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2012-05-05 - 6:33 a.m. Some flyertalk posts under the topic, "DL/NH/JL: JFK - HND via KIX - $517 ai r/t." Post #1: I was still debating with myself whether or not to book. I need to get off my duff and start traveling again, but for personal reasons I have been hesitant. So I didn't go all the way through to the final booking page. Vayama is also where I am searching. Would prefer to book on Delta where I have much voucher to use but I can't (yet?) make the fare come up there. UPDATE: Yes, I am now on the page where they ask for final payment. Here is the bait and switch. The price has been raised from $499 to...wait for it...$517. I really should go ahead and take this trip but am not sure yet for personal reasons that I will go through with it. But I'm definitely well past flight selection...There are lots more dates than just May 17-May 22. If you like a longer trip, I am trying May 24-Jun 5. There are others. Post # 2: OK, final update for the night...whewwwww. We have a winner. Trip is booked!!! Sanity prevailed and I decided I could not really afford the two week trip I was talking about but I have at least grabbed a few days. I got the $517 price and assume I will only earn miles on the DL coded portion, JFK-KIX and back...but it's still a nice chewy chunk. Have not visited Tokyo before, only Nagoya and Kyoto. Leaving JFK on May 24, Leaving Tokyo on May 29. Will likely spend a couple, three days in NYC on either end of the trip to spend some of that Delta voucher I didn't spend at Vayama. Anyone want to meet up or recommend an airbnb, let me know!!! Getting excited now. A bit pooped. Will book the positioning flights to NYC later or tomorrow. Thanks to the OP, you are my hero of the day. Post #3: P.S. Final final really final update [of the night], my tix are already showing in the system at Delta.com. Also, I have vouchers I should use, and I was thinking to take a trip to NYC anyway, so the positioning flight itself won't cost me anything. I guess the NYC portion of the trip will be somewhat pricey but oh well! Post # 4: My dates are May 24-May 29. I found several others, such as the original May 17-May 21 that was posted. Also found a way to extend the trip into June but decided the cost of hotels might make this a little steep for my humble vacation... I could not figure out how you would book directly at Delta without calling Delta and asking about their Best Fare Guarantee, which I suspect is in violation of the "Do Not Call the Airline" rule. The price is already decent, so why play around for a $100 guarantee voucher? I booked at Vayama. It popped up at Delta.com almost immediately. I got an email confirming my purchase from Vayama almost right away, and a second email with my ticket, receipt, etc. this morning. $517 is a nice price but it is not "mistake fare" nice, as I have traveled to Japan previously for about the same price or maybe a few pennies less. I'm not seeing anything particularly weird about this deal. For some reason, Japan airfares sometimes go on sale in May. That's when I got my previous deal to Nagoya. So there's probably a seasonal pattern for those who are more "in the know." I have now purchased my NYC tix using a voucher. I even have $$$ left to spend on another flight. I was thinking to visit NYC anyway. At first, I thought about doing the SAP trip, EWR-SAP for $200, but I looked into EWR and I was worried about ground transportation. JFK appears to have a train so it is more practical for me since I don't rent cars when I'm tired. I think it will be nice to tick off two major cities off my list, New York and Tokyo, which are pretty big holes in your list if you try to call yourself a traveler. Pitiful to have visited Niagara Falls and other rural destinations in New York yet never to have seen the big city.
Post #5: Yes, my tickets appeared in my delta.com "my itineraries" almost immediately. It even knew that I was Gold Elite, whereas, when I booked what I would consider a fuel dump last fall, booked at KLM.com, the itinerary did appear pretty quick at delta.com but for some reason it was not putting me as a Gold Elite until I showed up at check in time. At that time, they figured it out and I got upgraded to EC, lounge access, etcetera. I really don't see this one as a mistake fare or a fuel dump, just a good price. But that's my humble opinion. I guess if for some whackadoo reason the ticket is canceled, and if I feel it's too pricey for me to stay in NYC for that long, I can spend a few days in Atlantic City, assuming there's anyone left...just not gonna stress about it.
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