Even if you’re not flying the routes covered below and on pages 12, 13, and 14, you can still use the information for itinerary planning, specifically to find flights most likely to have upgrade seats, award seats, newer (and, therefore, better) seats—or perhaps all three.
Good Business Class Award Availability to Mexico on Aeromexico (SkyTeam)
New Aircraft: On Sept.24, Aeromexico started B787 Dreamliner service on New York-Mexico City. Tokyo-Mexico City gets the B787 on Oct. 14 and Paris-Mexico City in November. The plane has 32 new Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 layout, are 78-inches long, 20 inches wide, and have 60 inches of pitch. Each is equipped with a 16-inch HD monitor.
A Business Class award ticket to Mexico City is 60,000 miles round-trip. To book award space, call (800) 247-3737. See chart below for mileage-award inventory availability in Business Class.
Survey of Award Availability on Aeromexico for Two Travelers in Business Class: New York-Mexico City
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Getting Aeromexico Club Premier Miles: Transfer 50,000 Starpoints for Business Class—with the 25% bonus, you have 60,000 miles—or 60,000 Amex Reward points.
Using Aeromexico’s Route System: Mexico City is Aeromexico’s hub and a good jumping-off point to other cities in Mexico, Central and South America. Click here for Aeromexico’s route map.
Aeromexico’s domestic airline partners (for connecting flights to its U.S. gateways) are Alaska and Delta, and the extra mileage cost for travel within Mexico is the same as for New York-Mexico City.
Good Business Class and Premium Economy Award Availability to Europe on British Airways (oneworld)
New Aircraft and New Service: BA’s first U.S. Dreamliner starts flying Newark-London this month, with 35 Business Class and 25 Premium Economy seats. (On March 3, 2014, BA starts flying the Dreamliner Austin-London.) Business Class seats are configured 2-3-2, are 25-inches wide, turn into a 72-inch-long bed, and have a 12.1-inch monitor. Premium Economy seats, arranged in a 3-3-3 layout, are 18.5-inches wide, recline 8 inches, have 38-inches of pitch, and a 10.6-inch monitor. (For more detailed information on Premium Economy please see FCF March issue.)
A Newark-London Business Class award ticket is 80,000 British Airways points, Premium Economy is 60,000 points. Austin-London is 100,000 in Business Class and 75,000 in Premium Economy. Award space can be requested online here. See chart below for mileage-award inventory availability.
Survey of Award Availability on British Airways for One Traveler to London
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Getting British Airways Miles: For Business Class, transfer 54,000 to 65,000 Starpoints (depending on the route) the 25% bonus for every 20,000 points gets you the miles—or 40,000 to 50,000 points for Premium Economy. You can also transfer 80,000 to 100,000 points from Amex Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards for Business Class and 60,000 to 75,000 for Premium Economy. (American charges 100,000 miles for either route in Business Class.)
Limited Time Offer: See page 1 for a Starwood deal that nets up to 50% bonus miles on transfers.
Using BA’s Route System: London-Heathrow is BA’s hub and a good jumping-off point to Johannesburg, Moscow, Paris, Sydney, and dozens of other cities. Click here for BA’s route map.
British Airways’ domestic partner for connecting flights to its U.S. gateways is American and Alaska. The extra cost in BA miles varies because BA’s partner awards are based on flight distance. American can cost less at times because it uses a zone chart and it does not charge extra for connecting flights in the Continental U.S. which is one zone.
Good Business Class Award Availability to Asia on Cathay Pacific (oneworld)
New Service and New Seat: On March 1, 2014, Cathay Pacific starts its fifth NY-Hong Kong flight, this one from Newark using a B777-300ER with 40 new Business Class and 32 Premium Economy seats (no First Class).
Business Class seats, in a 1-2-1 layout, turn into flat-beds that are 82-inches long and 29.5-inches wide, and are equipped with a 15-inch touch-screen monitor, and USB power connections. Premium Economy seats (see the March 2013 issue for more on how FCF defines Premium Economy) are 19.3-inches wide, have 38-inches of pitch, recline 125 degrees, and are equipped with a 10.6-inch monitor.
A round-trip award ticket to Hong Kong is 145,000 miles in Business and 108,000 miles in Premium Economy. Request award space online here for Business Class; for Premium Economy call (800) 892-2598.
One way to economize on miles is to upgrade from Premium Economy to Business Class. Cathay’s upgrade and free award inventory is the same for mileage upgrades and free tickets.
Sample upgrade cost: Cathay allows upgrades to Business Class using R and W Premium Economy fares for 45,000 miles round-trip (no co-pay). On Newark-Hong Kong, a Premium Economy R fare costs $2,458 mid-week in March (plus miles), compared to Cathay’s lowest Business Class fare of $7,608, a savings of $5,150 (68%).
