Air France: On May 7 it unveiled its new First Class suite, which starts rolling out this September on B777s. See Air France for more information.
My Take: The seats are not cheap and cannot be had with Delta miles, as Delta doesn’t have a First Class cabin to reciprocate. You’ll have to work on elite status with Air France’s FlyingBlue program.
Philippine Airlines: New A330s offer 18 flat-bed Business Class seats, more than six feet long and almost two feet wide. See Philippine Airline for more information.
My Take: The carrier’s fares are usually much lower than competitors, so it should be interesting to see the effect. The drawback: Philippine doesn’t belong to an alliance. It hasn’t announced what route gets the new seats first yet.
Qatar: A oneworld partner, on May 15 it launched all Business Class service between London and Doha using an A319, with 40 seats configured in a 2×2 layout. See Qatar for more information.
Qantas: A oneworld member, on Sept. 29 it starts flying an A380 on Dallas-Sydney with a First Class cabin. See Qantas for more information.
Singapore Airlines: Announced a new partnership with Chase Ultimate Rewards. (Other Chase partners include British Airways, Korean, United, and Virgin Atlantic.) See Singapore for more information and the Chase transfer option page.
My Take: Always good to have more transfer partners, but that’s not enough to make the Chase program more than your third multi-currency option, behind Amex Membership Rewards and Starwood’s Starpoints, both of which offer access to Singapore’s program.
Transcon Fare Changes on Delta and United:
United’s New Transcon Business Class Fare is Up to 49% Lower. Back in January, when I did my last installment on the transcon survey, United’s Business Class fare on Los Angeles-JFK came in at $4,374, with a 14-day advance purchase requirement. The fare is now $2,218, a drop of $2,156, almost half (booking code P). Not trivial.
Delta’s New Transcon Business Class Fare—No Date or Time Restrictions: Back in January, Delta’s lowest Business Class fare on the Los Angeles-JFK had a date and time restriction, and came in at $2,446. Now the fare starts at $2,238 (booking code Z) and the time and date restrictions have been dropped. Not trivial.
My Take: Thank you, Jet Blue, which starts flying the route this month and offers a flat-bed seat. Now let’s see what American does.
Turkish Airlines: Started Boston-Istanbul service on May 12. Boston is the carrier’s sixth U.S. gateway. See Turkish Airlines for more information.
My Take: Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member, as is United, so this gives you another route on which to earn and redeem miles. Note that Turkish Airlines’ newest Business Class seat is only offered on the B777 and A330, neither of which is used on Boston-Istanbul (an A340).
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