Airfare Strategy

[ZerasPride]

DH and I are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Hawaii staying at Aulani for our 30th anniversary next year! Since our trip will most likely fall over Thanksgiving I am looking for air fare strategies to try to snag seats at a decent price. Since this is a special anniversary I want to go all out and fly Delta One but boy is that round trip airfare eye wateringly expensive. My thoughts are to book Delta Comfort on the way there and Delta One on the red eye back home. If you were in my shoes would you (1) book round trip in the Delta Comfort cabin as soon as the seats are available and then pay for the upgrade to Delta One on the return trip when the price hopefully comes down a bit or (2) book a one way flight on the outbound in the comfort cabin and just wait until the price is a bit more reasonable for Delta One on the trip back home?

I have no experience with modifying a plane reservation but assume if we book round trip Delta Comfort it should not be difficult to modify/upgrade to Delta One on the return if I find a "reasonable" price. For what it is worth as I check sample flights randomly I have seen Delta One fluctuate as much as $1700 per person round trip. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

Do you have to fly Delta? We've flown to Aulani four times with our 5th next week. We've used miles a few times for the lie-flat seats but also paid cash. We are flying United non-stop for roughly $1k one way and 75k miles each the other way. I've found Delta One to HNL/OGG to consistently be more expensive than similar flights on UA/AA at cash prices and WAY more pricey in terms of miles needed.

We've only flown Delta One once to Hawaii so don't have that much experience, but I think unless you get the A350, AA/UA have superior lie flat seats.

 

[pjacobi]

If you are prone to motion sickness, the lay-flat seats will only make it worse. It's like sleeping in a hammock.

I upgraded at the last minute for a flight to Europe on United. The 1-way upgrade (if available) was an extra $500 vs. extra $1000 at time of booking. I was more comfortable in a lay-flat seat, but still did not sleep.


-Paul

 

[ZerasPride]

Thanks for this advice to you both! I should have added DH will not do a connection and I am right there with him on the unreliability of connecting flights these days. Delta's hub out of Detroit flying the A350 is the only direct I could find in a reasonable driving distance from home.

I did not think about swaying like in a hammock. DH has congestive heart issues and my thinking was he might be more comfortable laying flat on a long flight but now I wonder if the comfort plus will work just fine since the recline seems generous and there are leg and foot rests not to mention that price is certainly more within a comfortable price point.

 

[abdgeek]

DH and I are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Hawaii staying at Aulani for our 30th anniversary next year! Since our trip will most likely fall over Thanksgiving I am looking for air fare strategies to try to snag seats at a decent price. Since this is a special anniversary I want to go all out and fly Delta One but boy is that round trip airfare eye wateringly expensive. My thoughts are to book Delta Comfort on the way there and Delta One on the red eye back home. If you were in my shoes would you (1) book round trip in the Delta Comfort cabin as soon as the seats are available and then pay for the upgrade to Delta One on the return trip when the price hopefully comes down a bit or (2) book a one way flight on the outbound in the comfort cabin and just wait until the price is a bit more reasonable for Delta One on the trip back home?

I have no experience with modifying a plane reservation but assume if we book round trip Delta Comfort it should not be difficult to modify/upgrade to Delta One on the return if I find a "reasonable" price. For what it is worth as I check sample flights randomly I have seen Delta One fluctuate as much as $1700 per person round trip. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

You’re right to begin checking airfare prices now for your trip next year. I tend to travel extensively over holidays and I can tell you that prices are higher during those times. Rarely have I seen holiday prices decrease once they are released. If anything, they increase.

My goal with any flight I book is to minimize the number of connections I have to make. Needless to say, flights with only one layover are the first to sell out. I fly Delta extensively and always book the nonstop from ATL to HNL when I fly to Hawaii from the east coast. I always fly Delta One even though I never fully recline the seat during the 8-10 hour flight (I normally don’t sleep on long flights—just watch movies back to back). I don’t get motion sick, but I’ve never been seated in a Delta One or any other seat that swayed. The seats are very substantial and when you lay the seat flat, it does not move. I’ve also never heard anyone in first class complain about their seat moving unless they moved it. If you think the motion of the plane may be an issue, definitely take meds before you board.

Articles I’ve read recently suggest that air travel prices have increased about 40%.
Holiday pricing for first class on Delta can run between $4-5000. if you’re seeing anything less than that, I’d pounce on it. I always book my flights immediately once the booking window opens at 335 days(I think that’s the number). As I said earlier, rarely have I seen the price decrease once I‘ve booked and I always check periodically. If it’s a significant enough decrease in price, you can get a refund of the difference in an ecredit. I would recommend trusting your gut and pocketbook with regards to which class to book. Delta starts upgrading skymiles members who qualify about 5 days before the flight. If you still have the option to upgrade, you will see the option listed in your online reservation with the cost. I wouldn’t count on being able to upgrade at the airport.

 

[OKW Lover]

We have flown Delta One to Hawaii (and to Europe) several times. It's definitely the way to go if you can afford it. The flights are on big aircraft (A330 or 767) which are very stable in flight. I never noticed any "swaying" nor did I feel like I was in a hammock with the lay flat seats.

 

[SirDuff]

I've never felt that I was in a hammock on any lie-flat seat (including Delta).

If you don't have a refundable/changeable ticket, you will pay the fare difference and a change fee if you move to Delta one in advance (possibly they'll waive if you are upgrading on the same flights, but the experience of those I know tends to be that they don't). Last minute upgrades (usually at check-in) will not have a change fee, but are often very limited in availability..

 

[pjacobi]

The lay-flat seats themself don't sway, but you do feel the entire plane sway. It all depends upon the amount of turbulence. You feel more of the turbulence when laying down.


-Paul

 

[ZerasPride]

I just wanted to come back and thank everyone for sharing your insights. I will definitely book as soon as the fares are released. What we think makes the most sense (and a good financial compromise) is to book Delta comfort on the outbound leg and Delta One coming home. Direct flights.

Happy Planning everyone!

 

[jimmymc]

Booking Comfort+ directly with Delta is very easy to upgrade to Delta One if you feel like it. I know the Detroit flight you're talking about, and it's the full Delta One experience, but it's also a significant upcharge over connecting somewhere, even other Delta flights. Hawaiian Airlines has a much cheaper, not quite as nice but still really good First class that costs a lot less if you're willing to connect in a city they serve.

 

[ZerasPride]

Booking Comfort+ directly with Delta is very easy to upgrade to Delta One if you feel like it. I know the Detroit flight you're talking about, and it's the full Delta One experience, but it's also a significant upcharge over connecting somewhere, even other Delta flights. Hawaiian Airlines has a much cheaper, not quite as nice but still really good First class that costs a lot less if you're willing to connect in a city they serve.

Thanks so much for this advice! My husband is adamant that he will not fly any connections or this would be a great idea. We will most likely book Delta comfort both legs of the trip and then see about upgrading the return portion to Delta One. I am so excited to plan to this trip!