British Air Business Class Sale
 

FYI... Just received this email.

This summer, fly to Europe in the comfort of our
Club World cabin for as little as $1,284*. Purchase this unbelievable fare by May 30 and travel outbound anytime through August 31, 2005. With 180° flat beds and a private seat layout, you'll enjoy a better sleep in business class. Stretch out and let dreams of your vacation take over . . .
to become reality upon your arrival

Thanks CarolA. I think it's important to add the terms and conditions:

*Fares shown are one-way based on round-trip purchase for outbound travel June 23-August 31, 2005 from select US departure gateways to select European cities. Fares may be higher from other gateways and to select European cities. 28-day advance purchase required. Fares are subject to gov’t approval and do not include gov’t fees & taxes of approximately $140 plus the $2.50 September 11th Security Fee. Min. stay Sat. Night. Max stay 11 months. Flat bed is available on most North American flights to London. Valid for new bookings only made May 26-30, 2005. Offer can be booked online at www.britishairways.com or through travel agent. Subject to availability. Other significant restrictions apply.

"Other significant restrictions apply." - But we ain't gonna tell ya what they are.

Dontcha like surprises?

Don't know about the one way part... I priced a round trip from Atlanta and came out at$1,500 round trip! Sounded good to me, but I can't go! LOL!

CarolA,
How did you get a $1500 roundtrip Club World fare from ATL? What dates did you use?

CarolA, Are you sure???

You got me curious, so I went to the BA website just now and priced a flight but they ALLl were one-way prices shown (based on RT purchase).

oops "ALL"

i used Atlanta to Gatwick next month as my criteria. the special deal came up between $3000 to $6000 for RT not including all the taxes etc. depending on dates flown.

CarolA, I copied that straight off the web page and it does state very clearly that $1284 is a one-way fare. So by the time you double that and add all the taxes, it's somewhere around $2,700. Are you sure the price you looked as was Club (business class), and not World Traveller Plus? World Traveller Plus is just a premium economy class and does not compare with business class, in terms of either price or comfort.

CarolA, I just now checked my e-mail and I got the exact same notice from BA. Please scroll down to the very bottom and read the fine print.

I booked two random days in June... I promise the ENTIRE fare came up to just a little over $1500 (I got up to where you book the CC) Maybe I got a "system glitch"???

There was one trick... I had to be sure to pick the button that said business class fare sale when starting the process.

If that's the case, then it's a shame you can't go. If I weren't leaving Saturday for the UK, I'd consider buying such a ticket myself. Last year I got a free upgrade to business class on BA. I drank endless champagne in my flatbed chair and I didn't care if that plane never landed. The only bad thing about that is the next time you fly coach, it's excruciating.... :-(

I thought $1300 RT in business class was really pretty good for peak summer fares. However, I don't even know where you guys are finding this special offer. I went to ba.com and there is no mention on the page anywhere as to this special promotion, and when I click on the "current promotions" button, I just get a notice to call BA for any special offers. When I priced a RT fare for July in business class/lowest fare from IAD-LHR, it came in as over $2700 total RT (the $1284 price was specifically shown and it was for one-way). There were only a few dates available at the $1284 one-way date, mainly late June/early July that I saw. YOu may not be aware it is a one-way fare unless you go to the very end of the process. Maybe Carol hit some real cheap dates, but the promotion itself lists $1284 as the lowest one-way price.

I just thought of something, maybe Carol got a fare for the period before the peak summer fares, such as early June.

Sorry, I can't help... I don't really have a clue which days I picked as I had no intention of actually flying this!

I do leave today for London, Paris and Switzerland in Delta's business class (which is not as nice as BAs, but was free with FF miles!)

The problem with Delta is they are using the domestic 763 on a lot of the long haul international flights instead of the 763ER. The latter delivers the advertised 'Business Elite' service and is configured for long haul with better seat pitch, in-flight entertainment options, etc. The 763ER is widely used on the same routes by the other carriers.

Disappointing and a disservice to people who book Business Class unawares that Delta is using the 763.

Carson,
When and where have you encountered the domestic configured 763 on DL international long haul flights? Were these transatlantic flights? If so, which routes? I know they've stopped using aircraft equipped with BE seats on most domestic transcon routes but was not aware of this happening on any international routes.

Hello Patty:

Was told this by agent for upcoming ATL-EZE flight. Basically that the plane was a 763 with 24 seats up front---which would be the domestically configured 763. She may have been mistaken because I question whether the domestic 763 has the range to make it non-stop from ATL to South America. I know they do this for Hawaii, but that is a fair piece closer than Buenos Aires.

Hope so, because 14 hrs in the air overnight with a 40-inch seat pitch doesn't excite me much.
Regards, Carson

Hi Carson,

We flew ATL-EZE business elite in March on a 763. It was just fine for us!

For two overnight long hauls it was worth the price. We didn't use FF miles. I thought we got our money's worth.

If you are going to BA I hope you have a great trip. It is a wonderful city.

Judi---thanks for the report. So it sounds like the agent was mistaken and in fact DL flies the 763 ER on that route. I also bought the BE fare and would be disappointed if it was otherwise.

I am very excited about going to Argentina and will travel widely there for a few weeks.

regards,
Carson