Five Ways to Get Transcons at Up 80% Off in First and Business Class
The Transcon, flights from JFK to LAX and SFO, is America’s most expensive domestic route, often costing more than an international flight. (Gone are the days when airlines like America West and TWA kept transcon fares in the $1,000 to $1,500 range.)
Which is why three major U.S. airlines, American, Delta, and United, are updating their seats on this route, and why I’m taking a deep dive into one of those airlines this month, American. (Delta and United are next.)
American is the only airline that will still offer a three-cabin aircraft on this route as of late 2013 or early 2014. The new Business and First Class seats are similar to the ones AA uses on its new B777-300ER long-haul flights because both offer a fully lie-flat bed and have a similar look and feel, according to the airline. Delta says it will install its long-haul Business Class seats on its transcon B757-200s in the first quarter of 2014. United is cutting transcon cabins to two, but it is installing its long-haul Business Class seat, which should be completed by the end of 2013, according to the airline.
In light of these developments, here are the key questions:
- How to get a lower fare, with savings at $3,841?
- How to get a free side trip (which can ALSO save 80%+ on First and Business Class without using miles; and while earning buckets of miles and elite credit)?
- How to use miles best, based on current award space data?
- What will the new American seats be like?
- Where to find the new seats first?
The Approach: I’ll lay out a few answers to these questions, starting with the focus on First Class first, then onto Business Class, a bit later in this piece.
How to Save 80% on First Class Without Using Miles … and Get a Free Side-trip
The biggest question when paying cash for First Class is how to get a better price without using miles. One way is to use my Stopover Loophole Strategy(SLS, see FCF’s November 2012 issue for more), which we’ll get to in a moment. The other is by booking an air/land “package” (most of you will need a hotel anyway). These two strategies often apply to routes and flights other than the transcon.
First Class Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS)
This is a two-part strategy: In part one, I take advantage of an airfare’s “stopover allowance”, a rule governing whether a fare allows a stop; and in part two, I find a “Low-Fare Route” (LFR), which allows the stop.
Stay with me, here’s an example: For me, leaving from the West Coast, I need to find Low-Fare Routes that allow a stopover in JFK; those departing from the East Coast, need Low-Fare Routes that allow a stopover in LAX.
Starting From the West Coast? Make JFK the Stopover City: The SLS works best for fares to the Caribbean because many of the low-priced premium fares allow free stopovers. For example, while First Class on American from LAX to JFK is about $4,832 round-trip, if you book Los Angeles-San Juan, PR—with a free stop at JFK, in First Class, on the LAX-JFK transcon leg—the fare drops to $1,463!
A savings of $3,369 (70%).
Starting From the East Coast? Make LAX the Stopover City: The SLS works best with fares to Seoul and San Jose / Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, because these cities offer low-priced premium fares that allow either a free stopover or charge a small fee for a stopover.
Booking American’s transcon flight in First Class, with the onward segment to Seoul, after a free stop in LAX, drops the otherwise $4,832 fare to $4,392. It’s only a savings of $440, but it’s also a free trip, First Class, to Asia.
Flying AA’s transcon flight in First Class to LAX, and then onward to Cabo in Business Class, making a free stop in LAX, drops the fare to $991!
A savings $3,841 (80%).
When pricing SLS itineraries, I have found booking with a travel agent better than DIY. AA’s website does not let you piece together your preferred flights on the transcon leg, but with a travel agent you can, or you can call AA’s reservation department at (800) 433-7300. FCF’s Personal Help Desk (PHD) can support this booking methodology, among many others that remain out of the public’s consciousness.
[aside headline="Alternative Transcon Fare Options" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Don’t want to take advantage of an SLS deal, or have no need for a hotel, and getting a new premium seat is not high on your priority, but still need to travel non-stop?
because AA offers a special premium fare on this non-stop, starting at just $1,022. The lowest JFK Business Class fare starts at $3,572, so you’ll save $2,550 (71%).
Another Transcon option, coming in June 2014, is JetBlue’s new premium seat on the LAX-JFK route. Fares will start at about $1,200 and are on sale now for about $1,000 for travel June 15 to June 18. The seat—dubbed Mint will offer a fully lie-flat bed (up to 80-inches long), up to 22.3-inches wide, a 2-2 layout, and a 15-inch flat screen.[/aside]
On second thought, be careful how many people you share this with: That includes airline personal, reservationists, and everyone else, short of your travel agent. Why? Countless FCF booking strategies have gone up in smoke, as you know by now, shortly after being made public (a classic no-win situation for both of us). Party crashers are everywhere, especially when they get a whiff of stuff like this. It often goes right to their head, and bad things can happen. So keep this one close to your vest so it doesn’t fall into the wrong, disrespectful hands. This can’t be stressed enough, as you probably realize.
