The $15,000 Business Class fare to the South Pacific is an endangered species. On January 7, United introduced a 90-day advance-purchase Business Class fare, starting at $4,278 (round-trip, plus taxes) from Los Angeles. (The fare is also available from most other US cities; for details visit http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,50066,00.html ) That is going to put pressure on the little cartel plying this route—Air New Zealand and Qantas—to lower prices.
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Selected Business Class seats available on the Los Angeles-Sydney Route
[caption id="attachment_5136" align="aligncenter" width="270"]
Delta’s B777-200ER
Seat Pitch: 44”
Seat Recline: 180°
Seat Width: 20” (26” in bed mode)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_5137" align="aligncenter" width="278"]
Qantas’ A380
Seat Pitch: 80”
Seat Recline: 180°
Seat Width: 21.5” (24” in bed mode)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_5138" align="aligncenter" width="294"]
United’s B747 (new)
Seat Pitch: 77”
Seat Recline: 180°
Seat Width: 19” (23.5” in bed mode)
Rollout complete in October, 2009[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_5140" align="aligncenter" width="272"]
V Australia’s B777-300ER
Seat Pitch: 77”
Seat Recline: 180°
Seat Width: 20” (26” in bed mode)[/caption]
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Moreover, competition to the South Pacific is increasing, which is going to deepen the crack in the cozy fare structure. In February, V Australia begins offering non-stop Los Angeles-Sydney service, and Delta follows suit with service launching in July.
Right now V Australia has a promotional Business Class fare from Los Angeles starting at $7,777 (round-trip, plus taxes) with a ticketing deadline of February10th—otherwise it is $12,000 or more. We’re betting that the carrier will offer a competitive 50-day advance fare by early spring.
V Australia is part of the Virgin Blue Group, and its mileage program is called Velocity. Members earn Velocity points based on distance flown, with Business Class tickets earning two Velocity points per mile. A round-trip ticket from LAX to Sydney is about 14,990 miles; members who fly Business Class would earn 29,980 points. Velocity charges 188,000 points for a Business Class award ticket.
Delta has already matched United’s 50-day round-trip fare of $8,000 from Los Angeles (for travel beginning in July). Look for the carrier to take the next step and match United’s 90-day advance promo fare, cutting the ticket price in half again to around $4,000.
We predict that by year-end, travelers wanting to save money will no longer have to make a connection in Fiji or Tahiti or buy a 2-for-1 (Air New Zealand).
United Mileage Plus members booking the new fare earn 150% EQMs and 100% redeemable miles (see Jan 09, pg. 9 for EQM information). That means a round-trip Los Angeles-Sydney ticket earns nearly enough miles to upgrade a domestic round-trip ticket. United Airlines is a Star Alliance member, same as Air Canada and US Airways.
The Booking Playbook
• If you’re flying United to Sydney, depart from San Francisco rather than L.A. On that route some United B747s are outfitted with the new lie-flat seat (see this link for updates: http://suitedreams.united.com); by October 2009, all United’s B747s should have the new lie-flat seat.• If you’re traveling last-minute, your best bet is a 2-for-1 on Air New Zealand via Amex.
• If money is no object and you’d like to fly Qantas’ new Airbus 380, you can still earn American AAdvantage program miles and work toward elite status thanks to both carriers being part of the oneworld alliance.
• And if you’re not permitted to fly Business Class, go for Premium Economy on Qantas ($3,878 r/t, plus taxes) or V Australia ($2,777 r/t, plus taxes, ticketing deadline is February 10th).
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