Big Ben, Small Fare: British Airways’ cheap London layover for Business or First Class travel breaks UP your trip nicely.
Keen readers will know we’ve been, as the British say, “banging on” about the Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS) in these pages.
Why the British? Very glad you asked, mate. This month we look at the SLS specifically with a British Airways bent, which opens up a whole range of destinations all over the globe. SLS is a tried-and-true FCF favorite strategy, which is made even more desirable by the fact that you can throw in a stop in lovely London for an unbelievably small amount of bees and honey (money). As good as these Business Class deals via London are, we’ll also show you how to save even more with two other discounts. Plus, we’ll give you a taste of how the SLS to London can work for those of you hankering to fly in First Class.
WHAT IS THE STOPOVER LOOPHOLE STRATEGY AGAIN,
AND HOW DO I USE IT WITH BRITISH AIRWAYS?
The Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS) has been popular with FCF readers for a while now. We reported on it here, here, and here, and most recently with Etihad here. This month, ladies and gentlemen, we present British Airways.
Here’s a recap of the strategy: For a small fee, some airlines allow a stopover in their hub city on published Business Class fares, and British Airways is one of them. Mind you, some airline’s hub cities are kind of boring (don’t tell anyone we said that). But British Airways just happens to have a world-famous humdinger of a hub: London.
Piccadilly Circus. Westminster Abbey. Big Ben. Harrods. Savile Row. Etc.
This means you can book a “stopover” in London (for days, weeks or months) for a small fee before traveling on to your primary destination.
Is the SLS Worth it?
This strategy for British Airways means you actually get London (which means all of Europe is a hop, skip or jump away) for a small fee as a second destination. You thereby avoid buying a second ticket for Europe and save thousands of dollars, while traveling to Africa, Asia, India, or the Middle East, or even elsewhere in Europe for that matter.
Business Class SLS Examples by Region on British Airways
Africa/Europe: Let’s say you want to travel from Los Angeles to Johannesburg and the lowest Biz Class fare is $3,711 round-trip with BA. Now, for $3,968, you can fly Los Angeles to Johannesburg and stop in London. So, “loopily,” for $257 more, you still get to Johannesburg, plus you get London.
Asia/Europe: How about this, guv: You live in New York and are desperate for Tom Yum Soup–in Bangkok–and the lowest Business Class fare is $4,908 with BA. Now, for $5,142, you can fly New York to Bangkok and stop in London, just $252 more.
India/Europe: Suppose you’re a Texan hankering for some Mumbai curry. Dallas to Mumbai at the lowest Business Class fare is $3,048 round-trip with BA. Now, for $3,300, you can fly Dallas to Mumbai and stop in London.
Two European cities: Let’s say you want to travel from New York to Athens and the lowest Biz Class fare is $2,046 round-trip with BA. Now, for $2,292 (just $246 more), you can fly New York to Athens and stop in London.
Middle East/Europe: New Yorkers heading to Abu Dhabi discover the lowest Business Class fare is $4,069 round-trip with BA. Now, for $4,308, you can fly New York to Abu Dhabi and stop in London.
How to Book
You can price the flight itinerary via google flight’s “Multi-city trip” search, but it won’t take you to the BA website with flights and dates in place, so you’ll have to manually request the flights on the BA website via the “Multi-city” search option.
Enter your departure and arrival cities, dates, and class of service based on the google flight search you did, and click on “Get flights.” Then select the flights on the next screen with the header “Choose your flights.” After selecting your flights, click “continue,” and you will see your total fare cost. For example, the Google flight cost for the flight in our first example (Los Angeles to Johannesburg, stopping in London) was $3,968. On the BA website the total cost is $3,967.
AARP and Chase Discounts
British Airways’ SLS Business Class fares are also eligible for the AARP discount (anyone of any age can join for $16), whereby members save up to $200 on fares booked on British Airways. For example, the Los Angeles to Johannesburg fare with a stopover in London is $3,967 on the BA website, but with the AARP discount the cost drops to $3,767.
Plus, you can get an additional savings of 10% off with the British Airways Visa card, using the promo code CHASEBA10. This brings the cost down to $3,390 for a Business Class ticket from Los Angeles to Johannesburg with a stopover in London. Bloody brilliant, old chap.
First Class SLS on BA Example
The stopover in London also works for BA’s First Class fares. For example, New York-Singapore’s lowest First Class fare is $7,421 round-trip with BA. Now, for $7,661, you can fly New York to Singapore and stop in London for $240 more.