Business Class Fare Sale to Europe 2019 Going on Now!

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Freedom56

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For those who don't want to suffer while travelling overseas, Expedia has some great deals going on now on business class travel. My credit card gives 5% rebate to the end of this month on airline tickets. So I booked tickets to Florida for December/January. Then I thought would see what was available for next Spring for Europe and I found Business Class fares from LAX to GVA via LHR on Virgin Atlantic and British Airways for $2912 each. So with the 5% rebate this month the deal is even better.

There are many other destinations available. Fares are lower from the East coast (JFK and others). You can search with Google Flights but the actual fare is higher by $300 by the time you select your dates versus the fare calendar on Google Flights. Kayak correctly indicates the fare. The minimum stay is for 4 days and the maximum goes out 2 months. The fares start in December 2018 and ends mid June 2019. Oddly enough, you can only get this deal through Expedia. If you search through Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, the price doubles. This is for a non-refundable business. These aren't wacky tickets with 27 hours travel and multiple stops either. They are real business class tickets with lie flat seats on the trans-Atlantic leg and regular business class within Europe. This is the deal we got.

Departure Leg

5:15 PM
Los Angeles International Airport LAX
Travel time: 10h 30m
Overnight
11:45 AM+1
Heathrow Airport LHR
Virgin Atlantic
Business Class
Boeing 787
VS 8
Lie flat seat
Wi-Fi
In-seat power & USB outlets

British Airways 732
London (LHR)
2:00pm
Terminal: 5
Geneva (GVA)
4:45pm
Terminal: 1
Cabin: Business (D)
1h 45m duration


Return Leg

7:25 AM
Geneva Airport GVA
Travel time: 1h 45m
8:10 AM
Heathrow Airport LHR
British Airways
Business Class
Airbus A320
BA 723

11:35 AM
Heathrow Airport LHR
Travel time: 11h 10m
2:45 PM
Los Angeles International Airport LAX
Virgin Atlantic
Business Class
Boeing 787
VS 7

Traveler 1: Adult $2,912.74
Flight $1,752.00
Taxes & Fees $1,160.74
Traveler 2: Adult $2,912.74
Flight $1,752.00
Taxes & Fees $1,160.74
Expedia Booking Fee $15.00

Total $5,840.48
 
Thanks for the heads up. Just booked a trip for next Spring at less than a third of the price I had been looking at.
 
You have a good eye for a bargain. Checked a Tuesday flight out of LAX, and they're quoting $652 for your itinerary--back in steerage. That's great.
 
I'm not going to risk back, neck, knee, ankle pain, and DVT sitting in steerage. We consider it preventive care to mitigate medical problems. Pay now or pay later.

We flew back on Virgin Atlantic a couple of weeks ago on business class (upper class). The seats on their 787 are much bigger and are only three to a row. Plus they have a nice self serve bar in their upper class cabin to unwind and socialize. I also like their cabin lighting. We paid $3750 each for our 2018 trip just for the leg from LAX to London and that was a good price. But $2912 each all the way to Geneva was one of the lowest business class fares we have booked for this route in the past 20 years. Plus Virgin is a premium carrier. We spend about 2-3 months a year in Europe now so this fare sale worked out well for us. We have a well furnished home there so we don't have to worry about hotel costs other than for short trips we take while we are there. We also have a car, bikes, and scooters which also saves us rental expenses. So our biggest expense is the air fare.
 

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Yeah, I was impressed last year with the Virgin lounge at LHR. One of the best I've been in, so that's another plus for them.
 
I had trouble with British Airways business class. I think the cushion is not thick enough for me. I had to go to massage therapist on my way back. Somehow I didn’t have problem on the way out. Maybe it’s much longer flight on the way back. It’s Airbus, not Boeing 787. But I get companion ticket from British Airways, if not I would go with Virgin Airways.
 
I'm too cheap to book business class, but I did just book flights from Detroit to Aberdeen (Scotland) for $620 for next April/May. Those have been consistently double that the last few years.
 
trirod said:
I'm too cheap to book business class, but I did just book flights from Detroit to Aberdeen (Scotland) for $620 for next April/May. Those have been consistently double that the last few years.
Click to expand...

