service1010

I am not leaving for the Galapagos for a year, but am just starting to think about airline tickets. I have not flown business class before, but if I can find the money, I want to book tix in this class, for the comfort.

So, here are my questions:

1, Are one-way business class tickets (x2 for the return flight) significantly more than a business class round trip fare?
I will book a one-way from TUS - UIO
Return will be another one-way from LIM - TUS

2. For domestic flights, I am pretty good at finding lowest coach fares. Any hints for finding lower cost business class?

3. Am I better off using a travel agent than booking on my own? The trip providers do not offer airline assistance of any kind

Thank you

MmePerdu

When I've bought long-haul business-class tickets, not using miles, I've gotten them at significant discounts from the consolidator I use, Airtreks. After initial contact through the site, an agent works on the itinerary and I'm a completely satisfied customer after a number of experiences with the company.

http://www.airtreks.com

Kathie

What you want is an open-jaw ticket (on search engines, check the multiple destinations box). It is usually no more than a round trip ticket.

Are you a frequent flier in any alliance? If you are, try to book your ticket with an airline in your alliance. That is a goodly number of miles to fly and can not only earn you miles to use on future trips but take you closer to an elite status that gives you a number of benefits. Note that if you opt to go through a consolidator you may or may not earn frequent flier miles - ask before you book if that is important to you.

I always book on the airlines' own site. When we went to Peru in November, I discovered that business class tickets to South America are (relatively) cheap. We flew RT from Seattle to Lima for under $2000 pp.

Mme Perdu, do you earn ff miles when you book through air treks?

MmePerdu

"...do you earn ff miles when you book through air treks?"

Sometimes but often not, depends on the airline. Consolidators have individual contracts with each airline whose seats they sell and the fares are so discounted, I frankly am not concerned about the mileage. It makes purchases, such as business class, possible for me when I need it most, like transpacific.

service1010

Mme Perdu - thanks so much for the suggestion and the link. Sounds perfect.

service1010

Kathie - I do hate to lose the miles.... But, I can't fly Business if I can afford it. So right now, price is #1. I will still add 'can I get the miles' to my list of questions

MmePerdu

Interesting, Airtreks doesn't always know if we'll get the miles or not. It may be that some of the airlines they use have no hard and fast rules and it may be a case of "ask, and ye shall receive". But price is #1 for me, too, on these occasions.

Kathie

Since I often fly Biz class on free tickets via my frequent flier miles, it is important to me!

Most ff programs have pretty clear rules about what fares do/do not get ff miles, but the consolidator may not always know, and I expect they don't want to be in the middle of any dispute about ff miles.

I will have to look into air treks. Thanks MmePerdu.

MmePerdu

Miles are important to all of us, but miles are a currency and if the deal in cash far outweighs paying for the miles in a far higher ticket price, there's no contest, despite feeling like we may be giving something up.

I just think Air Treks, and likely other consolidators, are in the business of finding us the best deals for our money, which can be an elaborate process on itineraries with multiple legs. I don't expect them to know the rules for all the details other than those for which they're responsible. So I don't mind asking, when I'm checking in for a flight on an airline belonging to an alliance whose miles I covet, if they can give them to me and don't fault Air Treks if they don't appear. But I've been surprised at how often they have been credited.

And on the greatly discounted business class fares, I've been surprised that the flexibility we like so much when paying full fare, continued to be a perk, even at the low prices. I wanted to change a flight from Delhi to BKK once, assuming there would be a fee and there was not. I was told I could reserve any flight I chose.

Also in India, I decided I wanted to fly from Delhi to Bagdogra, instead of Calcutta and wasn't charged for the change. Not long after booking the change, I received an email from my Air Treks agent, asking if I'd changed the flight or had the airline changed it. I was amazed to discover the followup the company engages in, that they didn't just take the money and run.

Another nice surprise, Air Treks includes basic flight insurance at no additional charge. Last RTW trip beginning in Asia, I booked the first leg, a business class flight to Shanghai, with miles and the Air Treks bookings began after that. My agent asked if I'd like to be covered by their insurance from the time I left home, including surface travel, rather than just for their flights, which was another very nice surprise, something I wouldn't have expected.

My point in all of this, I find the service quite extraordinary and have never felt I was giving up anything that wasn't more than compensated for in the big picture.

Gardyloo

Before I'd turn to a consolidator I'd do some serious homework on prices just using airlines' direct sales channels. Consolidators, even such as Air Treks, can sometimes sell you tickets that are extremely restricted, difficult to change, and, when all's said and done, not <i>that</i> much less than straight revenue tickets.

Business class fares to northern South America are often not that much more than economy fares; for example I just looked at next January, and open-jaw trips on United on your route (TUS-UIO//LIM-TUS were only around $300 more in business class than the cheapest coach tickets (with plane changes in Houston in both directions.)

Use ITA's multi-city search - http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ and just play around with dates to see what your options are. You might be surprised.

service1010

Interesting discussion. I have learned a lot! Thank you

Gardyloo, yes, I should check out the direct sales channels. Now that I know I can do so using open-jaw, as Kathie shared, it will be a lot easier for me!

Now, I just have to guess how far in advance to book......