A Key Element of Published Business Class Fares to Europe has Changed. Here’s What You Need to Know.
[aside headline="A Look Back at Premium Fares to Europe" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
The airlines train us to think about fares by the restrictions they impose. The most common one has been the advance-purchase requirement, and for a long time the rule of thumb has been that the 50-day advance-purchase is the best deal.
The second most common restriction was the Saturday-night stay. With it, a fare was low; without it, a fare was high. That pretty much separated the business traveler, whom the airlines are intent on fleecing, from the leisure traveler, whom they are intent on luring.
November 2001: Advent of the “Heavily Discounted” Business Class Fare
In November 2001, Northwest began to train us to rethink Business Class travel to Europe. It launched Business Class fares at $1,800-$2,200 (usual cost then: $5,000 to $8,000 round-trip). That didn’t include taxes because taxes then were just a few dollars, whereas now they are $1,000 to $1,200.
The restrictions: 50-day advance-purchase and a Saturday-night stay. At the time, the fare was only matched by a few carriers. Today all airlines offer such fares.
The 50-day advance purchase changed our thinking in two ways: It lessened the importance of miles because the fares were so reasonable, and it reduced dependency on 2-for-1 programs, usually only available with fares starting at $7,000+. Overnight, the face of Business Class to Europe changed radically.
2002: Seat Wars
Next, some airlines started persuading us that a better, lie-flat Business Class seat was worth more—usually $800 to $1,000 more—than a so-so seat. That was the thinking behind British Airways’ 2002 rollout of fares that were less than the carrier had been charging, but more than Northwest. Virgin matched BA.
February 2005: The 21-Day Advance
Early in 2005, Northwest introduced $2,800-$3,300 fares with a 21-day advance-purchase requirement. The idea was that good fares can be obtained on shorter notice. These fares were still often less than most 2-for-1’s, a huge boon for last-minute vacationers, not to mention business travelers with somewhat firm schedules.
June 2005: The New 14-Day Advance
In mid-2005, British Airways began testing a 14-day advance-purchase fare of around $3,800 to London and onward to Paris, Rome, and Geneva. So now you could pick up a New York-London fare for $3,000+ only two weeks out still a much better deal than a 2-for-1.[/aside]
Connecting two financial powerhouses, New York-London service historically had been one of the most expensive routes in the world. Then the all-Business Class carriers came to town offering heavily discounted fares. Some without restrictions—which changed the game, again. MAXjet would fly you round-trip with no advance-purchase for $1,398.
New Fares: For FCF Subscribers Who Live Abroad (or in U.S. Cities Not in Examples)The article should be interesting to Asian and European markets, in addition to the U.S., because anyone coming to the U.S. from Europe would want to keep on top of fare-rule changes. Also, once airlines start experimenting with fare changes they will often rollout around the world.
This is the time of year when airlines like to play around with fares—in November of last year, American and Delta introduced EasyUp fares to Europe—and try to make the norm no longer the norm.
This year (and very quietly, again) many major airlines have introduced a new deeply discounted, advance-purchase Business Class fare to Europe, while also reducing a slew of 14-day and no-advance-purchase fares by as much as 41%. American took it even a step farther by including First Class fares in the mix. Among the European cities the new fare targets are Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, and Rome.
Net-net: Business travelers and spur-of-the-moment leisure travelers are winners, while mid-range travelers are losers. Here’s how the new order stacks up.
The Three Big Changes
- Advance-purchase requirement on the lowest Business Class fare increases to 90 days (40 days more than before). Miss the deadline and you’ll pay $500 more.
- 14-day- and no-advance-purchase Business Class fares decrease by as much as 41%.
- On American the advance-purchase requirement on the lowest First Class fare increases to 50 days from 28 and the cost goes down by as much as 26% for travel to Europe.
Lowest Business Class Fare Advance Purchase Change
As usual the changes are not on every airline or on every airlines’ route. They pertain mainly to major European cities.
Representative Examples
- New York-London now requires a 90-day advance-purchase on Air France, Alitalia, Delta, KLM, and US Airways, but not on American and United.
- Los Angeles-Frankfurt requires a 90-day advance for every major airline on the route (Air France, American, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, United, and US Airways, to name a few).
- New York-Oslo requires only a 21-day advance-purchase on most major airlines, but NYC-Zurich requires 90-days.
Lowest Business Class Advance-Purchase Fare Changes to Europe
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14-Day Advance-Purchase Business Class Fares Decrease
This is a big drop—15 to 37%. It’s not on all routes and all airlines, but it may signal a trend.
14-day Advance-Purchase Business Class Fares to Europe Change
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Business Class No-Advance-Purchase Decrease
These fares are usually the most expensive tickets, easily costing $12,000+ to Europe. Now they’re as much as 41% less. But the fare comes with a Saturday-night-stay requirement.
As it is the case with the 14-day advance fare, the decrease is not on all routes or all airlines.
No Advance-Purchase Business Class Fares to Europe Change
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American Airlines First Class
It’s a bold gambit to drop First Class fares like this. The question is will international carriers follow suit? If they do, that’s going to be a boon for those of you who frequent the front cabin.
Lowest First Class Advance-Purchase Fare Change for Travel to Europe on American
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