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Fly in Style Without Paying the Price - examples of cost-cutting air fares and ways to book trips using alternative travel arrangements

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Lynn Woods, James Ramage

Extra legroom and gourmet meals needn't cost as much as you think.

If there's anything Tom Parsons hates more than flying coach, it's paying for something better. So he employs an arsenal of tactics to make sure he gets a premium seat at a bargain price.

For example, he recently paid $168 (not including taxes) for a discounted coach ticket between Dallas and Miami on American Airlines, then used frequent-flier miles to get a first-class upgrade that would normally have cost $1,930.

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Parsons, who is the editor of Best Fares magazine, has also made a science of studying aircraft seat configurations. For example, on domestic flights, airlines generally offer two classes of service (coach and first-class), while international flights add an intermediate business class. Parsons makes a point of booking a seat in the front of the cabin to increase his chance of ending up in business class by default. "Airlines occasionally sell business-class seats as domestic coach service" on planes that are designed for international flights but used on a two-class domestic route, he explains.

Parsons always confirms his preferred seat at the time he books. And when he flies on TWA, he requests the "Y up fare"--a full-fare coach ticket (for which the ticketing symbol is Y) with a free upgrade to business class that's good on any route except those that originate from or terminate at TWA's St. Louis hub. To benefit from such special fares, "you have to ask for them," he says.

Normally, the price tag for extra legroom, gourmet meals served on china plates, and personal video screens that pop up from your armrest is out of reach--for example, a staggering $5,366 round trip for business class on British Airways between New York City and London--unless you're a business traveler flying on company time and money. Yet even at that price, premium service is much in demand, especially business class on long international flights (which is generally comparable to domestic first class).

Service is usually best on new aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, and on popular routes; it can be tough to get a seat in business class from New York to Frankfurt or Rome, says Joe Broesler of Hickory Travel Systems, in Saddle Brook, N.J. Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class, which the carrier touts as first-class service at a business-class price, includes an onboard lounge staffed by a beauty therapist who provides complimentary massages and manicures on select flights.

But service can also be spotty. On a recent Delta flight aboard an older L-1011 traveling from Miami to Dublin, several business-class seats did not adjust properly and food was served on plastic trays, says Robert Hubbard of Interworld Travel, in Coral Gables, Fla.

Aside from the amenities, business class has other advantages. The price of a ticket is usually the same no matter when you book, and there's no penalty if you cancel, in nearly every case, "business-class travel allows unlimited free stopovers en route for up to one year," says Terry Trippler, editor of Airfare Report.com (also visit the related Web site, www.rulesoftheair.com). Airlines base their prices for international routes on mileage, so as long as you fly the primary carrier from which you bought your ticket for the first over-the-water segment of your flight, "the airline does not care if you stop in other cities or fly another carrier along the way," says Trippler.

Compared with premium rates to Europe, business-class fares to Asia are downright bargains on a dollar-per-mile basis. Singapore Airlines charges $3,050 for a round-trip business-class ticket between San Francisco and Hong Kong--almost $2,300 less than that British Airways ticket between New York and London.

LANDING A DEAL

Premium air travel isn't cheap at any price, but if you know how to get around, you can save up to 30% on published business- and first-class fares, says Hubbard.

UPGRADE YOUR TICKET. Most carriers require 40,000 frequent-flier miles for upgrades on transatlantic flights (until May 14, Northwest requires only 20,000 miles). Continental doesn't allow mileage upgrades on flights to Hawaii or Europe; other carriers allow upgrades on full-fare coach tickets only. With seats in demand, experts advise frequent fliers to book an upgrade a month or two in advance, particularly on flights from a carrier's hub.

Like TWA, a few other airlines offer free business-class upgrades to travelers who have purchased full-fare coach tickets. E1 A1, the Israeli carrier, offers a business-class upgrade that can be applied to most coach fares (including discounted ones) for a surcharge of $749 each way--still cheaper than the posted business-class fare between New York City and Tel Aviv.

BOOK TWO ONE-WAY FARES. With coach, booking one-way fares would almost always cost significantly more. But that's not necessarily the case for business class, says Trippler. Because of currency fluctuations and a strong U.S. dollar, a one-way ticket originating in a foreign country can cost substantially less than one purchased in the U.S., and it can easily be booked by a U.S. travel agent.

Financial Services Industry

Fly in Style Without Paying the Price - examples of cost-cutting air fares and ways to book trips using alternative travel arrangements

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Lynn Woods, James Ramage

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