Forget about loyalty when it comes to low fares
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Check out how bruisingly high typical Business Class fares to Europe have been: American Airlines’ Dallas-Frankfurt flight goes for around $3,552 to $6,700; Delta’s Atlanta-Paris pond hopper costs between $3,635 and $5,588; and United’s Houston-Frankfurt trip goes for $4,520 to $7,700. That’s three black eyes for anyone pulling out their wallet.
Similarly, high West Coast fares on American Airlines for Los Angeles-Paris cost between $4,478 and $6,200; on Delta for Los Angeles-Munich they go for $4,846 to $6,796; and on United for Los Angeles-Zurich prices range from $5,604 to $6,741. Gut punches, all of them.
Bob and weave!
Meanwhile, the Europe-via-Business Class schoolyard in the sky is getting angsty. Star Alliance and Oneworld have been swinging at each other with flash-fare fisticuffs. SkyTeam is lagging behind but it’s only a matter of time before they too fully join in the flash-fare fray. We say, bring it on!
We’ve started seeing flash fares under $3,000 from all over the U.S. to all over Europe, some as low as $2,451 on routes such as Los Angeles to Milan on the three major airlines, American, Delta, and United.
Judges have Oneworld clearly on top with the lowest First Class fares and three times more Business Class flash fare routes than Star Alliance, and 10 times more than SkyTeam from their own hub cities in the $2,400-$2,700 range.
Uppercut! Jab! Straight right!
United is trying to stand up to bullying behavior by offering more routes with flash fares from non-hub cities.
Clinch!
These are reasons to leave your loyalties behind. Airlines won’t blink an eye while they whack you in yours, so keep your guard up.
So what do these flash fares look like? We’ve highlighted some of these great flash fare trends below. Be sure to visit the FCF newsroom for more details on routes, airlines, and travel dates.
Champion Oneworld Business Class flash fares from hub cities
Fares under $2,400 fromNew York to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Seville, Rome, and Valencia
Fares of $2,401 to $2,700 from Los Angeles to Milan and Stockholm Charlotte to Milan Chicago to Paris Dallas to Paris Miami to Berlin, Cork, Dublin, Paris, and Prague New York to Athens, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Budapest, Copenhagen, Granada, Krakow, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Malta, Mykonos, Prague, Rome, Santorini, Seville, Thessaloniki, Valencia, and Warsaw Philadelphia to Prague Phoenix to Cork, Dublin, Madrid, Malaga, Paris, Prague, Seville, and Zurich
Fares between $2,701 and $3,000 from Los Angeles to Cork, Dublin, Malaga, and Valencia Chicago to Amsterdam, Budapest, Copenhagen, Granada, Lisbon, Prague, Seville, Valencia Dallas to Budapest, Copenhagen, Prague, and Vienna Miami to London New York to Bergen, Cork, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Marseille, Oslo, Paris Phoenix to Amsterdam, and Valencia Raleigh to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice, Rome, Venice, and Zurich
Prizewinning Star Alliance Business Class flash fares from hub cities
Fares under $2,400 fromHouston to Manchester New York to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, and Rome
Fares of $2,401 to $2,700 from Chicago to Paris New York to Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Malta, Seville, Thessaloniki, Valencia, and Warsaw Los Angeles to Milan and Stockholm
Fares between $2,701 and $3,000 from Chicago to Amsterdam, Bergen, Berlin, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Hamburg, Krakow, Lisbon, Paris, Prague, Seville, Valencia, Vienna, and Zagreb Houston to Amsterdam and Paris Los Angeles to Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Valencia, and Zagreb New York to Amsterdam, Belfast, Bergen, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Glasgow, Hamburg, Krakow, Lisbon, London, Marseille, Mykonos, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Santorini, Vienna, and Zagreb Washington, DC, to Amsterdam and London
Sorry, Star Alliance loyalty members, no low fares are offered from Denver or San Francisco hubs. Denver fares start around $3,200 to Paris and from $4,900 to Frankfurt. Meanwhile, San Francisco to London goes for $3,250 and to Zurich from around $4,091.