I am auditing some classes at a local University. I am 58 and retired last year. Sitting next to me was an older gentlemen perhaps in his early 80s. We got to talking and I told him I recently retired. He inquired about travel plans and asked if I was flying first class.

I responded similar to the above saying I was too cheap to fly first or business class. His response:

"Let me tell you something young man. If you don't fly first class your children surely will".

On trips to Europe, I have bought business class tickets for my wife and I ever since.
 
OP and others. Thanks.

We are in the middle of a trip to Europe. We flew Virgin Atlantic (Delta code share), and did the cabin between livestock and lie flats. While definitely better than the scary end of the plane, it was still very uncomfy for DW.

It is hard to fork over ~$3K (PP) for flights, but I'm getting on board. I think our travel years window is short. Damn the torpedoes, flat beds it is!
 
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Fedup said:
I had trouble with British Airways business class. I think the cushion is not thick enough for me. I had to go to massage therapist on my way back. Somehow I didn’t have problem on the way out. Maybe it’s much longer flight on the way back. It’s Airbus, not Boeing 787. But I get companion ticket from British Airways, if not I would go with Virgin Airways.
Click to expand...

On Virgin the flight attendant made our beds with a nice pillow top over the seat while we were at the bar talking to people. I like the seats and having your feet open like a bed. We have flown British Airways business and first class a few times. We had no problems with the seat or service but Virgin is much better. The Virgin lounge at London Heathrow is really nice as someone has already stated.

We also used to fly Virgin America to Florida several time a year. That service was great but now that Alaska air has taken over, the service went downhill so we switched to JetBlue Mint which is really nice for domestic travel.
 
Red Badger said:
OP and others. Thanks.

We are in the middle of a trip to Europe. We flew Virgin Atlantic (Delta code share), and did the cabin between livestock and lie flats. While definitely better than the scary end of the plane, it was still very uncomfy for DW.

It is hard to fork over ~$3K (PP) for flights, but I'm getting on board. I think our travel years window is short. Damn the torpedoes, flat beds it is!
Click to expand...

Forking out about $3K (PP) is better than forking out $8-12K for the same seat. When I was working, my company would pay $8-12K for these seats without even blinking. I won't do that. Just tell yourself that you can't take your money with you and the only thing that matters now is your comfort, safety, health and happiness.
 
Unfortunately, neither we or our kids will be flying first class anytime soon:))
 
looks like it's back to regular fares. $4660 ea pax RT

will keep my google fu updated
 
Glad to see I am not the only retired person who flies biz class, at least on long flights. I am 6-2 and most coach seats have my knees banging into the seat in front of me. And my wife has a bad back. We only have a few more trans-ocean trips in us so I figure why not be comfortable on them?
 
The more of you that purchase business class tickets, the less chance we have to non-rev in the same class. :)
 
Scrapr said:
looks like it's back to regular fares. $4660 ea pax RT

will keep my google fu updated
Click to expand...

No the sale is still on. There are only about 2 business (upper) class seats per flight with the reduced fares. Just pick another day. You can fly from ATL to MUC via LHR for $2592 return on business class on Virgin Atlantic and BA. That is a great price. Seat sales for business class usually start in October but it seems like Expedia is getting a jump on those discount fares early.

For economy fares you can fly from LAX to BCN for $361 return on American Airlines which is unbelievable but self inflicted torture.

https://www.google.com/flights#flt=...1;c:USD;e:1;sd:1;t:f;sp:.USD.40151*.USD.40151
 
I don't mean to be thick, but how does one go about booking these? I looked on Google Flights, and found a first class trip from MIA to LIS that we had been thinking about. $10,500 on the Swiss website, shows at $6,500 on Google. Expedia doesn't have any Swiss flights at all, but does have similar flights on Lufthansa metal. Do you still get all frequent flyer benefits with these tickets? Even if not, it would still be a great deal.


Edited to add, I posted before I saw the little "Book with United" button on Google Flights. Doing so takes me to the United site to complete the booking. Interestingly, going directly to United.com does not show the same flights. I'm thinking if booked this way, would earn MileagePlus miles.
 
