I’ve had several problems booking our positioning flight to Los Angeles before our Singapore Airlines Business Class trip to Vietnam. My first plan included an inexpensive non-stop flight on United. Unfortunately, a schedule change put us on an early morning flight, which wasn’t what we wanted.
Our alternate non-stop American Airlines first-class flight was also canceled. While still in first-class, this left us with an itinerary with a 43-minute connection in Dallas-Fort Worth on the way to Los Angeles.
Due to the change, I’d be able to get a refund of our American AAdvantage miles. That was, if I could find an acceptable alternative on a different airline. It turned out that Delta changed schedules and added a morning non-stop Orlando to Los Angeles flight. I checked prices using the Capital One travel portal.
The schedule was good, and the price was reasonable, but I already have seats in American’s first class on our flights through Dallas. Should I give up first class for non-stop in economy seats? It turns out that I’d already dealt with this question in my post about positioning flights.
My thoughts turned to the day of our trip to Los Angeles. No matter how comfortable the seats on American Airlines were, I’d still be uncomfortable if our flight to Dallas was delayed. I’d be sitting, looking at my phone, to see if we’d still catch our connecting flight. If not, how could we get to LA before our Singapore Airlines flight that evening?
I’d much rather be in a Delta economy seat on my way to Los Angeles, even after a delay, because I’d still have hours until our Singapore Airlines flight that evening. I might even have time to leave the airport for a while.
When it comes to positioning flights, my preference is to remove as many pain points as possible. Connecting flights are one place where things can go wrong, so why take one if it’s not necessary? While sitting in Delta’s Main Cabin for 5 & 1/2 hours while traveling to LAX, we can look forward to our 16-hour flight to Southeast Asia in business class on Singapore Airlines.
I know this is a YMMV issue as others would never give up a first-class seat. But for us, it’s the destination and not the trip that’s the most important thing about our travels. When it comes to getting to the city of our international flight, convenience beats comfort every time.
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