Last place SkyTeam Business Class flash fares from hub Cities
Fares under $2,400 fromNew York to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Naples
Fares of $2,401 to $2,700 from Boston to Geneva and London Cincinnati to Geneva and Munich New York to Bilbao, Geneva, Krakow, London, Malaga, Seville, Valencia, and Warsaw
Fares between $2,701 and $3,000 from Cincinnati to Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, and Venice Detroit to Berlin and Geneva Los Angeles to Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Milan New York to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bergen, Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Krakow, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Oslo, Stockholm, Valencia, and Warsaw Seattle to Barcelona, Dublin, and Lisbon
Sorry, SkyTeam loyalty members. No low fares are offered from hubs like Atlanta, which go for $3,400 to London and from $4,102 to Munich, and from Minneapolis to Frankfurt for $4,115, or from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam from $3,853 and to London from $4,079.
Ali Shuffle Fares
Here are some flash fare routes from departure cities all around the U.S., filtered by alliance.
Oneworld flash fares from departure cities around the U.S. for under $3,000
Atlanta to Paris Boston to Amsterdam, Belfast, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cork, Dubrovnik, Florence, Granada, Hamburg, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Malta, Marseille, Milan, Mykonos, Naples, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Porto, Prague, Riga, Rome, Seville, Stockholm, Valencia, and Venice Cincinnati to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Naples, Rome, and Zurich Orlando to Barcelona, Cork, Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Valencia, and Zurich Portland to Frankfurt Seattle to Barcelona Washington, DC, to London
Star Alliance flash fares from departure cities around the U.S. for under $3,000
Atlanta to Geneva Boston to Amsterdam, Belfast, Bergen, Berlin, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Florence, Glasgow, Hamburg, Krakow, Lisbon, London, Malta, Marseille, Milan, Mykonos, Naples, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Porto, Prague, Riga, Rome, Seville, Stockholm, Valencia, Vienna, and Zagreb Charlotte to Milan Dallas to Budapest, Copenhagen, Paris, Prague, Salzburg, and Vienna Detroit to Dublin Miami to Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Dublin, London, Paris, and Prague Minneapolis to Dublin and Munich Orlando to Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Madrid, Paris, and Zurich Phoenix to Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, and Zurich Portland to Dublin Raleigh to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice, and Zurich Seattle to Dublin and Lisbon
SkyTeam flash fares from departure cities around the U.S. for under $3,000
Charlotte to Milan Chicago to Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Paris, and Prague Dallas to Paris and Prague Miami to Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Paris, and Prague Orlando to Munich Phoenix to Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, and Zurich Raleigh to Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Nice, Venice, and Zurich Washington, DC, to London
Below-the-belt First Class fares
Oneworld First Class fares from New York to Barcelona go for $3,512 while on Star Alliance, they go for $10,639 and $11,306 on SkyTeam. New York to Madrid goes for $3,513 on Oneworld, from $10,640 on Star Alliance, and from $11,307 on SkyTeam. New York to Milan goes for $3,523 on Oneworld, from $6,541 on Star Alliance, and from $11,319 on SkyTeam. New York to Rome on Oneworld goes for $3,534, from $6,563 on Star Alliance, and $11,321 on SkyTeam. New York to Malta on Oneworld goes for $3,664 and from $6,670 on Star Alliance. And New York to Athens on Oneworld goes for $3,699, from $10,251 on Star Alliance, and from $11,319 on SkyTeam.
Are you feeling like a punching bag? If you recently paid too much for an upcoming trip, consider changing your ticket with the process we outline in our “don’t book backwards” report.
Not seeing fares to or from your destination? With a wide array of flash fares available, there are plenty of jumping off points to choose from if it’s something you can live with. You can also liven up your footwork by holding your stance or using positioning flights to avoid high-fare routes.
Here are some hot-off-the-press knockout deals:
Money > Barcelona > All Year > Biz Class > $2,259 to $3,189 R/T
Money > Munich > Spring > Biz Class > $2,595 to $3,195 R/T
Money > from Los Angeles to Europe > Winter/Spring > Biz Class > $2,451 to $3,207 R/T
Money > Scotland > All Year > Biz Class > $2,369 to $2,982 R/T
Money > London > Winter/Spring > Biz Class > $2,259 to $3,154 R/T
Money > Amsterdam > All Year > Biz Class > $2,452 to $3,179 R/T
Money > Lisbon > All Year > Biz Class > $2,736 to $3,053 R/T