Airlines to California with stopovers
Oct 11th, 2009, 08:38 AM
#1
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Airlines to California with stopovers
Hi,
I'm trying to go to California for Christmas, starting about Dec 21 in the San Jose/San Francisco area, and then going to San Diego/LA area about Dec 26, and then returning home, anywhere from DEC 28-29 To Jan 3-4 or even later. HOWEVER, when I look for flights, I find some that fly from Boston to San Jose/San Fran via a Southern CA city.
Can I fly from Boston to Northern CA (via the southern CA city) on DEC 21ish, and then on say, Dec 26th, fly to the Southern CA and do a layover for a bit before continuing to Boston about 3-6 days later?. Or is there an airline that will let me fly into northern CA for a few days, then on my own, I take something like Virgin America, or SW or even AA i guess, to southern CA --and then around DEC 29ish,fly back to Boston from Southern CA? In other words, is there a "simply" way to do it with one airline, or should I try to book each leg separately (esp. since I would prefer nonstops? I'm so used to flying the same airline round trip, that I don't know if there is a better way to approach this.)
I hope I'm not too confusing, and thanks for your help.
N
I'm trying to go to California for Christmas, starting about Dec 21 in the San Jose/San Francisco area, and then going to San Diego/LA area about Dec 26, and then returning home, anywhere from DEC 28-29 To Jan 3-4 or even later. HOWEVER, when I look for flights, I find some that fly from Boston to San Jose/San Fran via a Southern CA city.
Can I fly from Boston to Northern CA (via the southern CA city) on DEC 21ish, and then on say, Dec 26th, fly to the Southern CA and do a layover for a bit before continuing to Boston about 3-6 days later?. Or is there an airline that will let me fly into northern CA for a few days, then on my own, I take something like Virgin America, or SW or even AA i guess, to southern CA --and then around DEC 29ish,fly back to Boston from Southern CA? In other words, is there a "simply" way to do it with one airline, or should I try to book each leg separately (esp. since I would prefer nonstops? I'm so used to flying the same airline round trip, that I don't know if there is a better way to approach this.)
I hope I'm not too confusing, and thanks for your help.
N
Oct 11th, 2009, 10:49 AM
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You don;t book each leg separately, you go to one of the standard booking sights and use the multi-desination option to see the lest expensive way to do this.
(No - airlines don't let you have mulitple free stopovers like this - if you booked a flight from Boston to Nor CA and got off at the So CA stop your luggage would go on without you. If you have just a carry-on and don;t complete the flight your return portion would be cancelled - since you were a no show.)
(No - airlines don't let you have mulitple free stopovers like this - if you booked a flight from Boston to Nor CA and got off at the So CA stop your luggage would go on without you. If you have just a carry-on and don;t complete the flight your return portion would be cancelled - since you were a no show.)
Oct 11th, 2009, 11:16 AM
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I do a similar open jaw flight quite frequently. NYC to SFO/SJC then SAN to NYC. On AA the fare is essentially the same as a round trip. I've used VA & SW to fly from the bay area to SAN.
Just book the multi-city itinerary on any airline or travel agency website as nyt has indicated.
AA doesn't have good Bay Area to SAN flights, but you maybe able to do this all on UAL with 3 non-stop legs.
Just book the multi-city itinerary on any airline or travel agency website as nyt has indicated.
AA doesn't have good Bay Area to SAN flights, but you maybe able to do this all on UAL with 3 non-stop legs.
Oct 11th, 2009, 12:53 PM
#4
Sure you can do this. A lot of the airlines (at least in cities served by low cost carriers) have one-way fares that are equal to half of a roundtrip.
Yes, you can get a ticket BOS-SFO/SJC/OAK and SAN-BOS on one ticket. This is an open-jaw ticket that, as J62 mentioned can be booked online using a multiple itineraries option. Then fly between Nocal and Socal on another airline.
You can do it on three different airlines, if you wish.
jetBlue, for one, can get from Boston to San Jose, SFO, or Oakland. Then from SJC/OAK to Long Beach, or SFO to Los Angeles or Long Beach. Then SAN-BOS.
Yes, you can get a ticket BOS-SFO/SJC/OAK and SAN-BOS on one ticket. This is an open-jaw ticket that, as J62 mentioned can be booked online using a multiple itineraries option. Then fly between Nocal and Socal on another airline.
You can do it on three different airlines, if you wish.
jetBlue, for one, can get from Boston to San Jose, SFO, or Oakland. Then from SJC/OAK to Long Beach, or SFO to Los Angeles or Long Beach. Then SAN-BOS.
Oct 11th, 2009, 01:00 PM
#5
Sometimes when you book "multi-leg" trips and try to fit in everything on one airline...it comes out more expensive than doing it separately. You'll want to find the airline that gives to the best fare to fly Boston-SF, with return from SD or LA-Boston.
Then, separately work on your fares between the cities, or consider driving since it's only a few hours and the airlines/airports are crazy busy around the holidays. There's a nice train from Oakland down to LA as well, and you can stop for a night in Santa Barbara if you like, the train station is right by the beach trolley.
Then, separately work on your fares between the cities, or consider driving since it's only a few hours and the airlines/airports are crazy busy around the holidays. There's a nice train from Oakland down to LA as well, and you can stop for a night in Santa Barbara if you like, the train station is right by the beach trolley.
Oct 11th, 2009, 01:11 PM
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The only problem with the train, which is Amtrak, is if you have limited time you might be frustrated as Amtrak can arrive quite late compared to their scheduled arrival. Just want to warn you it can happen (and has happened too many times to family members using the train) since you will be on a trip and consequently time would be important to you I would think.
Oct 11th, 2009, 01:23 PM
#7
At united.com, I tried Nov 4, 11, 18 for the three travel days and got a fare of $305 all-in. It does require a connection in Chicago on the return from San Diego to Boston.
VirginAmerica.com can book multicity, but looks like only two cities. They are having fare specials to/from SFO. BOS-SFO for $109 and SFO-SAN for $49. Ticket would be $179 all-in (nov 4 and 11). The Nov 18 flight SAN-BOS fare is $304, tho.
$130 on jetbue for SAN-BOS on the 1th.
So you can get some excellent one-way tickets (or combined one-ways).
VirginAmerica.com can book multicity, but looks like only two cities. They are having fare specials to/from SFO. BOS-SFO for $109 and SFO-SAN for $49. Ticket would be $179 all-in (nov 4 and 11). The Nov 18 flight SAN-BOS fare is $304, tho.
$130 on jetbue for SAN-BOS on the 1th.
So you can get some excellent one-way tickets (or combined one-ways).
Oct 11th, 2009, 02:20 PM
#8
That's $130 all-in on jetBlue for SAN-BOS one-way on the 18th.
So two tickets, one for BOS-SFO-SAN on Virgin America, and the other SAN-BOS on jetBlue for a total of $309 for dates that I picket at random.
You are fortunate that Boston <-> California routes are very competetive as are north/south in California.
So two tickets, one for BOS-SFO-SAN on Virgin America, and the other SAN-BOS on jetBlue for a total of $309 for dates that I picket at random.
You are fortunate that Boston <-> California routes are very competetive as are north/south in California.
