2010 has not been a good year thus far for airfare sales.  The sector, especially in Europe, has been hit from a number of angles -  the continuing economic and sovereign debt crisis, the Icelandic volcano which caused travel chaos in April and frequent strike action.

Trade body IATA recently remarked that Euro airlines would lose a combined $2.8 bn this year making them the world’s worst performers in the airline market.

Today British Airways has announced a premium class sale for flights ex-UK, their first big offer in a few months. Prices are generally higher than previous years – but here are the highlight offers (return prices all-in):

Club Europe (fly Jun 10 – Dec 31)
Bordeaux £209
Rome (Fiumicino) £249

Middle East (fly Jul 8 – Oct 31)
Tel Aviv £879
Cairo £899
Doha £1,199
Muscat £1,199
Abu Dhabi £1,409

India (fly Jul 8 – Oct 31)
Bangalore £1,299
Delhi £1,299
Mumbai £1,399

USA (fly Jul 8 – Aug 31)
New York (Newark) £1,499 (£2497 First)
Orlando £1,599
Los Angeles £1,999

Asia/Australia (fly Jul 8 – Aug 31)
Bangkok £1,999
Singapore £1,999
Sydney £2,799

The ex-UK BA sale runs until July 6th.

BA ex-Europe offers

If you are based in Europe BA is still running its generous offer – book 1 Club World return or 4 Club Europe returns and get instant Silver status. On top of that they are also giving away bonus miles: 5-10k  per Club Europe return and 25-35k for a Club World return, depending on which country you live in. This offer expires Jun 30 – you need to register.

Belgium residents: book a Club World return with BA, get a free upgrade to First on one leg. Book by Jun 30, travel by Sep 5. This cannot be booked online – only via agents or phoning +32(0)2 717 3217.

Other UK Business Class Offers

As an alternative to BA you can always get a quote on Virgin Atlantic – who are already matching BA’s sale fares where their network overlaps.

Emirates has been running biz class companion fare deals (ends today Jun 10) with various far east Asian destinations (including Japan, China, Singapore) at under £2,100.

Air New Zealand has a business fare to Hong Kong for £2,099 – travel between Jul 1 and Sep 3, book by Jun 15.

Qantas has also started a business sale (matching BA) – with Bangkok and Singapore at £1,999 and Sydney at £2,799. Travel between Jul 15 and Aug 31, book by Jul 6.

Net Flights have the following business class offers from London (for June travel):

New York £1,431 with Swiss via Geneva
Bangkok £1,260 – BA to Amsterdam, China Airlines AMS to BKK
Bangkok £1,554 with Thai
Sydney £1,969 with China Airlines via Taipei

Air France will be operating its Airbus A380 between Paris CDG and London Heathrow this summer. You can try out business class on the big bird from £280 return (economy from £80 return). Flights run between Jun 12 and Aug 30 as follows:

Paris to London: AF1980 (departs 10:05)
London to Paris: AF1981 (departs 12:50)

Surprisingly, no alternatives (such as hiring coaches or even chartering an aircraft) have been put in place by Eurostar. Which leaves passengers to fend for themselves.

If you need to travel in the next few days consider the little-known United Airlines service which uses a wide-body Boeing 777 between Brussels and London Heathrow. Checking one-way prices on Expedia for Saturday 20th came back with £59 ex-BRU and £75 ex-LHR – far cheaper than any other airline.

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For the majority of passengers, flying long-haul in economy class is the uncomfortable reality. One of us recently had a nightmare economy flight experience – due to travel constraints we were unable to check-in online for a flight which was also completely full in all classes. At the airport we were left with a middle seat in the middle row – our first time there in many hundreds of flights taken.

The story then gets worse… to our left was a passenger of “size” who spilled over into our seat and promptly fell asleep for the whole flight, blocking our aisle access. Ahead of us was a young couple sitting on the bulkhead row who spent 90% of the flight with seats fully reclined. And behind us 2 noisy young kids who were kicking our seats literally all the way!

By some quirk of bad luck our row was also the very last to be served on both meal runs – and our first choice had run out on both occasions. However, at least the flight was on time and landed safely…

So here are some tips on surviving a long-haul flight in economy:

1. Choose your airline – If you find the standard economy class a bit cramped then consider using an airline with the higher economy seat pitch of 34″ – Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana, Air China – who all serve Asia, Europe, west coast US and Australia – and Royal Jordanian which serves the Middle East, east coast US, Europe and Asia.

2. Go premium economy – If you can’t afford a business class ticket but want a little more legroom (typically 38″) then consider a premium economy seat – offered by the likes of Air New Zealand, Qantas, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United, EVA Airlines, V Australia. EVA has some very reasonable premium economy fares from Amsterdam and Vienna to Bangkok and Taipei.

In the future we should see more advanced economy products – Air New Zealand already plan to install economy 3 seater rows that convert into beds.

3. Pick your seat BEFORE you get to the airport – Try to choose your seat assignment in advance. Some airlines such as British Airways, Qantas, KLM-Air France will now allow you to purchase the sought-after emergency  exit row seats beforehand. Alternatively you should always check-in online as soon as it opens, typically 24 hours ahead of flying to get the widest possible selection of seats – and thus avoid a middle seat “nightmare”.

4. Think about your body clock – If you are staying at your destination longer than a week then you should start adjusting your body clock a little in the days leading up to travel. For example, about a week before flying from say London to Hong Kong try to get up a bit earlier each successive day – this will bring your body clock slightly towards Hong Kong time. As soon as you get on board the aircraft set your watch to the destination time.

