops that occur more often than others though, and Air Transat drops to Europe are certainly one of the most common. It's often just a question of how flexible a person is in regards to dates and destinations.

Taking a look at last year from YYC around summer...

June 12 - KLM drops their October/November/December flights to Turkey.
http://yycdeals.com/calgary-to-istan...ip-after-taxes

July 24 - Air Transat dropped their early August flights to Europe
http://yycdeals.com/finally-some-che...ip-after-taxes

August 16 - Some great September deals to Czech Republic came out (I believe this was on the major airlines, not Air Transat)
http://yycdeals.com/calgary-to-pragu...ip-after-taxes

And that was really about it as far as really notable price drops. There might have been some smaller drops on Air Transat that didn't quite make it into 'crazy deal' territory.

For me personally, my thought is usually that Air Transat or Condor needs to get into 'crazy deal' territory for it to be worth choosing over the major airlines. The price differential for me would probably have to be $300 or more. But hoping for a crazy deal that meets pre-defined dates and destination criteria can be a strategy with low odds. You almost have to think of it as basing a vacation around the deal itself, rather than thinking of a vacation in advance and hoping for a deal.

[Brannigans Law]

What kind of difference is there between an air Transat /condor flight vs klm?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

What kind of difference is there between an air Transat /condor flight vs klm?

Seats are more cramped, and no backseat entertainment (unless you're on one of Air Transat's newly renovated planes).

[worth]

Condor blows. Unless you get a really good deal, it's cramped, and no backseat entertainment as Chris mentioned. If you don't care about that then go for it. KLM is definitely a notch above.

[Brannigans Law]

Air Transat to London can get as low as 650 return pretty casually, that seems like work the savings and taking a tablet

[tvp2003]

With WJ you can always get a refund within 24 (?) hours, so I would just book it online and then call them to use your credit and to refund your credit card...

[billybob123]

Charters also don't have the same rerouting capabilities in the event of a cancellation. You could be stuck in city XYZ for a few days if your flight is cancelled.

Condor is a subsidiary of Lufthansa, or at least it used to be. I don't know if that provides more security in the event of a cancellation.

[Tron_fdc]

Just to quickly update:

I tweeted WJ about their wait times to speak to someone, and they got back to me about 30 seconds later with a DM. Gave them all the details (flight#, credit# and passengers) and someone called me back about 30 minutes later. Flight is booked, I'm happy, and I'm pretty impressed with their grasp of social media. I'm going to do the same to AC the next time something happens and see what they do, although I have a pretty good idea.....