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BEST FARES FOUND IN BUSINESS CLASS IN 2023 MARCUSGB
Post Covid, it seems that airline fares have doubled, particularly to Asia and Australia.
I’ve found some fares on KLM/Air France (my main frequent flyer programme carriers) for £1,750 return from the UK to Cuba and Columbia. Most fares are more than £2,200 to that region.
For a journey down to Australia in June, I first got a return on Air France LHR-CGK via CDG and SIN (on Garuda) for a total of £1,850. A fare to Bali was £2,850!
Then there was a sale on Malaysia Airlines with a third off, so from CGK via
KUL to SYD it was £1,200 return in business class. (It also credited my Flying Blue frequent flyer programme, as Malaysia Airlines codeshares with KLM and Air France.) So, my return to Australia was £3,050 in total. What is your treasured deal this year?
SIMON
Last summer I booked LHR-Nairobi out on KLM, returning on Air France at Easter this year. It was a shade under £1,500.
CHRIST
My best fare was in March: Cathay A350 flat bed – ICN to HKG; BA A350 – flat bed – HKG to LHR; BA Boeing 777 – flat bed (less good) LHR to HKG. It was about £1,800. Seems that starting from Seoul knocked the price down massively.
RFERGUSON2
I have turned to purchasing points when significant promos are offered and then redeeming them immediately for flights.
As an example: Air Canada’s Aeroplan recently had a promotion with a 110 per cent bonus on purchased points. I booked SQ Melbourne-Singapore-Bangkok for 45,000 Aeroplan points, which cost me around £550 one way. I also booked Gulf Air Bangkok-Bahrain-Manchester for 80,000 points, which cost around £800 one way.
Buying points for redemption also essentially becomes a semi-flexible fare. Aeroplan allows cancellations up to two hours before travel for CAD$200 and LifeMiles has a sliding scale for cancellations. The downside is finding availability and obviously you don’t accrue points/ miles. I only buy points when I see that the flights I want are available.
ANDREWINHK
My best fare was in June: Qatar Airways HKG to MXP, returning from MUC via Doha, for £2,300.
FRANCESCABARNES
I’m very happy with my JetBlue Mint flight from my home airport LGW to JFK for £1,249. I usually go from Dublin, as even with the cost of the flight there and overnight hotel, it still works out cheaper.
ALISTAIRNICOLL
Back in July 2022, I picked up a bargain fare for March 2023 with Austrian Airlines, from Manchester to Bangkok return for £1,540.
AJDC
A trip to Germany from NYC in September. Several weeks ago, I purchased a business class return ticket for the trip on Singapore Airlines for US$2,500. Lufthansa had the same routing for US$4,600.
MARTYNSINCLAIR
Best ticket purchase this year has been two Club Europe tickets from Gatwick to Malta (return), using points and a two-for-one voucher, for £50 each – purchased four months in advance. The regular fare for the same flights was in excess of £1,000 each.
SUPERCHRIS
My trip is somewhat ‘around the houses’ but I need to go to Dubai, India and Singapore this autumn. I used air miles for Royal Jordanian to Dubai, Saudia for Dubai via Jeddah to Delhi (£280), Sri Lankan Airlines for Delhi via Colombo (£250), then finally Qatar Airways for Singapore back to UK on Avios. All in business class.
ALANORTON1
MXP-SIN and HKG-LHR in October with Qatar Airways, with minimal transit at DOH. Substantial saving versus starting the journey in LHR. I’m looking forward to the Q Suite, which I think just edges the new Finnair seat in business class and BA’s Club World suite.
SENATOR
Prices have certainly gone up, but there are still superb finds from Stockholm (ARN and BMA). The Caribbean is a good spot…
American Airlines have round trip fares excluding taxes and fees to NAS, UVF and SKB for £1,512 (business) and £2,192 (first).
The beauty here is you can book one day in advance, only stay for 24 hours and use the 23 hours 59 minutes rule in transit [anything over 24 hours counts as a stopover and tickets may cost more]. Works with both American Airlines and BA metal across the pond. I did NAS a few years back when I needed a short visit in NYC on two different days the same week. Then I could turn around on NAS the same day.
I miss paying £2,000 for two tickets to Singapore with Qatar Airways like in 2017. Those were the days…
I miss paying £2,000 for two tickets to Singapore with Qatar Airways like in 2017. Those were the days…