LAS - LGW in November - a few questions

Hi all!
I've been lurking for a few weeks, checking out all the great information the site has and I'm finally ready to ask a question.

I'm interested in flying LAS-LGW R/T in November and I'm hoping to go Premium Economy. Our ultimate destination is Italy, but flying Virgin direct to London then hopping down is the least connections, which is great.

I was watching fares last year and noticed a great winter sale for economny, but I wasn't looking at PE. Did those seats go on sale as well? Does anyone remember what the prices were like?

Also, should I wait until August or so to get serious about airfare or should I just keep looking from this point forward? I love getting a great deal, but I don't want to miss out on PE seats, either.

Thanks in advance for your help and I'm sooo glad I found this site - it's amazing!

[preiffer]

Hi jbee, and welcome [y]

The cheapest PE fare from LAS to LGW, in PE, during November is currently a "K" class ticket, at $1609 including taxes. I've seen it cheaper, but I don't remember a PE sale to/from LAS last summer for travel in November, to be honest.

Thanks for the speedy response! The fare I'm getting is a bit more, but that's because of my dates: 11/9/06 - 11/23 (or 24)/06. Can I expect to see that get any better?

I was checking out their current fare sale for economy that includes November (already!) but I got the message that no seats were available on the dates I've selected. Does that mean the fare is for selected dates in November only?

One last thought... Would I have a good chance at upgrading after I buy an economy ticket? Are there restrictions on what economy class tickets can be upgraded? Is this a potentially cheaper option?

[Scrooge]

Hello fellow LAS person.

There are a couple of ways to go about getting from the left coast to the UK.

The first is from Las-Lgw.The fare's on this route are higher than LAX or SFO,also you will most likely get an aircraft with an older IFE system.Also though I stand to be corrected I can't remember seeing any PE sales from LAS,however at the airport you will see a sign offering PE upgrades for 199 pounds if the space is open.

What I tend to do is hop on a southwest flight down to LAX and catch a flight from there.The PE fair will be cheaper and as this route at least on VS8/7 is A346 based right now you will get V.Port.

Now what you can also do is take an America West flight up to SFO and take the flights from there...the reason...simple,you get a 744 with the upper deck PE cabin,which is the place to be and the majority of the time you get V-port as well.

If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line.

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your response!
Doesn't Virgin fly a double decker on the LAS-LGW route? Also, do they offer any sort of upgrade offer at the time of booking?

I was trying to avoid the quick hop over to LAX or SFO as we'll still have 1 more flight after arriving in London. Of course, price is the biggest factor! [:p] Are there sales on PE out of LAX or SFO or are they just cheaper in general?

[Scrooge]

In general they are cheaper out of LAX and SFO.

Yes use's a 744 out of LAS which also has the PE upper deck,but know V-Port.

Of course if you are then taking another flight from London you have to figure out which airport you are flying out off.

If it's LGW then you may well be better off flying the LAS-LGW route,if it's LHR then LAX or SFO,if it's STN then you are in trouble.

[preiffer]

That's a very important point that Dave makes.

There are 5 "major" airports that all claim to be "London":

London City
London Luton
London Heathrow
London Stansted
London Gatwick



In reality, they're all many, many, miles apart - and the only airport that is actually IN London is London City Airport [:0]. Bearing in mind both claim to be "London Airports", Heathrow to Gatwick is quite a long way...!


Your most "direct" route may well end up being determined by working out which airport you're leaving to Italy from...

And do avoid booking your Italy flights out of London Southend Airport! Nowhere near London!

I normally manage to get PE seats on the LAS route - there's more PE seats on these planes than the LAX/SFO routes whether they operate a LHR-744 or a 346.

It's significantly quicker getting through the international terminal at LAS than the domestic - bear that in mind. And assuming you won't have clubhouse access anyway, you won't get the benefit of that facility at SFO.

[Scrooge]

Uuummm,may want to delete that last line there Onionz in case they manage to switch travel dates,Vegas residents stick toegether.

Who are you planning to take your Italian flights with??? B.A offer the best route network out of LGW to a list of Italian cities......Easyjet have a small network out of LGW...

If you take the VS option out of LAX or SFO, then you really cut down your options out of LHR.... Many Alitalia only from LHR

In terms of the most flights from London to Italy, London Stanstead gives you the most options with a combination of Ryanair or Easyjet offering plenty of daily frequencies....

Where is your end destination, as this needs to form part of your decision of whether it's best to leave LAS, LAX or SFO????

Out of curiousity I just entered your dates...
I got a fare of $3294 ($1650 pp) - taxes included...
There IS a sale on PE fares though... US site doesnt have anything fare-specific that I can see, but the UK Site certainly mentions a host of routes with PE specials (LAS, LAX and SFO all included - fares up to 9th Dec.). Does state UK to USA though ...

[Scrooge]

Yes,a little bone of contention for me.There are a number of differences between what it offered to people flying from the UK compared to what is offered to those of us flying from the states.

The #1 contention for me is the fact that when flying from the UK you can book a L class fare in Y then upgrade from there,in the US the base upgradable fare is an B which cost more,also if you look at the miles plus money fares from the UK you can book upper class tickets,you caqn't do that from the US either,though to be honest those are rarley a good deal.

Just seems strange to me that VS would treat is US pax like this,but there you go.

Just as a note,when the next person comes on the site and says we never "bash" VS could someone please remind me of this post.

Originally posted by jetwet1
The #1 contention for me is the fact that when flying from the UK you can book a B class fare in PE then upgrade from there,in the US the base upgradable fare is an S which cost more

Ummmm, Dave, B is in Econ.....
For ex-UK deps, you can book an L fare in Econ & upgrade - whereas for ex-US deps, minimum Econ fare is B (more expensive). PE upgradeable fares are the same class for both ex-UK & ex-US deps (W & S).

Cheers

Michael

[Scrooge]

uuummm...and im in the middle of re-writing the fare codes for the v-book [:I],let me just say that I put this down to no sleep and way to much booze,so let this be a lesson children,don't drink and type

Above posted is edited to reflect the facts [:I]

$3294 seems like sooo much and that doesn't even include the flights to/from Italy. So if I called VS, would they offer me the sale price you see from the UK? What is that anyway?

[Scrooge]

here is the link

I priced out the ticket,just did LGW-LAS then LAS-LGW with your dates price comes out at 1426 pounds for two people inc taxes which comes to $2538 give or take,give them a call at 1 800 821 5438.

Thanks Dave.
I couldn't figure out how to get to page 2... [:I] I attribute that to too many hours in front of the box!