The seats in a flight class may look alike but the prices paid can be wildly different. Alex McWhirter explains the tricks that can get you a better deal.
Booking a typical long-distance flight from London Heathrow is akin to visiting a bazaar. In any given cabin, no two passengers are likely to be paying the same for their seats given the vast range in pricing.
Carriers such as British Airways charge a different price for the same seat depending not only on the ticket and class of travel but on when and where you book from. They do so because they sell tickets for the flight in different countries, charge in different currencies and absorb the considerable costs in baggage handling, flight transfers and so on. This means more complexity and confusion.
The prime difference in price is between leisure and business tickets. What a company will pay, a leisure customer will not. So how does one separate the two? Traditionally, this is done with a Saturday-night stay. Business travellers don’t want to be away for a weekend, and don’t want to absorb the cost of staying in a hotel over the weekend.
Readers often ask why a round-the-world ticket often costs less than a straight return ticket to one of the destinations included. They also wonder why BA tickets purchased overseas, for instance, can undercut the price Londoners have to pay.
Shifting currency values and market conditions are the reasons. In the case of Geneva to New York with BA via Heathrow, since Swiss charges a reasonable Fr 4,413 (£2,586) for a return ticket flying direct, this then becomes the benchmark price in Geneva. So if other carriers wish to win customers they must undercut Swiss – particularly if, like BA, they do not fly non-stop.
It’s a similar situation in Dubai. Emirates charges Dhs 38,270 (£7,126) for a first class return to New York. Again, the indirect carriers have to undercut this price. But if planned carefully, this can work to your advantage, as you may be able to get more out of your trip.
Here are some examples of the different prices that can be paid for the same seats on a flight. For all of these I used the high premium seating version of BA’s B747 on a London-New York trip and, except where noted, prices are based on a typical midweek journey, departing Monday and returning overnight on Thursday.
FIRST CLASS
£7,924
Seat 1A
Company chairman Mr Andrews was travelling from London to New York on Monday afternoon and returning on Thursday evening. He booked a week before departure and paid BA’s normal return price of £7,924.
£6,416
Seat 2A
Although he boarded at Heathrow, Mr Brown had started his trip in Dubai earlier the same day. During his stopover, he arranged to meet colleagues from his firm’s London office for discussions. Mr Brown allowed five hours to change planes, giving ample time to meet work colleagues at T5’s adjacent Sofitel hotel over lunch. He booked a week before departure and the entire trip cost Dhs 34,440 (£6,416).
£6,119
Seat 5K
Mrs Cowdrey’s trip to New York was the first stage of a world trip where she would be visiting staff at company branches in New York, Tokyo and Frankfurt. Her Oneworld first class round-the-world ticket had been planned some weeks before at a cost of £6,119.
BUSINESS CLASS
£4,460
Seat 13A
Mr Dawes was on a midweek trip. He booked his ticket a week ahead and paid BA’s normal return price of £4,460.
£2,109
Seat 12K
Swiss banker Mr Emanuel was also taking a midweek trip. He had booked a week ahead and had started the trip in Geneva. The decision to choose BA via London rather than fly non-stop with Swiss was based on factors such as good connections, better pricing and the fully-flat bed seating in business class. He paid Fr 3,598 (£2,109).
£1,098
Seat 14A
Ms Finlay is a canny business flyer and booked her trip to the States a month ahead. She also extended her stay in the Big Apple to include a weekend, meaning her ticket price plummeted to £1,098.
PREMIUM ECONOMY
£1,421
Seat 29A
Mrs George booked a week ahead. Her midweek return cost £1,421.
£1,092
Seat 30A
Mr Harris was upgraded from economy class. He is a gold tier member of BA’s Executive Club and, when paying full fare, often finds he gets upgraded. He paid £1,092.
£894
Seat 30K
Mr Inglethorpe is a regular traveller on this route. He gets his US office to purchase his tickets, which are routed New York-London-New York and are used on a back-to-back basis. It allows him to get around BA’s rules specifying a Saturday-night stay away. He is aware that BA frowns on such ticketing methods so to ensure the airline can’t track what he does, he isn’t an Executive Club member. The ticket cost US$1,308 (£894).
ECONOMY
£1,092
Seat 42A
Mr James is not staying for a Saturday night so his return ticket cost £1,092.
£286
Seat 42K
Mr King bought a seat-sale ticket. It meant he had to include a Saturday night but this lowered the price to £286.
£212
Seat 43A
Mr Lane redeemed BA miles for this trip so the return flights cost nothing. But he still had to pay a hefty amount for taxes, fees and charges, which amounted to £212.
