Fly Business Class for the cost of coach from more U.S. than ever with LSS.
We call it the “Leg Stretch Strategy (LSS)” and it takes seemingly everyday intercontinental trips to NBA-like heights of savings. Our team constantly keeps an eye on Leg Stretch opportunities for readers and once again they’ve come up with a buzzer-beating winner involving Europe and South America.
FCF’s Leg Stretch Strategy on the Chalkboard
Gather in close team, here’s the play. The Leg Stretch Strategy (LSS) works best for the person who will travel (or would like to travel) to Europe at least twice in one year and to South America once. If that’s not in your game plan, maybe you should consider it, because the Business Class prices on these routes are lower than coach in many instances.
The strategy makes use of round-trip itineraries between two continents (in this case, Europe and South America) with stopovers each way in a third continent (in this installment, North America, specifically the U.S.). The third one—North America—is the “connecting continent.”
One of the reasons the LSS is so inexpensive is because it starts in Europe and fares from Europe to South America are cheaper than fares from the U.S. to South America, plus with Delta these low fares allow a stopover in the U.S. So, obviously, if you live in the U.S. you have to get yourself there. We suggest getting a one-way ticket using miles. Don’t let that put you off, because we find great one-way miles deals to Europe all the time here at FCF.
This itinerary has four discreet legs on one ticket (equivalent to two round-trips): Europe > U.S. (“stopover”) > South America > U.S. (“stopover”) > Europe, starting at $2,570 (2,512 CHF) in Business Class on Delta. That’s a crazy-great price— just $1,285 each way, Business Class.
It goes like this, starting with the U.S. departure:
- Book a one-way ticket to Europe (details here).
- Purchase a round-trip ticket on Delta from Europe to South America via the U.S. (the stopovers are free). You can stop over for as long as you like—as long as all travel on the ticket is completed within one year from your departure date.
- Then it’s off to South America.
- Back to the U.S. (the second stopover).
- Back to Europe, the final leg of the ticket.
- Then, decision time: You can return home on another one-way ticket OR you can start the process again, returning to the U.S. as leg one of your next Leg Stretch Strategy ticket.
See the screenshots below to see how the deal unfolds.
Almost a Free Agent
You’re getting Business Class for the price of coach, or just a bit more than coach, depending on the destinations you choose. A New York-to-Zurich ticket in economy ranges from ~$600 to $1,100 and a New York-to-Rio de Janeiro ticket in economy ranges from ~$1,300 to $1,800 on Delta. That’s $1,900 at a minimum to fly economy—and possibly $2,900 depending on your dates—while the Leg Stretch nets those same destinations in Business Class for $2,570. That’s a Business Class two-for-one (or better) savings.
Another way to look at the savings is that a New York-to-Zurich ticket in Business Class ranges from ~$2,500 to $6,500 and a New York-to-Rio de Janeiro return ticket in Business Class ranges from ~$4,000 to $5,800 on Delta. That’s $6,500 at a minimum to fly Business Class—and as much as $12,300 depending on your dates—while the LSS can net those same destinations in Business Class for $2,570.
N.B. If links send you to a fare that’s much higher, play around with the dates, and more than likely you’ll find the same fare we did.
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