If you have Business Class transcons planned, you may well be able to trim the cost by thousands. Exactly how is spelled out in Transcon Business Class Fare & Strategy Deep Dive—see the latest First Class Flyer.
JetBlue, as we predicted, has now forced American, United and Delta to radically ratchet down their Business Class fares. They now match (almost) JetBlue’s $1,196. But the three amigos have stopped short of matching JetBlue’s ‘no minimum stay’ requirement advantage. Accordingly, the traveler who cannot afford the time for a mandatory stopover overpays—big time. It can cost several times more to fly Business Class if JetBlue is not for you.
Ah, but there’s a very lucrative, perfectly legitimate way around that ‘mandatory Saturday-night stay’ for the transcon traveler with more than one trip on the horizon.
The transcon feature explains why. And much more.
Even with no transcons planned, the feature’s three pages may well be worth a read… just to hone the airficionado mindset. There’s so much to know about the convoluted pricing on these routes, and the tricks a little concentration can reveal.
(A trick not just for the transcon traveler is FCF’s Stopover Loophole Strategy: interesting to both flexible leisure and business travelers.)