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Travel Alert! Virgin sale to from LA - Sydney -- for $480!

by Grant Martin on Oct 23rd 2008 at 2:45PM

Alert! Virgin just put Sydney on sale from Los Angeles! Their front page says $1600, but if you get in and tinker with the dates, the price will drop to about 250$ one way. Combined trip: less than $500.

Here' s how I got my fare.

Go to Virgin's homepage first.
Make sure you're on the America site, if you aren't change it.
Click Departure from Los Angeles and Arrival to Sydney
Select dates after March 1
On your search, if you don't see the fares you like, click back and forth on the "Arrivals" box. Sooner or later a fare will come up around $250.
Then click back and forth on the departures.
You may have to mess around with the dates to find something that works.
Good luck!

Mind you, Virgin had to push back launch a bit from December from the strike that's currently rocking Boeing. So there is a chance that things could get jiggered a bit.

You also might recall that a few people had problems with the initial sale that Virgin offered last year.

But if you're willing to take the risk (for <500$) and are confident that you'll get a refund if things turn south, give it a go.

See you in OZ!

Filed under: Airlines, Travel Deals

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Raider007 Oct 23rd 2008 3:08PM

I was able to get it for $483 round trip before taxes and fees...

I'm tempted...

Andrew Oct 23rd 2008 3:14PM

just booked for $483 including taxes and fees, what a ridiculous deal

Joe Oct 23rd 2008 3:29PM

I'm just not able to reproduce it. Anyone else able to get it?

Rob Brooks-Bilson Oct 23rd 2008 4:08PM

Looks like Virgin figured out their mistake and has removed it. I had a $483 roundtrip fare on my screen before lunch that I was considering, and when I came back and decided to give it a go, it had been removed.

Joe Oct 23rd 2008 4:21PM

Ok, I got it!!! Wow!! I'm gonna book it! You have to change the dates on top then on bottom then on top again to get it. Takes a while but I was able to get this ridiculous price. One tip its not the far left price but the third one in, and it should show up in the top of the tabs when it drops down. Sweet.

Jeremy Oct 23rd 2008 5:01PM

Um, this airline is called "V Australia" - the word Virgin doesn't appear anywhere on their web site. It's a bit confusing to refer to it as Virgin in your post. Yes, it's affiliated with the Virgin Group, but it's a distinct airline from either Virgin Blue or Virgin America.

Bruce Oct 23rd 2008 6:22PM

I've been trying for about 20 minutes now and the cheapest I can get is $568/$621. Frustrating because I would go in a minute if I could get the $500rt fare.

Bruce Oct 23rd 2008 7:05PM

OK, I take that back. I got a

dennis Oct 23rd 2008 6:55PM

The price is set by the return dates.

So if you see a $200 return date, then you departure date will be in the $200 range.

Most of the april returns still say $200

Bruce Oct 23rd 2008 8:26PM

Methinks it might be a software issue - either bug or intended. If you play around enough with the dates you start to see the low fare. I say that because you have to play around a lot with the dates to start seeing the prices and you can't simply plug in trip dates and get the same price again. But whatever, I'm looking at connecting flights (from PHL) and hotels right now to see what kind of a package I can put together. I can see so far that the RT flight from PHL to LAX will be the same or a bit more than the LAX-YSSY flight. Unbelieveable!

Jeremy Oct 23rd 2008 8:47PM

For a while I was getting the good fares consistently with a return date of Friday 13 March, but it appears it's gone now - either it was a glitch they fixed, or all the cheap seats have been scooped up....congrats to those who got 'em while they lasted!

Marcus Oct 23rd 2008 9:11PM

I was one of those who were able to get on this deal. The only concern I have is that the Boeing strike will add another delay but if they can book me on another airline like they have been doing for the prior delay, its still a good situation.

ankur Oct 25th 2008 4:21AM

Is this still available? I can't get below the 568/621 price :(

Bruce Oct 26th 2008 12:08PM

I think VAustralia corrected the bug as I cannot get the $200 range prices to come up no matter what I do. There are RT fares in the range of $850 in June with what appears to be a minimum stay of about 15 days. Anything less than that and the price doubles.