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I am too frugal to fly business class and frankly given my travel budget it would reduce the number of trips I could take. However, I do see the appeal of business class. Recently on a return trip from London Heathrow, we were on a Virgin Atlantic (Delta code share) flight. We were in the far back of the plane in steerage. It was the least populated flight that I ha been on in years. The flight attendant told us we could change seats after we were in the air. DH stayed in his assigned seat but I moved a couple of rows and took over four interior seats. Put the arm rests down, took several pillows and had my very own comfy, lie flat seat. I expect that particular flight will be eliminated unless it sells better in the future.
 
45th Birthday said:
I don't mean to be thick, but how does one go about booking these? I looked on Google Flights, and found a first class trip from MIA to LIS that we had been thinking about. $10,500 on the Swiss website, shows at $6,500 on Google. Expedia doesn't have any Swiss flights at all, but does have similar flights on Lufthansa metal. Do you still get all frequent flyer benefits with these tickets? Even if not, it would still be a great deal.


Edited to add, I posted before I saw the little "Book with United" button on Google Flights. Doing so takes me to the United site to complete the booking. Interestingly, going directly to United.com does not show the same flights. I'm thinking if booked this way, would earn MileagePlus miles.
Click to expand...


You get all your points plus the bonus for travelling business class. When you book with Expedia, you have to use the booking reference code that Expedia provides for the airline. You then have to go to the airline site and select "manage my bookings" (or equivalent option) and used the book reference code to select your seats and input your frequent flyer number.

When you use Google flights or Kayak, the link will take you to the airline or 3rd party offering the deal. You can input all your information then. Google and Kayak make their money from the referral. You get all your points.
Keep in mind that these are non-refundable flights and changes will cost money. If you want a fully refundable business class ticket, you are looking at the $10000 price range per ticket.

Seat sales on Swiss business class do not start until October/November for spring travel. You should never pay more than $4000 (PP) for business class from Miami to Europe. We have flown from MIA to GVA via ZRH on Swiss for $3450 per person. Our condo is in Palm Beach County so every once in a while we fly to Europe out of MIA.

By the way you can fly MIA to LIS via TAP Air Portugal on business for about $2800 return. However, it's a lousy airline so you get what you pay for. I flew it once a long long time ago and never again. On the plus side it's a direct flight.
 
Thanks for the information. These are first class tickets, not business class. This is a trip in May. We love Swiss first class service and TAP doesn't come close to measuring up. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why they let you book these fares through a third party site but do not offer them directly. At any rate, your suggestion will completely change how we go about searching for fares!
 
I'm trying to get business class from Dulles (or any DC airport) to Catania, Italy (Sicily) but prices are $6K for or more for dates in May. We're completely flexible on the dates I thought maybe splitting the trip and going to Rome then hopping a flight to Catania would be better but that's even higher. Every search seems to have higher and higher fares. Am I missing something on how to do this?
 
charais said:
I'm trying to get business class from Dulles (or any DC airport) to Catania, Italy (Sicily) but prices are $6K for or more for dates in May. We're completely flexible on the dates I thought maybe splitting the trip and going to Rome then hopping a flight to Catania would be better but that's even higher. Every search seems to have higher and higher fares. Am I missing something on how to do this?
Click to expand...

The best deals are going to be from the busiest airports here (ATL, ORD, LAX, DFW, JFK, LAS etc...) to popular destination hubs in Europe (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome). Business class seat sales start in October/November for the following spring travel season and then again in January/February for the summer travel season. This has been going on for over 10-15 years. Right now, Virgin Atlantic and Air Lingus started their sales. The other airlines will join in a few weeks.
In your case, I would break the ticket. Fly business class to London, Paris, Geneva, or Milan on business class and then fly Easyjet from that hub in Europe to Catania.

A good idea is to monitor the following Flyertalk premium fare deal page for business class ticket sales:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/

You should be able to get some good deals. Flights to/from Europe (at least from LAX) are flying half empty these days, although business class is normally full.
 
Thanks! I will watch the web site, break up the trip and try again!
 
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