How to Save Up to 38% on Business Class Travel
Business Class fares to Australia usually fly in the stratosphere year-round—up to $10,000 per person, even with a 50-day advance purchase or a 2-for-1 deal from the American Express International Airline Program. That makes it a good place to prospect for package deals, which we did with the goal of finding packages that offer serious savings on Business Class fares.
We found that the greatest savings (up to 38%) were offered by Delta Vacation packages. Delta’s vacation packages even beat the lowest published advance-purchase fare. Moreover, many of Delta Vacation deals are offered on Delta’s code-share partner Virgin Australia. That means you can book a package to any major Australian city and you can get there in comfort, because both Delta and Virgin Australia offer flatbed seats on flights to Australia from the U.S.
What We Established
We found that the lowest online Business Class New York-Perth fare for travel on August 27 was $9,625 per per-son including taxes (or $19,250 for two). Seven nights at the Crowned Plaza Perth in a Deluxe room comes to $2,361 (on the hotel’s website), for a total cost of $10,805 per person. But if you book the trip—including Business Class air and hotel—from Delta Vacations, the price is $6,672 per person, including taxes, a savings of $8,267 (38%) for two people.
[aside headline="Previous Package Deal Stories" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Domestic First Class for the price of economy, April, page 5; Up to 53% savings on Business Class to Europe, May, page 9; South America Business Class savings, June, page 10.[/aside]
Factors to Keep in Mind
- Always check published fares before buying a package so you have a basis for comparison.
- Package deals are especially good on routes where Business Class fares are high, even if you fulfill the advance-purchase requirement. A Boston-Sydney Business Class ticket for travel Aug. 27 and returning Sept. 2 is $8,058 (50-day advance purchase), whereas a package deal through Delta Vacations, with four nights at the Four Seasons Sydney, is $7,987 per person, making the hotel stay, in effect, free.
- Delta Vacations hotel and air packages to Australia require 4-night minimum hotel stay or a 7-day car rental.
Sample Business Class Savings on Air-Hotel Package Deals with Delta Vacations to the South Pacific (50-Day Advance Purchase*)
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