VA Sales?

[tracey1302]

Hi all,

Does anyone know historically when VA have sales on at this time of year? Some of our party are still waiting to book their flights. Prices for direct at currently at £800+ for VA Classic.

Is there anything on Black Friday? Boxing Day? January?

Flying out 2nd July 2019.

[Lisbon]

We have found flights once with Virgin during a sale - Xmas
The best advice I can give is check every day, even twice a day, have a price target you're happy with then book
Rob

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Lisbon

We have found flights once with Virgin during a sale - Xmas
The best advice I can give is check every day, even twice a day, have a price target you're happy with then book
Rob

See more...

The above is the best advice.

Sometimes they have "sales" but the price is actually higher than it was two weeks ago - of course they explain this away using "pricing is demand driven and all the cheaper fare tickets are now sold" what they don't say in that explanation is they can add more tickets to the cheaper fares any time they wish to.

So by all means check the sales, and if you are happy with the price then book but make sure you have a reference to what the price is today (or some other point in time) so you can see if it really is a good deal.

Ultimately 800 is in the average price range for a July holiday. Many will pay much more and some (who either get very lucky or put in the leg work to keep checking on prices each day) will get it much cheaper (I've flown to MCO around 20 times and I've never paid more than 650 and that was for his year)

Also if you want a good price you need to be in a position to pounce, I.e. money in account or credit on the card so that you can buy on sight. If you need to take time to move cash around or get your while party to agree the purchase I can guarantee someone who was "more ready" will grab your deal while you are sorting it out.

So you need to have agreement from all who have a say in the purchase that if you ever see flights below X you have their agreement to just buy them - otherwise you may as well not bother putting in the hard work to locate the deal in the first place

Others will say why not go indirect to save cash, and it's certainly true that it can save money but it isn't without compromise - only you can decide if that's for you

[sprocket]

Another agreement to this.
We have friends who found some great BA prices, then went to book a few hours later and they were almost double, a few days later they were back down again so they booked quickly. They checked later and they were back up again.
I have seen this loads of times where the price goes up and down over a few days. People often say dont book at weekends as they are more expensive. Seems like VA and BA take this to the extreme and also alter the price depending on the time of day.
Have a price in mind and when you see it, book. Unfortunately knowing what price to have in mind is another problem.

If you are sticking to the 2nd July, then you may end up paying more. Often going a day earlier or later could cut hundreds of the price.

As above, dont believe in the sales. Doesnt mean they are cheaper or the best price. Its a gimmick, purely used to trick people into thinking they have a bargain. Every shop does it. "Biggest ever Sale", then you read the small print and it says, this is the biggest ever sale sign we have displayed.

Why not hold off and go indirect and save massively. Go via Dublin and the time you loose in going indirect, you will make up for in preclearence.

Originally Posted by Lisbon

We have found flights once with Virgin during a sale - Xmas
The best advice I can give is check every day, even twice a day, have a price target you're happy with then book
Rob

See more...

Seriously, £800 average for a flight. Do people honestly pay more than £800 for a standard flight. Maybe if people stopped paying stupid money for goods and services, then the industries would stop charging so much.

Originally Posted by Guest

Ultimately 800 is in the average price

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[CazB]

The best time of year to book VA flights for us is always in their Christmas sale as it seems to be the only time that the flight prices drop.

I price watch all year round and my findings are that during other times of the year when VA/VHols say they have a sale they actually increase the base price so that when it comes to the checkout process and the price comes down you think you are getting a good deal but what has actually happened is that the price is close to what it was before their sale.

Best advice I can give is price watch and then book when you see a price you are happy with.