The “Package Strategy”: Most of you will need a hotel if you stop over in JFK or LAX, which can make booking the trip as a package advantageous.
JFK-Los Angeles: American Airlines Vacations charges $5,985 based on one traveler for a seven-night package at the St. Regis, Monarch Beach Resort, flying First Class on the transcon leg (March 1 travel date). If you book the flight and hotel separately, your cost would be $8,116—$4,832 for the ticket and $3,284 for the hotel—a savings of $2,131 (26%). Depending on how you look at it, you’re getting four nights free or 26% off your flight.
Los Angeles-JFK: American Airlines Vacations charges $5,676 (based on one traveler) for First Class air and four nights at the Ritz Carlton New York Central Park (based on April 4 travel date).
If you book the flight and hotel separately, the total cost would be $8,380—$4,832 for the ticket and $3,548 for the hotel—a savings of $2,704 (31%).
How to Save 67% on Business Class Without Using Miles … and Get a Free Side-trip
If you are paying cash for Business Class, you can lower the fare by using the Stopover Loophole Strategy or by booking your trip as a package. Below are sample savings on AA’s Transcon flights.
Make JFK the Stopover City: The SLS works best for fares to the Caribbean. For example, a Business Class ticket on AA from LAX to JFK is about $3,572 round-trip, but if you book Los Angeles-Bermuda, with a free stop at JFK, the Business Class fare drops to $1,182, a savings of $2,390 (67%).
Make LAX the Stopover City: The SLS works best to Cabo, Shanghai, and Seoul. Booking Business Class to Shanghai from JFK with a stopover in LAX drops the fare to $3,049, a savings of $523.
Business Class Package Strategy: As with Transcon First Class fare packages, savings for Business Class are in the $1,000 to $2,000 range—up to 25%.
The New Aircraft and Routes
On Jan. 7, American says it will start flying the A321T, an aircraft redesigned for the Transcon route, with new First and Business Class seats. (Flight numbers: AA133 and AA181 to LAX, and AA10 and AA118 to JFK.) By mid-August 2014, AA says the new aircraft will handle eight out of ten daily flights—and the airline’s “Computer Reservation System” (CRS) actually confirms it. JFK-San Francisco will get the new aircraft and seat on March 6, 2014, AA59 and AA 177 to SFO, and AA16 and AA18 to JFK, that’s half of the flights on this route.
The New Seat Product
First Class will have 10 lie-flat seats in a 1-1 configuration; each new First Class seat is 27.4 inches wide, turns into an 81-inch-long bed, and has a 15.4-inch monitor. Business Class will have 20 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 layout (19 inches wide and 63 inches of pitch) and a 15.4-inch monitor.
The A321T will also offer AA’s Premium Economy cabin, 36 seats that recline six inches (two inches more than standard economy), are 17.7-inches wide, and have 35 inches of pitch.
Using Miles: Bad News, As of Today
Saver awards in Business and First Class are currently not available for travel January through August, and neither are upgrades from economy to Business—one of the best ways to get this route cheap.
Upgrades from Business to First however, are wide open on the new planes, which is not surprising considering you have to buy a Business Class ticket, $3,572, plus pay a co-pay of $350, plus 30,000 miles round-trip, which is a poor return on your miles (at $910 for 30,000 miles, it comes out to 3¢).
[aside headline="Good Connections" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Don’t live in Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco? You can still take advantage of the new aircraft and seats by using the Transcon route as your connection. For example, flying San Diego-NY via LAX to catch the Transcon, and pay the higher Transcon fare. So again, better to use the SLS or package strategy to get a lower fare from San Diego, even if the Transcon is only your connecting flight.[/aside]
However, I did find plenty of awards and upgrades available for travel on AA’s current three-cabin transcon over the next three months: 65,000 miles for First Class and 50,000 miles in Business. Award space can be requested online here.
This may seem kind of strange, because, as I reviewed data from last year (October 2012), American had plentiful award space every month thru September 2013 for Business and First Class, meaning that AA didn’t restrict awards more than three months out on the transcon routes, as is the case now.
Currently, other long-range routes, such as Los Angeles-Miami and Washington, DC-Los Angeles, have award seats in First Class now through August 2014. This has me stymied. It tells me AA is up to something, and it doesn’t look promising. Makes me wonder if, because the premium seat section is going from 40 seats to 30 seats (25% less), the AAdvantage program is saying something like, “no awards for our transcon service.” Time will tell.
One of the best ways to get this route cheap in Business Class for the next three months is by using miles for an upgrade. American allows upgrades to Business Class using any economy fare (starting at $358) plus a co-pay of $150 and 30,000 miles round-trip. Compare that to the lowest Business Class fare of $3,572, a savings of $3,064 (86%) in cash, plus you earn miles and EQMs.