Our analysts compared hundreds of First and Business Class fares from 2008 and 2009 on major U.S. routes to ascertain how First Class summer travel has changed since last year. Are restrictions, such as minimum and maximum stay or advance-purchase requirements vastly different? Is the mass media contention that airlines are giving away First and Business Class seats for next to nothing true? Have domestic First Class fares really gone down?
Research shows that fares for many domestic First and Business Class routes have increased from 10% to 21%. If you bought a First Class ticket in July 2008, for travel in August 2008, from New York to Los Angeles on Delta you would have paid $1,718. This year, that same ticket costs $2,168, a difference of $450, a 21% increase. Comparing this to Delta’s New YorkLondon route (a little more than an hour longer in flight time) is enlightening. Delta’s Business Class fare ranges from $1,600 to $1,800—$300-$500 less than Delta’s trans-con route.
A few routes, such as Detroit-Miami, have even seen greater increases. Last year a ticket on American was $458 in First Class. Now that same seat will cost you $688, a 33% increase.
With domestic premium fares on the rise, using program miles can reduce your cost and increase your return. This is the time to spend them.
Research shows that domestic First Class fares have had minor restriction changes—some of them to your benefit. In some markets, New York to Los Angeles, for instance, the advancepurchase window has decreased from 21 days to 14. Routes that required no advance purchase have not changed. Minimum - and maximum-stay requirements have not changed either, with most routes having no restrictions on either.