Cabin-Extinction Questions Raised Again
In the August issue, FCF announced two new EasyUp fares—one in Business and one in First—that marked an evolutionary step in the category.
Now, American is taking another such step, offering upgrades to First from Business for as little as $250 round-trip on select non-stop routes. In August, an upgrade to First from American’s lowest Business Class fares generally started at $1,000 more than Business Class from the East Coast and Midwest, $1,500 more from the West Coast.
But now, some go for as little as $250. For example, on the Miami-Madrid route First goes for $2,657 round-trip while Business Class costs $2,407.
For perspective, that’s $850 less than the cash surcharge AA requires upgrading from Business to First Class with miles. You’re also saving 50,000 miles if you snag one of these new fares!
American Routes to Europe with a $250 Fare Difference Between First and Business Class
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Not Flying to Frankfurt, Madrid, or Paris? Or from Dallas or Miami?
Consider a Two-Ticket Strategy
Connect the dots: Meaning, buy a second ticket. Use the new First Class fares to get to Europe, and the second ticket either to reach one of these gateways or to get to your destination. You lower the cost and get a second city, if you want it, for free (a stopover).
Two-Ticket Strategy Example
Dallas-Paris in First Class is $2,377. The LA-Dallas connection costs $608 round-trip in First Class, for a total of $2,985 on American. Buy the same ticket on Air France and it costs $9,326, a difference of $6,341 / 68%—more than the cost of a second First Class ticket.