See chart below for mileage-award inventory availability in Business Class.
Survey of Award Availability on Cathay Pacific for Two Travelers in Business Class: Newark-Hong Kong
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Getting Cathay Pacific Miles: Transfer 120,000 Starpoints for Business Class—with the 25% bonus, you have the 145,000 miles—and 88,000 miles for Premium Economy. Or transfer from Amex Rewards. You can also buy the points (145,000 for Business Class) from Amex Rewards for $3,927 ($3,625 plus $302 in award taxes) compared to $7,608 for the published Business Class fare, a difference of $3,681 (48%).
Using American Miles to Get the Award for Less: Booking NY-Hong Kong on Cathay through American brings the mileage cost down to 110,000 in Business Class. When award availability on Cathay is high, as is the case on this route, you may be able to book the flight through AA using AAdvantage miles.
Getting American Miles: Transfer 90,000 Starpoints for Business Class—with the 25% bonus, you have 110,000 miles.
Using Cathay Pacific’s Route System: Hong Kong is Cathay’s hub and a good jumping-off point to Bangkok, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, and dozens of other cities. Click here for Cathay’s route map.
Cathay Pacific’s domestic airline partner for connecting flights to Cathay’s U.S. gateways is American. The extra cost in miles varies because Cathay’s partner awards are based on flight distance.
Good First and Business Class Award Availability to the Middle East on Emirates
New Aircraft: On Dec. 2, Emirates starts A380 service on Los Angeles-Dubai, with 14 Private First Class Suites and 76 Business Class seats. Each First Class Suite comes with sliding privacy doors, a personal mini-bar, a 79-inch-long bed (with mattress), and 23-inch monitor. The First Class cabin also has two showers, available by appointment from the purser.
Business Class seats, arranged staggered 1-2-1, are 79-inches long. They are equipped with a 17-inch monitor, built in mini-bar, and in-seat power supply for laptops and USB power connections.
A round-trip award ticket to Dubai is 247,500 miles in First and 165,000 miles in Business. Request award space online here.
Survey of Award Availability on Emirates for Two Travelers: Los Angeles-Dubai
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Getting Emirates Skywards Miles: Transfer 200,000 Starpoints for First Class—with the 25% bonus, you have 250,000 miles—and 130,000 miles for Business Class.
Even Better: Use Alaska miles, which brings Business Class awards down to 145,000 miles and First to just 180,000 miles. Right now availability looks great. PS: If you followed my suggestion last month and stocked up on Alaska miles through its bonus offer, LAX-Dubai in First Class would only cost $3,868—normally $25,932.
Using Emirates’ Route System: Dubai is Emirates’ hub and a good jumping-off point to Hong Kong, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Sydney, and dozens of other cities. Click here for Emirates’ route map.
Emirates’ domestic airline partners for connecting flights to its U.S. gateways are Alaska and JetBlue. The extra cost in miles varies by departure city and requires a separate partner-award ticket. (Which is why you are better off just buying a separate ticket to LAX.)
Good First and Business Class Award Availability to Asia on Korean (SkyTeam)
New Aircraft: On Oct. 27, Korean starts daily A380 service on Atlanta-Seoul, with 12 First Class Suites in a 1-2-1 layout and 94 Business Class seats. Each Kosmo First Class Suite has a 79-inch-long, 26.5-inch-wide bed, and a 23 inch LCD monitor.
Business Class seats, arranged 2-2-2 on the upper deck, are 74-inches long and 21.6 inches wide, and are equipped with a 17-inch LCD monitor.
Using Korean’s loyalty program: A First Class award ticket is 240,000 miles in peak-season (Dec. 7 to Jan. 5, 2014, Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, May 16 to July 1, July 18 to Aug. 24, Sept. 5 to Sept. 10 and Dec. 10 to Dec. 31) and 160,000 miles off-peak season (all other times). Business Class is 185,000 peak season (same dates as for First Class) and 125,000 miles off-peak.
Survey of Award Availability on Korean for Two Travelers First Class: Atlanta-Seoul
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Getting Korean Skypass Miles: Transfer 160,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards for First Class off-season and 125,000 miles for Business Class.
Using Korean’s Route System: Seoul is Korean’s hub and a good jumping-off point to Beijing, Denpasar, Hong Kong, Nairobi, Sydney, and dozens of other cities. Click here for Korean’s route map.Korean’s U.S. airline partners for connecting flights to its U.S. gateways are Alaska, Delta, and Hawaiian. Mileage cost varies by destination.