Australia

Discount Business Class Travel Strategy: The Circle Pacific Airfare

Share Print Newsletter RSS Add This

Business and First Class airfares from the US to Australia are among the highest in the world, but there are still a few strategies for scoring discount Business Class travel.

When flying trans-Pacific, the cheapest way to get from destination A to destination B and back may be to fly in a circle, specifically with a “Circle Pacific” Business Class airfare strategy.

These fares require at least one stop in the North Pacific and one in the south (Australia and/or New Zealand) They’re tailor-made for the executive who has to hopscotch around the Pacific Rim or who wants to cap a business trip with a few days of leisure travel.

If you're not already a First Class Flyer subscriber, click here to receive a FREE TRIAL ISSUE

And they’re flexible -- only the first flight leg has to be booked before departure, plus, they’re usually far cheaper (20% to 60%) than many point-to-point itineraries.

Here’s how you can use Circle Pacific for Discount Business Class travel to Australia.

Qantas’ round-trip Business Class airfare from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Sydney can be as much as $14,473, while a Business Class Circle Pacific fare is $4,979. In order to save the difference -- $9,494 –- you need to make two stops in cities like Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Tokyo on the return. That’s not much of a sacrifice for obtaining discount business class travel to Australia.

Alternatively, a round-trip in Business Class from New York to Sydney on Qantas/American (Oneworld) costs $11,458. The Circle Pacific fare is $5,062, a savings of $6,396.

Honolulu qualifies as a stop-over on this itinerary. That’s not much of a sacrifice for obtaining discount business class travel to Australia either!

If you're not already a First Class Flyer subscriber, click here to receive a FREE TRIAL ISSUE