They’re offering low First Class fares (starting at $3,591) to China, Japan, and South Korea with built-in upgrades from $500 to $2,000.
The leading Asian carriers (All Nippon, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Singapore) have set a high bar when it comes to First Class travel offering the best seats and in-flight experience, while charging a hefty price for their product, easily $10,000 to $30,000 round-trip from the U.S. to Asia.
While both American and United for years have charged almost the same for their inferior First Class cabins, finally both airlines have surrendered. Both are offering enormous First Class discounts through EasyUp Fares that come with upgrades from Business Class costing $500 to $2,000. See sample screenshot above. (Also see the August FCF report for details on the evolution of EasyUp Business and First Class fares to Europe.)
A Little History
Before December 2012, First Class fare discounts were seldom offered by either airline for travel to Asia. But then Delta introduced EasyUp fares to Europe, and a few amazing fares to Asia on American started to surface, but they were flash fares, in effect, and probably just pricing experiments.
New Asia First Class Fare (R)Evolution
Now, American and United have made these slashed fares standard on many routes to Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo, starting at $3,591 from the East Coast and $4,568 from the West Coast. Sometimes they even have a fare basis code containing the word “UP” to identify them: American’s is often INX5Q8D1/PAUP, United’s PFXGZEM1/UPDI.
American’s flat-price fare difference, between Business and First (a.k.a. an upgrade) starts as low as $500 (see screenshot above).
EasyUp Fare Perspective
The flat fare difference upgrade is $600 less than the cash co-pay AA charges to upgrade from Business to First Class with miles. (You’re also saving 50,000 miles if you snag one of these new fares on top of the $600 savings!)
On What Routes Can They Be Snagged?
The new First Class fares to Asia are currently offered on 60%+ of American and United routes we surveyed—currently to Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
Restrictions vary by route and airline; the fares are often valid year-round, but the bottom line is the same: The difference between Business Class and First is now unprecedentedly low—only $500 to $2,000 and available on numerous routes.
Lowest First Class Fares FCF Found
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U.S. Carriers Future?
American is already pulling First Class cabins on some aircraft and routes. Will it and United follow Delta’s contrail? Many years from now will U.S. airlines have abandoned First Class altogether? My guess is yes, but in the meantime U.S. airlines want fast cash, so selling seats cheaply is better than giving them away for miles.
Upgrade Mindset Bullets
- Asia doesn’t have seasonal First Class fare discounts like Europe, so don’t premise your search on a low season.
- Paying cash for these new fares is a better deal than using miles to upgrade from Business to First Class on American and United.
- On Asian carriers, however, using miles is usually a better deal, given that these carriers charge two or three times more than U.S. airlines for First Class and because their product in many cases is worth much more.
- When fares are low, mileage awards tend to get scarce, since you only have so many seats in the First Class cabin—especially as American and United increasingly prefer cash over miles.
- There are more ‘UP’ fares than straight upgrade inventory.
- These new fares are not valid on codeshare flights.
15 Non-Stop First Class Fares to Asia
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Not Flying to China, Japan, or South Korea? Then Consider a Two-Ticket Strategy
Connect the dots: Ok, so lower fares are now offered to four major Asian cities, but if you’re flying somewhere else in Asia? It’s not like you can rent a car and drive from Seoul to Singapore.
The answer is simple: Buy a second ticket—the “Two-Ticket Strategy”. Use the new low First Class fares to get to Asia, and then buy a second ticket to your destination. Not only do you lower the cost, but you also get a second city (the stopover) for free.
Two Ticket Strategy Example
Boston-Shanghai in First Class is $3,823 on American, and a connection from Shanghai to Hong Kong costs $1,196 round-trip in Business Class, for a total of $5,019. Buy the same ticket on Cathay Pacific and a First Class ticket is $18,854, a difference of $13,835 / 73%.