Is it cheaper to book a flight and hotel package for a California trip?

Simon Calder answers your questions on visiting Los Angeles, a Mediterranean holiday and planning for the 2023 Rugby World Cup

No trip to LA would be complete without a photo by the Hollywood sign (Getty)

Q I have family in California. Since the pandemic all the transatlantic fares I have seen are madly expensive. I have heard that if you book a hotel along with a flight, the total cost is less than the airfare alone. If this is true, and I book a flight to Los Angeles and a hotel, must I actually stay there?

Cathy D

A In very specific circumstances buying a package – comprising flights plus accommodation – can work out cheaper than a transatlantic airfare alone. But the technique generally only benefits people who are on short trips from the UK to North America.

To explain how it works: airlines such as Aer Lingus, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic use an odd pricing technique that evidently works for them across the Atlantic: the Saturday night rule. They penalise economy class passengers who have the temerity to want to fly a return trip that does not include a Saturday night away. For example, if you fly out on a Monday and back on a Thursday, a November return fare from London Heathrow to Los Angeles comes in at £1,557 on British Airways. Flip it around – out Thursday, back Monday – and the fare drops by over two-thirds to £493.

The idea is that business travellers on short itineraries will want to be back at home for the weekend. Since employers pay for these trips, the thinking goes, they will be price-insensitive. Clearly there is some truth to that, which is why airlines quote outlandish fares.

Avoiding such painful prices is a bit of a chore, but perfectly possible. Package the fare with a hotel. Either do this through the airline’s leisure offshoot (eg British Airways Holidays) or through an agent, such as Trailfinders, DialAFlight or Expedia. For that Monday-Thursday trip, the cheapest British Airways deal is £924, including four nights at the Doubletree by Hilton at Buena Park. If you choose not to avail of the accommodation, no one will come after you. But on the odd occasion when I use the technique, I call the hotel to say I will be a no-show so they can sell it again if they wish.

Nissi Beach in the Cypriot resort town of Ayia Napa (AFP/Getty)

Q Is it worth booking now for 2023 and “locking in” prices? Thinking of Cyprus and Spain.

Paul S

A Your question arrived just as I was looking at easyJet’s trading statement, updating investors on the outlook for 2023. Specifically, I was studying the airline’s “hedging” position. Britain’s biggest budget airline is effectively doing what you are suggesting: locking into a particular price in order to avoid future shocks. Carriers pay a large slice of their costs in dollars for aviation fuel, which itself fluctuates in price, and for aircraft leases. Hedging means fixing a specific fuel price and/or exchange rate for the US dollar.

For the remainder of this year most of easyJet’s needs are covered at advantageous rates, meaning the airline – and its passengers – are currently insulated from the collapse of sterling since the markets took fright at the policies of the new prime minister and chancellor. For the first three months of next year, the cover slips to slightly less than half the airline’s requirements.

Airline and holiday company accountants are, right now, judging whether to commit to more hedging at much less benevolent rates – or bet that the only way is up for sterling and the only way is down for oil prices. Whichever way those wagers go, I believe next summer will see significantly higher prices for British holidaymakers. Family holidays when the schools are out are unlikely to come down in price, even if sterling makes a miracle recovery and oil prices return to something like normal.

So if you can see a deal that suits you in terms of location and price, go ahead and lock in now. Doing so will also buy you the intangible benefit of anticipation, one of the pleasures of booking well in advance. Yet if you are travelling off-peak, the potential downside (eg from needing to cancel for a reason not covered by travel insurance) outweighs the chance of a small saving. So for Mallorca in May or Sicily in September, I suggest you wait a few months.

Blue Sunday: take a stroll down the Saone river (iStock)

Q We are two couples off to Lyon by train to watch Wales vs Australia in the Rugby World Cup next September. We’ve got our hotel, train tickets and match tickets sorted. We are just wondering what to do all day in Lyon the Sunday before we go to watch the game at the Olympique Lyonnais Stadium at 9pm.

Gethin J

A Congratulations on planning so well in advance. For those not as organised as you: the biggest tournament in the men’s game kicks off in Paris on 8 September 2023, when France play New Zealand at the Stade de France. The same ground will host the final on 28 October. Wales – in the same group as Australia, Fiji and Georgia – is set to do well.

Unlike this winter’s football World Cup, with games compressed into four weeks in the tiny nation of Qatar, the tournament in France is spread over six weeks and encompasses some great host cities including Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. As well, of course, as the gastronomic capital of France, Lyon – where the Rhone meets the Saone.

Pacing the streets of the city is rewarding enough: Lyon has around 200 murals, some of them gigantic and all of them adding colour and style to the city. For some structured sightseeing: visit the quietly elegant Cathédrale Saint-Jean, then take the funicular railway to the top of Fourvière hill – with a terrace that, on a fine day, will give you a glimpse of the French Alps. Explore the extravagant basilica, Notre Dame de Fourvière, and visit the nearby vast Roman theatre. The Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine is built into the hillside with viewing windows over the ruins.

Then return to river level and explore some of the traboules that are a Lyonnais speciality: they feel like secret passages between the main streets. For another dose of culture, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon contains plenty of appealing paintings within a Benedictine convent.

Before the match, fill up at the magnificent Brasserie Georges. This vast dining hall close to Perrache railway station has been a Lyonnais institution for almost two centuries.

Nearer the time, access arrangements by tram to the stadium should become clear. Or, as there are four of you, grab an Uber.

The chances of London-Durban nonstops being resurrected by September 2023 are extremely low (Getty/iStock)

Q I’m looking to book flights to and from Durban for September 2023. If I book a flight via Johannesburg and British Airways and they then reintroduce a direct flight to Durban, will I be able to change without penalty?

David W

A In the late 20th century, BA flew from London Heathrow to Durban via Johannesburg, but the flights ended in 1999 because the link was unprofitable. In October 2018, British Airways launched a new nonstop route to South Africa’s beach city. The 5,935-mile flight took just under 12 hours, saving three hours on connections via Johannesburg.

But as the coronavirus pandemic began, the Durban route was suspended – and shows no imminent sign of resuming. This is a fairly typical pattern in a downturn. Newer routes tend to be, at best, only marginally profitable. They are the first to be cut and the last to be restored.

Personally, I think the chances of London-Durban nonstops being resurrected by September 2023 are extremely low: airlines typically start selling flights about 11.5 months ahead, so that month would need to be on sale already. Were the British Airways link to resume in 2023, I believe it would be most likely to happen from 29 October next year – the start of the winter season, which is when the route is likely to work best.

To respond directly to your question: assuming you are going for a lower-cost ticket, you would not be able to switch to a nonstop flight without paying extra. British Airways says: “Penalty will depend on the type of ticket you purchase. You’ll need to check that you have a changeable ticket and what the change fee is in the terms and conditions before you confirm the booking.”

I would certainly not be booking a flight to South Africa 11 months ahead, except for Christmas and new year. Committing many hundreds of pounds at this stage could lead to buyers’ remorse: African carriers such as Ethiopian Airlines might step in with one-stop connections at attractive fares, and Emirates via Dubai will always be available as a backstop.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder