Tips for Cheap Business Class & First Class Airfares

First class and business class airfares are usually bought by corporate travellers and wealthy individuals. These high revenue flyers are the most profitable passengers for many airlines, particularly on the lucrative Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific business routes.

Here are a few basic tips to help you reduce your business class and first class airline ticket costs.

Fly from London to New York in business class and you can often pay upwards of £3,000 - £5,000 ($6,000 - $10,000) to fly on the established carriers. Or fly the Pacific from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia in first class and it could set you back around a cool £10,000 ($20,000). Not exactly small change…

Let's face it, we all want to sit at the front of the plane whenever possible. And what do we get for our money? Comfortable seating which reclines into a flat bed (or nearly flat), plenty of legroom and personal space, gourmet dining and service with a more personal touch. Not to mention the lounge access where we can escape the crowds at the airport.

Tip 1: Fly BA's OpenSkies

British Airways operates a subsidiary airline named OpenSkies which flies daily from Paris Orly to New York JFK. It uses a 3-class Boeing 757 aircraft configured with just 82 seats. Biz class airfares are available from around €2,300 or $3,700 but watch for any special offer deals as BA tries to establish the service.

Tip 2: Try L'Avion

L'Avion is a French "all-business" class service which flies from Paris Orly to Newark using a Boeing 757. L'Avion has signed a code-sharing agreement with OpenSkies which should help both take on Air France on its home turf. With a seat pitch of 48" (90 seats) and prices from €1,180 / $1,550 return, its product is probably equivalent of OpenSkies premium economy service.

Tip 3: Go Business with 'Off-Beat' Airlines

Book a ticket on one of the more 'off-beat' international carriers. For example, there are a large number of airlines flying trans-Atlantic between New York and London such as Air India, Kuwait Airways, and Icelandair (via Reykjavik) and they often undercut full fares of the major carriers by up to 70%.

Kuwait Airways' business class tickets are available from around £850 or $1,700 return using Boeing 777 aircraft. Icelandair's Saga (business) Class can be found for around the £1,100 / $2,200 level and their booking engine provides good flexiblity for buying upgrades from economy.

If flying trans-Pacific from the West Coast to Asia then price up your business class flight on one of the Asian carriers - like Asiana, China Airlines, or ANA.

Tip 4 : Airfare Wars

The "open skies" agreement between the EU and US means more competition on transatlantic routes. This is creating a business class airfare war, particularly out of London Heathrow. Flights in business class on London - New York can currently be found for as low as the £1,000 / $2,000 level.

The main driver is the battle between British Airways and Air France and their alliance partners.

Tip 5: Airfare Consolidators

Find a reliable consolidator who specialises in business class and first class airfares. They will have access to ticket prices not normally available in the market and you could easily cut your fare in half. Using consolidators is usually best for flights 1-2 months out.

Tip 6: Join the Frequent Flyer Elite

You should join 1 or 2 frequent flyer alliance loyalty programs and try to attain elite status if possible. Also sign up for a frequent flyer credit card associated with your airline to maximise your mileage accrual when booking flights. Elite frequent flyer status will increase your chances of upgrade to business class.

There are some clever ways of getting top status within a few weeks if you know how and this will help you greatly in your quest for first class flying. And be careful how you spend those frequent flier miles as many travellers end up using them in the most inefficient ways, at great cost to themselves.

Tip 7: Invest in Your Knowledge - Stay Ahead of the Crowd

If you would like to learn a lot more about maximising your chances of travelling in first and business class including little known advanced airfare arbitrage techniques, making the most of your airmiles, how to find the world's lowest international airfares in any class and much, much more, then you should invest in the 'Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide'. This guide is for the aspiring elite traveller who wants to join the global jet-set.

Air Travel Articles & Resources > Business Class Flying > Business Class Airfare Tips

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