If you have a choice of flight times try to land at your destination in the late afternoon / early evening which means you can get to your accommodation, go for a light walk, have a meal and then go to bed.

5. Eat before flying – Consider eating a good meal a couple of hours before you get on board rather than eating in the air. Airline food is usually poor quality, loaded with preservatives and your digestion processes are slowed down which affects your capacity to rest well.

If you wish to stay awake however, you can delay the onset of sleep by not eating at all – this could be useful when travelling westwards.

6. Try to get comfy – OK, an economy class seat is generally quite cramped and uncomfortable and for many it is almost impossible to get any sleep.

Comfort also depends on personal preference. What do we do if in economy? Preferably have an empty seat next to us.  Wear loose fitting clothing, take our shoes off and put on the socks provided, put the pillow on the ground for our feet, bring our own neck pillow, use the blanket and eye shades. Turn off the entertainment screen. Change into a fresh pair of socks on landing.

7. Use noise cancelling headphones – We are currently using the JVC HANC250 headphones which reduces the ambient engine noise. Other recommended brands include Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and the Bose Quiet Comfort, although the Bose’s are relatively expensive. Test them out before purchasing as some phones can get uncomfortable if worn for longer periods.

8. Stay healthy on board – If you are awake make sure you stretch and get some exercise – get out of your seat and go for a walk every so often. Stay well hydrated, avoid sugar, caffeine and alcohol. To help you relax bring a small bottle of lavender oil and put a couple of drops of on your temples or the back of your neck. Do the same again when you get to your destination just before you go to bed.

9. Earn some miles – At least try to get some frequent flyer miles or points from your long-haul economy flight. Many airlines also offer double miles when booking on an affiliated card. (Check out our airline credit cards section for more info).  Save your miles up for a business class redemption on a quality carrier with flat bed seats!

Fare levels are not as low as some previous sale offers, but here’s a look at some standout fares. You might also check with Virgin Atlantic who normally match BA sale fares on overlapping routes.

BA Club World Offers – note, various travel dates apply.

Montego Bay £1,099
Doha £1,199
Muscat £1,199
Male £1,299
Bangalore £1,299
Delhi £1,299
Mumbai £1,399
Tampa £1,349
Orlando £1,349
Antigua £1,399
Barbados £1,399
Tobago £1,399
St Lucia £1,399
Montreal £1,549
Sydney £2,799

For completeness let’s take a quick look at current business class offers from various airlines for ex-London long-haul flights.

Lufthansa offers a business class trip deal to Johannesburg (via Frankfurt) for £1,419 for early April. If you are up for a trip to Cairo then fellow Star Alliance member EgyptAir will get you to Jo’burg for £1,215 in business  – fare bookable on Netflights.

Oneworld’s Finnair can get you to Beijing and Shanghai in business class from London via Helsinki for £1,685. Hong Kong is also available, at £1,689.

Etihad has a few decent Pearl Business Class offers from London Heathrow via Abu Dhabi – bookable by Feb 1st:

Delhi £1,199
Bangkok £1,329 (£1,281 on Netflights)
Jakarta £1,679
Sydney £2,899

Emirates has the following companion fare business class deals available (2 people must book together) via Dubai – available until Feb 1st:

Johannesburg  £1,648
Mauritius £1,649
Seychelles £1,653
Christchurch £2,739

You can fly with China Airlines business class via Taipei to Sydney from London from £1,713 via Netflights. China Airlines use Airbus A340 and A330s for this route.

So what’s on offer currently? Unfortunately nothing really outstanding – but lets summarise the market…

As always British Airways is holding its January sale to destinations worldwide – this runs until 26 January. Standout fares are:

Rome £49 one-way
Moscow £109 one-way
Cairo £269
Hyderabad £346
Mumbai £349
Nairobi £399
Montego Bay £399

Travel dates vary, check on BA’s site. Note, bmi currently has a “sale” fare to Moscow for £214 return.

Predictably Virgin Atlantic is also holding a sale with similar fares on routes that overlap. They also have a reasonable £669 economy fare to Sydney for travel between 16 April and 20 June. Premium economy is available at £1,148 for the same dates.

Emirates has a £592 fare to Perth, Australia from London Heathrow for travel between 20 April and 30 June. Book by 1 February. You can also fly to Sydney for £678 or Melbourne for £667.

Malaysian Airlines has sale fares to Sydney, Perth and Auckland for £639 – book until 18 January for travel between 15 April and 31 May.

The cheapest fare Down Under: Netflights has a £563 fare from London to Perth with Royal Brunei and £577 to Brisbane during April. An acquaintance recently flew with them to Oz and reported service was pretty good – just watch the layover connection time in Brunei as some of the cheaper fares can leave you waiting overnight at the airport. (There is also a refuelling stop in Dubai).

Air New Zealand has flights to Hong Kong for £417, book by 27 January and travel between 21 January and 31 March. Qantas can get you to HKG for £422 on similar dates. They also have a £613 fare to Perth, £659 to Melbourne and £668 to Sydney between 16 April and 20 June.

Swiss has some very limited availability fares from London: Mumbai £337, Hong Kong £396 and Shanghai £410.

KLM can get you to Kuala Lumpur for £465 and Singapore for £479, book by 1 February. Check dates on klm.com.

Air Transat-Thomas Cook have one-way flights from London Gatwick to Toronto (£129) and Vancouver (£149) – limited dates available. Note Air Transat uses an Airbus A310 whereas Thomas Cook operates A330 equipment.