David
When planning a trip and travelling business class there are some ways in which you can keep your costs to a minimum. Just like checking out European river cruise deals, you should look at all the fares offered by the different airlines flying to Europe. Note what time of year they put flights on sale and aim to arrange your business meetings or holidays to coincide with these dates. In fact, the more flexible you can be with dates the better as you are more likely to find the fares offering the cheapest business class to Europe this way.
The same is true of destinations. Sometimes it’s worth flying to a place that’s near where you need to be but much, much cheaper than a direct flight to that location. A short journey by train or coach is no hardship if you’re saving money on your flights.
Look out for special deals during the flight sales, such as the chance to buy two seats for the price of one or other special fares offered as part of a package tour, such as for Caribbean cruises. Remember that flight and cruise operators advertise in a number of different ways – in print, online, on TV and via social media. Try following a couple of the airlines you want to use for business class travel, for example, and keeping an eye on their advertising and publicity material.
Sometimes you will find that there are online auctions for fares, so if you’ve already booked for economy class and would like an upgrade, you can make a bid to move to the front of the plane. The better airlines will set limits on how much you can bid and it’s not guaranteed that you will win, however, it’s becoming more popular as it’s quite a straightforward process. It may be that an airline will specify particular international or domestic flights and select passengers who already hold economy tickets, emailing them with an offer to participate in converting to business class fares to Europe.
Look out for airlines that team up with holiday providers to offer business class seats at the same price as economy class fares. The benefits are obvious – you will have comfortable seats, a great meal service and often an increased allowance for baggage. Some airlines offer business class travellers free iPads on which streamed entertainment is provided.
Taking cheap flights business class often means you will be earning points as a frequent flyer. The good news is that there will come a time when you have earned sufficient points to get an upgrade to business class, while still paying an economy fare. Any in-flight purchases you make often also qualify, so it’s worth checking your airline loyalty programme details to make sure you are getting the best deal from your scheme. Branded credit cards are also a good way. To earn additional points and you might even find you could be eligible to exchange points you have accrued for free or cheap business class flights.
The level of comfort provided by travelling business class is not to be underestimated. You are more likely to arrive looking and feeling refreshed if you’ve had a comfortable sleep, whereas an economy class can leave passengers feeling exhausted and dishevelled, particularly on a long-haul flight.
