Slashed by as much as $2,080 (35%) from a year ago—everyday Business Class fares to Europe as low as $2,357 round-trip.
Often just $1,100 more than coach to upgrade 25+ hours of flying.
Business Class fares from the West Coast—Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, and San Francisco—to Europe have historically ranged from $4,500 to $7,000 on major carriers, but over the last 13 months prices have plunged.
Examples of New Fares
On Los Angeles–Copenhagen, Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, American, Austrian, British Airways, Brussels, Delta, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, and United currently have published fares starting at $2,853 round-trip. On Dec. 15, 2015, the fare was $4,100—a 30% drop. Phoenix-Copenhagen is as low as $2,659 with Delta; in 2015 the fare was $3,912—a drop of 32%.
To Amsterdam we’re even seeing fares as low as $2,990 from Seattle on Delta’s non-stop service. Back in 2015 the fare was $4,550—a drop of 34%.
The Catch: New lower fares require a 150-day advance purchase and are for travel mid-week; book 149 days in advance and these fares increase $500 to $800 depending on the route.
Lowest Everyday Business Class Fares Found from the West Coast to Europe
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Disparity Between East and West Coast
Business Class Fares have
Largely Evaporated
In past years passengers departing from the West Coast to Europe often paid a lot more ($1,500 to $2,000) than their East Coast counterparts. Now the gap is closing. New York departures can even cost more than ones from a West Coast city to the same destination, or as little as $200 more from Los Angeles. (See sample screenshots below for travel to Copenhagen.)
Screenshot: Los Angeles-Copenhagen $2,853: Delta.com
Screenshot: Phoenix-Copenhagen $2,659: Delta.com
Screenshot: New York-Copenhagen $2,662: Delta.com
As always, the lowest fares may be offered only to certain destinations, but the bigger picture is that discounted Business Class fares have landed on the West Coast.
Low-Fare Destinations in Europe
The lowest fares offered by the three major alliances, $2,660 to $3,060, are primarily to eight destinations: Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Lisbon, Oslo, Paris, and Stockholm—all of which offer numerous non-stop connections to the rest of Europe. To six other cites—Budapest, Bucharest, Prague, Shannon, Sofia, and Warsaw—fares are often only about $400 to $600 more. From there you’re looking at $600 to $1,000 more to London, Frankfurt, and Zurich.
AARP $400 Fare Discount Applies to Most of These Fares—
Everyday Low Fares to Europe go Down to $2,357
Fares on oneworld airlines (American, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and Openskies) are even $400 less with the BA AARP discount—which anyone of any age can pick up for $17 in minutes. Two examples: $2,357 on Phoenix-Copenhagen and $2,487 on Los Angeles-Oslo.
Screenshot: Phoenix-Copenhagen: BritishAirways.com
Screenshot: Los Angeles-Oslo: BritishAirways.com
Business Class Just $41 Per Hour to Upgrade
With the $400 AARP discount, there is only a $1,100 difference between coach and Business fr the above flights—for 27 hours of flying—so it can now cost just $41 per flight hour to upgrade!
Business Class to Most Popular Cities Drop Up to 35%
Fares to other European cities, such as London, Frankfurt, and Paris, have also dropped. For example, in December 2015, Portland-London stood at $5,927 with Delta; now it's at $3,847—a drop of 35%.
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New Fares Great for Upgrading to First Class
What you need to know:
[aside headline="Trend Watch" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]The drop in fares from the West Coast to Europe reflects the general decline in international Business Class fares over the past year, a trend started by Delta on European routes in 2012. See recent fare trends for Nairobi, Tel Aviv, India, and for New Zealand.[/aside]
oneworld
British Airways offers mileage upgrades from low Business Class fares to First Class to London.
On Los Angeles-Oslo, the lowest Business Class fare is $2,487 using the AARP discount and requires 45,000 points (low season) and 50,000 in peak season round-trip. (The upgrade is only on the U.S.-London segment.) The lowest published First Class fare on this route is $7,103, giving you a good return on miles.
American also offers mileage upgrades from low Business Class fares to First Class to London from Los Angeles, but requires a $1,100 co-pay.
On Los Angeles-Copenhagen (via London), AA's lowest Business Class fare is $2,853 round-trip, plus the $1,100 co-pay round-trip, and it takes 50,000 miles round-trip to upgrade the U.S.-London segment. The lowest published First Class fare on this route is $7,293, giving you a good return on miles.
Star Alliance
United offers mileage upgrades from low Business Class fares to First Class to London from Los Angeles that require an $1,100 co-pay. Return on miles is also good. The problem is finding routes with a First Class cabin, as United is eliminating many of them.