Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s First Class Fare Developments to Europe

September 2014
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Good News: Air France, Lufthansa, and SWISS have jumped into the discount holiday fare fray started by United. (See our July issue and June 9 alert for more.)

Here’s what you need to know:

Are the fares as good as United’s? No, United still has the lowest First Class holiday fares, starting at $3,289 for connecting flights (Newark-Brussels) and $3,487 on nonstops (Newark-Amsterdam). See chart below for sample First Class fare comparison.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s First Class Fare Comparison

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Are the fares worth it compared to the normal published First Class fares? At times, yes, especially for Air France’s nonstop service to Paris. Its everyday JFK-Paris fare is $16,421, a savings of $10,358 (63%). (See chart above.)

Are Thanksgivings and Christmas fares the same? Yes

Anything unusual to note about the new First Class fares? They’re highest to the carrier’s hub; for example, Air France to Paris is more expensive than Air France to London via Paris. (Same goes for Lufthansa to Frankfurt and SWISS to Zurich.)

[["Airline","Route","Connection","Holiday Fare**","Normal Fare","Savings"],["Air France","New York - London","Yes \/ Paris","$4,244 ","$8,169 ","$3,925 \/ 48%"],["#rowspan#","New York - Paris","Non-stop","$6,063 ","$16,421 ","$10,358 \/ 63%"],["Lufthansa","New York - London","Yes \/ Frankfurt","$4,271 ","$5,571 ","$1,300 \/ 23%"],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Frankfurt","Non-stop","$6,547 ","$10,324 ","$3,777 \/ 37%"],["SWISS","New York - London","Yes \/ Zurich","$4,271 ","$5,571 ","$1,300 \/ 23%"],["#rowspan#","Boston - Zurich","Non-stop","$5,978 ","$9,196 ","$3,218 \/ 35%"]]
<small><em>*Fares include average taxes and fees for the route. **Travel window: Nov. 22 through Nov. 28 and Dec. 15 through Jan. 3, 2015 outbound; Nov. 27 through Dec. 3 and Dec. 22 through Jan. 7, 2015 return.</em></small>