Archive for the ‘business class’ Category

Business Class Sales from London / UK

Friday, March 13th, 2009

It’s time to take another look at business class airfare sales from the United Kingdom on a few carriers. With the current tough economic conditions there are plenty of deals to be had. Let’s start with British Airways which is currently holding a business class sale for ex-UK flights. Book by March 24th 2009. Prices for selected routes:

New York £1,099
Boston £1,199
Orlando £1,299
Toronto £1,499
San Francisco £1,699
Los Angeles £1,699

Cairo £899
Tel Aviv £799
Dubai £1,359
Barbados £1,319
Mumbai £1,359

Club Europe stand-out fares from Gatwick LGW are:
Turin £159
Amsterdam £169

The Turin fare looks like a great Tier Point (or QF Status Credit) run.

Virgin Atlantic is matching many of the BA offers, again bookable by March 24th.

KLM also have some business class offers from various airports ex-UK. For example, from Manchester:

Tel Aviv £798
Cairo £908
Dubai £1,058
Mumbai £1,186
Sao Paolo £1,489
Jo’burg £1,558

Middle East Airlines

Emirates has a companion fare business class offer bookable to 16th March 2009. Fares to Asia and Africa look competitive (per person for 2 people travelling from London):

Cape Town £1,402
Hong Kong £1,493
Singapore £1,495
Bangkok £1,496

Rival Etihad also has the following biz class fares out of London Heathrow:

Mumbai £1,192
Johannesburg £1,404
Bangkok £1,584

Qatar Airways offers from London:

Mumbai £1,035
Dubai £1,151
Bangkok £1,577

Something to consider if travelling to India via airlines from the Middle East. It has been reported that service levels on the Middle East – India segments can be patchy as these flights tend to be full with migrant workers.

Obviously one has to account for regional services being often inferior than long-haul services – this is applicable worldwide.

Etihad Airways Business and First Class Deals

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Etihad Airways is offering some excellent deals in its Pearl Business Class and Diamond First Class on much of its route network via its Abu Dhabi hub. Effectively they are giving a free upgrade with a full fare ticket. Book by Feb 28 2009, travel should commence by Mar 31 2009, return by May 31 2009. Let’s take a look at some selected return fares (all-in) on offer:

London Heathrow to Sydney: £1,702 business, £3,452 first

London Heathrow to Johannesburg: £1,239 business, £2,099 first

London Heathrow to Mumbai: £1,160 business, £2,210 first

New York to Abu Dhabi: $4,080 business, $6,110 first

New York to Johannesburg: $4,417 business, $6,357 first

Frankfurt to Sydney: 1,678 business, 3,678 first

Frankfurt to Johannesburg: 1,355 business, 2,605 first

Frankfurt to New Delhi: 1,340 business, 2,390 first

The Frankfurt – Sydney business class fare looks an excellent deal at under 1,700.

Etihad are also offering 2,500 bonus Guest miles for booking online. They are not part of the three major alliances.

etihad-dubai.

Business Class Airfare Deals Worldwide ex-London / UK

Friday, January 9th, 2009

There are some reasonable business class deals out of London at this time, with various airlines holding special worldwide sales.

British Airways has a business class airfare sale until 27 Jan 09. Return prices in Club World on selected routes ex-London are New York £1,099, Mumbai £1,359, Dubai £1,459, Tokyo £1,999 (all 05 Feb 09 to 31 Mar 09), Barbados £1,319 (01 Mar 09 to 20 Mar 09), Jo’burg £1,999 (06 Feb 09 to 31 Mar 09), Sydney £2729 (15 Jul 09 to 31 Aug 09). Many other destinations are available. One-way upgrades to First start at £499.

Note, if you are registered with ba.com (it’s free), log in and get an additional £20 off per person on all long-haul economy and business sale fares.

Virgin Atlantic is matching its Upper Class fares with BA on routes they share.

Qatar Airways has a business class airfare sale until 31 Jan 09 for travel up to June. Fares from London include Dubai £1,179, Colombo £1,325, Jo’burg £1,609, Hong Kong £1,739 and Singapore £1,899.

Emirates has an interesting companion fare offer in business or first class which can be booked by 15 Feb 09, travel to the end of October. Use the promo code UKCOMP9. Fares per person are Dubai £1199, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Shanghai all available for just under £1,400, Mauritius £1,389, Seychelles £1,474, Colombo and Male for £1,682. The stand-out fare looks like Cape Town or Jo’burg for £1,299, with first class for £2,271.

KLM has some good biz class fares ex-London for travel 9 Jan 09 to 30 Apr 09. Delhi £940, Dubai 1,085, Nairobi £1,371, Jo’burg £1,418 and Seoul £1,568. Similar fares available from regional UK.

klm business class

With oil prices having come down but with the credit crunch still stifling premium demand now is a very good time to pick up a business class airfare deal for 2009.