VintageKrug - 20/10/2011 10:09 GMT
Some reasonable exUK deals here for travel (in most cases) up to January:
www.britishairways.com/travel/Flights-sale/public/en_gb
Cairo is available in Club World from £999 rtn.
Winter Blues Sale: First and Business Class rtn from £999
Posts
blondcat - 20/10/2011 11:35 GMT
Quite like the look of the Orlando Club fare @1599.
Anyone happen to know if Virgin usually load their fares shortly after ? I've got enough Virgin miles for a reward flight so will just need to buy one ticket. I know virgin upper and BA club prices are often similar for that route.
VintageKrug - 20/10/2011 11:43 GMT
It wouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility for Virgin to match these fares.
However, you're unlikely to get an award to Orlando during School hols on either airline, and particularly over the Olympics this summer.
Worth checking availability and then deciding whether you'd prefer Virgin or BA; these are very good value fares, though an exEU may well be cheaper (though more hassle).
Binman62 - 20/10/2011 16:13 GMT
Oh look another BA sale....must be at least a week since the last one!!
So just how good are these fares.
Firstly I was sent details of fares yesterday from Etihad which knock the BA fares for 6. First to SYD at just over £4200 and just £2400 for business class including a car.
But staying with BA these new fares compared to the normal fares ex the UK seem quite good but when you compare them with taking the same flight on the same day from a EU starting point what is the impact.
Random date Ex LHR 17 Nov back 30 Nov.
LHR DEN £2097 not the £1999 headline price. To get that need to go via MIA
AMS DEN £1943.
LHR SIN £2696 but only if you travel on the QF slide! The fare basis is a highly restricted I class. Not all business class seats are equal!!!
To travel Club World there and back or on the QF A380 it is at least another 45% or £1200…so £3900.
AMS SIN same dates in Club World £3200, a saving of almost 22%. There is a premium for using the QF A380. The fare basis is a much more flexible D class.
There is no doubt that some of these deals make it less attractive to start in the EU but I have looked at just one staring point and not at anything from Italy.
My own view is that this sale is more to do with BA own revenue blues! The JFK fare is actually lower than previously, the first time in almost 3 years that that has happened. There can be no doubt that airlines and BA in particular are starting to suffer as the real effects of this double dip recession start to bite.
Discretionary spend has been eroded and destroyed and this hurts. At £1499 I would not be tempted to make plans for long weekend in New York with Mrs B but I would have been at £999 or a true sale fare. I would gladly have accepted punitive restrictions but it is not to be.
BA in part only have themselves to blame for some of this as they have chosen to drive up fares to unsustainable levels and in turn have helped hike inflation.
CAI at £999 is not a good deal given the civil unrest that continues to plague that city.
These fares will be great for some, especially those who have not booked yet for trip in the next 8-10 weeks or over Christmas. I suspect there will not be much at the headline fare levels from Dec 15 onwards.
They are of no use to me as I am booked but in any event because they are point to point I remain much better off starting in the EU and using normal every day fares. I travel to Indonesia and the Far East and it remains cheaper for me to start in Europe and buy a through fare including 5 hours on CX than it does for me to start in LHR and fly to HKG connect.
18 Nov return 30 Nov
LHR HKG £2761. NB on 17 NOV BA.com pricing Club world £300 more than First on same service!!!
LHR CGK £5844!!!! using code share flights
FCO CGK £3130……a saving over ex UK of 46% and just £400 more than the HKG sale fare ex LHR. In august it was 75% less than the UK fare.
So good luck if these fares suit your needs and help you.
Senator - 20/10/2011 16:51 GMT
Hi,
I think there are some good deals here, haven't checked dates yet but it looks alight even with ARN-LHR in CE added for extra £260 return.
Two separate tickets ARN-LHR and LHR-NYC is about the same as ARN-LHR-NYC was at the last sale. Personally, I think the Caribbean deals look best.
I do agree with Binman62 that the timing seems a bit odd. The last sale ended just four weeks back. Whilst it also included WT and WT+, it is odd that this comes now.
CXDiamond - 20/10/2011 17:23 GMT
Another sale so soon would suggest that BA have more premium seats than they can sell at present.
Their fares are more often than not way too high for the quality they provide so it's not surprising they can't sell their premium seats.
Whenever I travel with them the F cabin seems to be full of upgrades with less than half of the people paying the real price and the service diluted accordingly. It's not something I choose to buy unless CX have no availability but when CX bring their new C to London I'll probably trade down rather than fly BA as what you end up with is a substandard product so it's no wonder they can't sell it. Seems logical to me but of course my logic must be wrong.
VintageKrug - 21/10/2011 09:29 GMT
Not really; all airlines discount and especially so in times of economic uncertainty.
To evidence this, Virgin is matching most of these sale fares:
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/specialoffers/upperclassusasale.jsp
Danwolf - 21/10/2011 11:10 GMT
Virgin / BA 'price match' each other, usually with about a day's delay to each other.
If I see Virgin with a sale (I check often), you can (almost) be certain that BA will match prices roughly for the same time period.
One thing I have noticed this time though, is that Virgin hasn't followed suit as much as they would usually. The premium cabin (Biz/First) sale is not within BA's usual pattern, which is interesting, considering the usual cashflow patterns that one would expect from an airline at this point in the year...
