Were architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe alive today and traveling to meet clients around the world, he would probably amend his famous phrase “less is more” to “less is more of a headache.” Because if air travel was a borderline experience before the fiscal crisis, it’s taken a dive since, as airlines reduce service and cut various seat inventories in reaction to the decline in business travel.
Cutting inventory can be as simple as substituting a B757 (16 Business Class seats) for a B767 (30 Business Class seats) on the Paris-New York route, as American has done on one flight. That seemingly slight change alone reduces the number of Business Class seats available for upgrading and free award travel, while also reducing the volume of discounted seats, therefore driving up fares.
All of which means you have to approach flying as a battle, with strategy set and tactics in hand. Here are 10 things you can do to make more of less.
Stay Abreast of New Routes: Inventory is shrinking, but airlines are still expanding their networks in places, and announcing seasonal service. American flies Boston to St. Thomas from Nov. 19 through Apr. 30, part of its jump up in service to the Caribbean and Mexico during high season. Many airlines also offer seasonal service to Europe. Delta started flying from New York to Zurich in June and will do so through Oct. 23. Learn about new flights quickly through an airline’s loyalty-program newsletter or press room page online. Click on the links below for examples.
American Continental Delta United US Airways
Use First Class Awards: Yes, they cost more than Business Class ones, but they can open up more inventory. And in some cases the increase isn’t great: American charges 50,000 miles one-way for a Business Class award to Europe, and 62,500 for First Class. You can easily buy the extra 12,500 miles from American for only $325 (plus taxes and fees). United charges 120,000 miles for a round-trip Business Class award to Japan, and 135,000 for First Class, making the cost of the extra miles only $519 (including taxes and fees). Not only is the difference between the two cabins night and day, but you also get a much better return rate on your miles with a First Class award, since most First Class tickets cost well over $10,000, while Business Class can often be about $3,000.
Resort to Combination Awards: You can do this in three different ways: Booking two different cabins (First Class one way, Business the other); two different award types (saver award one way, anytime award the other); or one-way awards (with two different airlines). You have to do a bit of homework as not every airline allows all three.
The best airlines for the two-different-cabin approach are Air France, All Nippon, American, and British Airways, as they allow you to book the front cabins and charge accordingly— half of a Business Class award and half of a First Class award. Continental, Delta, and Northwest allow combining of economy and Business Class awards, because they do not offer First Class service. The two-different-award-type plan works on American, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and US Airways. For example, with Delta use a discounted American Continental Delta award on the departure and an unrestricted award on the return.
The one-way award is valid on Alaska, American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Virgin Atlantic. Here’s a great option when an airline has limited space: use a one-way award on American for your departure, and book the return one-way award via British Airways or Virgin.
Know Your Airline Partners: Familiarize yourself with your alliance members and your preferred carrier’s nonalliance partners. Try every possible routing, even those that involve making a connection. It’s the long-haul flight that matters most. Also keep in mind that three of the six major U.S. airlines—Continental, Delta, and Northwest—offer partner award availability via their websites, a convenient way to search for award space. Through Continental’s website you can check on Air France, Alaska Airlines, Delta, and Northwest. This will change in October when Continental changes from SkyTeam to the Star Alliance.
[aside headline="Know Who Offers the Best Last Resort" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Consider an anytime award, which on average costs double to triple the miles of a saver award. Who has the lowest anytime awards? For Europe, it’s US Airways at only 160,000 miles, the lowest by far. Go for it when Business Class fares are high. Starwood points can easily be transferred to US Airways.[/aside]
Know Your Aircraft: If you have to wait-list, go for the aircraft that has the larger Business Class cabin. For example, United offers three flights from Washington, DC to Frankfurt: Two on B777s and one on a B767. The former offers 49 Business Class seats, while the latter has only 26. The same holds true on most other airlines: American’s B767 has 30 Business Class seats, while the B757 only has 16 seats. Continental’s B777 has 50 seats versus the 16 on its B757, used on Newark to London flights.
Be Flexible on Flight Schedules: Consider a morning flight to Europe: As few business travelers want to spend a day in the air, these flights often have better award availability than overnight ones. Our research shows that award and upgrade availability over the next 11 months is about 65% greater on American’s morning Chicago-London departure at 9:05 a.m. (AA90) than the two later flights at 5:05 p.m. (AA86) and 8:15 p.m. (AA46). This can also work to your advantage when making a connection because, on international itineraries, a stop of less then 24 hours is counted as a connection, not a stopover.
Look for the Long-Haul Flight Segment First: That’s because it’s often the domestic connection that makes it difficult to get an upgrade or award seat, as domestic aircraft usually have smaller front cabins than international ones. For example, if you are flying from Boise (which has no international non-stop service) to Frankfurt, look for departures from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, or even farther afield if those don’t work, such as New York or Miami. If you can’t get an award seat on the connecting flight, buy a separate ticket. Also, check subsidiary airports such as Newark Liberty and London Gatwick.
Try for an Upgrade or One Free Seat: Most airlines usually offer more upgrades than free-seat inventory. With an upgrade you also earn miles and elite status based on the economy fare paid. Also, if only one award seat is available, be flexible and book the other tickets as upgrades, or as discounted Business Class tickets. One mileage seat is better than none.
Know Your Airline’s Advance Booking Window: For U.S. carriers, it ranges from 329 to 337 days: American has the shortest window (329 days), Continental the longest (337 days). In between are Alaska, Delta/Northwest, and United (331), and US Airways (334). Your odds of getting an upgrade increase when booking as early as possible. And book the outbound flight even if you don’t have the return. Ask the reservationist to “hold” the outbound seat(s) until you can confirm the return segment. If you have to, book a dummy return flight—as long as you can change it later without incurring too high a fee for changing the booking and redepositing the miles.
Try the Double-Booking Strategy: Buy two economy tickets on two different airlines to double the chances of an upgrade. Save the unused economy ticket for your next trip and pay the change fee, which is likely much cheaper than buying an international Business Class or domestic First Class ticket.