bstaihr

Anybody know when business class tickets to Europe are cheapest? Does it totally depend on the date of yout trip (meaning, if you're planning to fly in May they will cost the same whether you buy them in December or February?) Or are they cheaper at different times of the year? And how do I find out when?
Thanks.

Jed

We wanted to go BC from Philly to Italy this October. About 6 months beforehand, I saw a fare of $2500 on UAAir. I knew it was a bargain, and grabbed it. One moth later it was 4000. In Sept, it was 6000.

Gardyloo

While there will be fluctuations up and down (and sideways,) in general prices are dependent on when you're traveling, rather than when you buy the ticket. If you're planning to fly in May then you will pay the May price. It may be a little different if you book in March rather than November, but the May price will be different from the January price, since demand for seats will be higher in spring than winter.

Usually there are late-year fare sales for business class that are good ONLY for travel in the late autumn or early winter of the following year. You will seldom if ever find cheap fares that you can buy in November that are good for travel in May. These are usually booked under the "I" class code - nonrefundable business fares that have stiff penalties for changes/cancellations.

However there are several new airlines that offer business-class comfort at reduced prices that might be worth investigating. MaxJet flies all-business configured planes from Washington DC, JFK and now Las Vegas to London Stansted for pretty reasonable prices. Eos is another all-biz airline that offers very deluxe passage for less than comparable fares on the majors.

But it very much depends on where you are and where you're going, too. Most cheaper business fares will be from the NYC/Northeast area to London or possibly Madrid (Iberia often has pretty good business fares year-round.) But May is not the season to expect cheap business fares.

Patty

Depends on the destination, currently I can find I (discounted business) fares on Delta for a number of (but not all) European destinations from LAX for travel next May. In addition to the restrictions Gardyloo listed, there are usually advance purchase and minimum/maximum stay requirements that you must meet. With Delta, it's 50 day advance, 7 day min and 30 day max.

Dukey

You might want to go to thje airline quality website and look at the reviews of those various business class operations.

The most recent one for MaxJet was a bit disappointing but, of course, you sometimes have to take any review with a grain of salt.

www.airlinequality.com