They’re spreading like crazy on international routes. What you need to know before you book a weekend departure.
It’s a virus and it’s going viral. A year ago, Business Class fares were usually the same when traveling mid-week or traveling on weekends.
But by the end of January 2016, premium fare rules, which usually do not mirror economy fare rules, started shifting. Over the last year we have seen fares to Europe starting to exploit weekend fare surcharges.
Surcharges for Weekend Travel
In the beginning of January 2016, the airlines started slapping a $100 surcharge on weekend fares to Europe, and in September bumped it to $300. This bit of pocket-picking doesn’t appear to be going away.
Best Days to Travel
To Europe: If you buy a 150-day advance-purchase ticket, the general rule is depart Tuesday through Friday and return Sunday through Thursday. But also check Monday departures and returns, as FCF has seen promotional fares that are valid on that day, too.
To Southern South America: Varies. The new 99-day advance-purchase fare recently introduced by American to Buenos Aires costs $100 more on weekends. Best departure days to Buenos Aires are Tuesday through Saturday, and best return days are Saturday through Wednesday. Best days to travel to and from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are Monday through Thursday (or you’ll pay $300 more). At this point, there’s no weekend surcharge on U.S.-Santiago routes.
Asia: Varies greatly. All Nippon imposes a $300 surcharge to Singapore and Bangkok on fares with no advance-purchase requirement. Japan Airlines slaps $500 on weekend travel to Taipei; Cathay Pacific adds on $400 to Hong Kong; and United now adds a whopping $1,000 on Chicago-Tokyo weekend travel, yet imposes none on Los Angeles-Tokyo.
To the South Pacific: Auckland is $500 more round-trip on weekends and Sydney fares are $1,000 more round-trip. Best days to/from both cities: Monday through Thursday.
To South and East Africa: Johannesburg costs $700 more round-trip, while there’s no surcharge on Cape Town and Nairobi tickets.
The Middle East: Varies greatly. Some promotional fares to Abu Dhabi and Dubai have a $700 (or less) surcharge, while there’s no surcharge to Jeddah and Kuwait.
The bigger picture: Weekend Business Class fare hikes have landed and are here to stay. Will First Class be next?