Hippocampus - 21/10/2011 12:36 GMT
If you look at the monthly traffic numbers IAG provides to the City (as opposed to relying on guesswork in support of a general moan) you can see that BA's year on year premium traffic growth has been consistently very strong with year on year growth in recent months well into double figures.
This sale may point to demand softening in light of economic uncertainty or just marketing activity to target premium leisure customers.
Either way, for some, it seems BA is damned whatever it does.
Binman62 - 21/10/2011 14:25 GMT
Hippocampus......your are of course spot that BA and others have seen substantial increases in premium traffic over the last few years and this has been reflected both in the reports to the city and massive fare hikes.
The issue is that this is historical data but the BA sales strategy is based on forward bookings.
I think you can discount this as a targeted campaign for leisure premium travellers. The time frame for bookings and the Christmas period means most will have already made plans (myself included). I am also a very price sensitive premium customer and as I said in an earlier post the fare to JFK is simply not attractive for a last minute long weekend, for me at least.
So, while BA and others may have enjoyed premium traffic improvements this sale and the current double dip recession would suggest that forward bookings are not so much softening as collapsing and this sale may be a toe in the water to see just how soft the market is.
The Christmas travel period will be critical and BA and others cannot afford any significant disruption for any reason. The pressure on the BAA and the new snow king must be huge right not to ensure that they get a good operating season.
I think the traditional sale in December will be better and redemption opportunities will improve from their current dire position, both to bolster the launch of Avios as well as the balance sheet via the iniquitous fuel surcharge.
VintageKrug - 21/10/2011 14:33 GMT
I just booked for Christmas using this sale; a nice deal, was able to get the sale fares as advertised for the peak period over Christmas and even better value with the 10% shareholder discount.
I am sure many other Premium Leisure customers will also have taken advantage of this opportunity, also.
It is possible that forward demand may be as strong in the short term as more recent historical data might suggest.
But that is not a BA-only issue; it's industry-wide.
I doubt the introduction of reason would change some people's perspectives.
www.britishairways.com/travel/Flights-sale/public/en_gb
Stretch - 25/10/2011 20:48 GMT
I'm disappointed to see this sale. I booked my Christmas flights in September's sale, only to see the same flights and classes booked at a cheaper price in the current sale! Thanks BA.
continentalclub - 26/10/2011 12:30 GMT
There is always a risk in deferring a booking, but it's been the case for a few years that airlines' Q4 sale activity tends to be the most aggressive in the annual cycle.
Probably the biggest exception to that recently has been Lufthansa's Q1/Q2 shoulder (Easter) sale which lasts for a few days over the bank holiday and has delivered some very competitive fares.
The current Q4 sale amongst AF KL DL LH BA IB AA QF NZ VS et al differs mostly from the same activity last year in that it's been about a week earlier than last year, and this year AF KL DL led the fray, with BA following and then only with premium cabins. It could, of course, have been WT/WTP only, in which case Stretch might have been looking at higher fares now and/or with lesser availability.
If anyone's interested in a few comparisons between 2010 Q4 BA best available fares and 2011 Q4 (Club/First):
New York 2010 £1668/£2666 - 2011 £1499/£2497
Hong Kong 2010 £2345/£4045 - 2011 £2459/£4159
Sydney 2010 £3060/£4560 - 2011 £3062/£4562
VintageKrug - 05/11/2011 08:44 GMT
I think this is one of the better sales in recent years, and I've certainly taken full advantage of it for some upcoming leisure trips.
An exUS Sale launched in the past few days, including Club World:
https://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us
Book by 15 November for the US one, 8 November for the UK one.
Tim2sms - 08/11/2011 14:32 GMT
VK - Perhaps you could refresh us all on the shareholder discount criteria - Does it exist in the new IAG world? (Hope so.) Many thanks, Tim.
VintageKrug - 08/11/2011 17:53 GMT
No news on that front just yet.
Legacy BA shareholders still benefit from the 10% discount; IAG shareholders have not, so far, been offered a similar scheme.
Martin Broughton is keen on the idea, but as of yet there is no announcement of an equivalent scheme for IAG.
There used to be a more positive statement on the IAG website, but now it reads:
"IAG is currently reviewing the shareholder discount scheme and shareholders will be provided with more information in due course."
There is no indication that the BA shareholder scheme will be discontinued during 2012.
businesstraveltips - 01/12/2011 16:04 GMT
ATTENTION There is a SALE FARE on with British airways which virgin have just matched
dates of travel between 20 December 2011 till the 31 dec 2011
for valid destinations please enquire within
02082251120 rico whyte @ DIAL A FLIGHT
also have great corporate rates
business leisure, and first class
MartinJ - 01/12/2011 17:54 GMT
Will sombody please stop businesstraveltips' blunt advertising? This is a discussion forum, not a classifieds section.
businesstraveltips - 01/12/2011 18:33 GMT
and didnt i not inform the forum of a BA sale fare that is the point of the discussion is it not sorry. if i offended you in anyway many people are here to make a saving, and that is precisely what i am doing so i would not make a mountian out of a mole hill
Regards
Rico
