[Anonymous]

[OneWing48]

I have often seen references in these pages to cheaper BA fares in premium classes being available ex-Europe rather than from the UK.

I have looked at fares to Sydney in FIRST ex Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich etc. through the BA homepages of the respective countries but I have found these fares to be generally higher, not lower. I have found fares on a par with UK costs when looking at Frankfurt as a departure point but nowhere have I seen the markedly lower prices as suggested by various comments in these forums. (I am allowing for currency values in my comparisons.)

Is it the case that the comparisons being referred to in postings are between fully flexible UK fares and those available ex-Europe (which all seem to offer greater flexibility than the lowest price options ex-UK) or are my search techniques faulty?

I am aware of the savings available in both the UK and European markets by virtue of the shareholder discount.

Any help appreciated.

[AMcWhirter]

It’s all down to market forces. There can be big savings for BA premium fare tickets departing mainland Europe but it all depends on the destination and Australia isn’t one of them.

Simply put, the UK supplies the bulk of the traffic flowing between Europe and Australia. That is why our prices, on this route at least, are highly competitive with those from other European gateways.

[NTarrant]

One Wing48 – There may not be too much difference at present as BA has a sale on. I can’t comment on the destination you have chosen or class, but from my experience Middle and Far East in Club World can be considerably cheap.

I have found that Brussels is a good departure point, although one thing I have found is that it can differ depending on when you look, e.g AMS is cheaper today but tomorrow BRU is. Mrs T and I recently did BRU-LHR-DXB, returning HKG-LHR-BRU and saved just over £2,000 in Club World, with shareholder discount as well, over the direct option. We made a weekend of one of the trips staying at the Hilton and used standard class Eurostar. I would guess that we spent around £500 on the weekend trips but need not have bothered. Also we had a week between arriving and departing LHR

Hope that helps

[MartynSinclair]

As Mr T comments, the BA sale is providing a “false economy” at the moment. However, try Italy as a starting point. Also use sites like Kayak etc, as these give other options.

[Binman62]

I would suggest the use of ITA matrix as the search engine will search multiple departure points across the whole of Europe in one entry. It will then provide the cheapest option either by route on ba or by any carrier. It is probably the best flight search tool out there and would be superb if it then allowed you to book. It my experience once you have fare details and structure a call to BA or other agent can produce results.
First ex Europe is not as competitive as club. I don’t know why as first is my cabin of choice (was till they increased so much in last 18 months) club on the other hand is highly competitive but as others have said not on the NSA where prices are fixed by qf / BA quite legally under the agreement. I have however fount fares ex Europe of less than £1800 in business on ek mh and ey with the best being ex ath and ist. Try the carriers websites for details. Tk also offer super deal via hog with qf ex/to hkg.
For other destinations try aa.com first if ITA matrix is too complicated. Aa.com will provide one world options as well as lowest fare and fare structure. This can yield surprising results. And price led premium options.
If you can be flexible savings can be huge. For example lhr to dps in business was recently quoted on BA.com at £21k for 4. Cx undercut to £14k but ex eu was under £10k on same BA flights. Cgk however was under £7.5 but via hkg, a route BA Newcastle said was not possible and who suggested suggested sin as it is faster, but also over £20k. I have also seen fares to bki,mnl and tpe all much less than simply hkg.
In short eu fares are substantially lower than ex lhr even in sale. A good agent or mastering ITA matrix can be very beneficial, no matter your departure point or prefered carrier.

[Gold-2K]

The BA premium sale prices are pretty competitive. Just returned from Sydney having got First for just over £5K rtn. I have found CPH as a good starting point for fares Especially to USA. Recently saved around £1500 for a CW return to Boston out Monday, back Thursday. But it’s a bit of a lottery as to what’s on offer at the time.

Btw if you do go BA try and get on the Qantas A380. VERY impressed. Though also got new first with BA on SYD / SIN …… Classy!

[Binman62]

Gold- 2 k…….competitive it may be but value for money it is not.
It also represent a 100% increase on what I paid 18 months ago. QF is nice but not 5k nice and the BA refurbished cabin and seat is lovely but the overall product and service issues mean that it too is not value for money.
The route currently being fully supported by Aussies who come up on one way tickets and bag a bargain here due poor value of pound and strength of $.

[VintageKrug]

British Airways remains good value for money for those who are time poor and value the broad network and range of services offered by the airline.

The BA Lounge network is in itself second to none in its breadth and quality of service offered, the new BA First is an excellent re-invention of a tried and tested concept and the http://www.newclubworld.com cabin stands up well to competitors in a broad range of markets. Further improvements in catering are on their way very soon.

The current luxury sale has some outstanding fares to places like Muscat (£1350rtn in Club World), all of which can be purchased with an additional 10% discount if you are a legacy BA shareholder. There is also increasingly good value to had for “bundled” hotel/airfare combinations, and these are well worth looking into:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/business-flights/public/en_gb?

When you factor in the additional flight costs/possible accommodation costs to access exEUR fares, the extra hassle and risk of missed connections, then exUK sale fares become more competitive.

[MartynSinclair]

If you want to go to Muscat………..indeed it is very good value!

With regards to missed connections for ex-Europe fares, this is not really a problem because as you have a through ticket, the aircraft is generally held up for you if you are running late.

[VintageKrug]

1. That’s rubbish, while some leeway may be given BA aircraft are only very rarely held beyond departure time even if connecting passengers have missed the connection.

2. Certainly it’s a big problem if there’s only one longhaul flight per day.

The risk is certainly lower flying direct, exUK.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

On the other hand, I can fly from Malta to Abu Dhabi anytime for 1450€ on Air Malta/Etihad, via London, the normal business class fare.

So I couldn’t call Muscat for £1350 (1450€) an exceptional price, it is just less expensive than usual.

By direct comparison (to AUH and back), for random dates in August, BA (ex Milano) comes in at a shade under 5,000€.

So three flights on Air Malta/Etihad for less than one on BA (and that doesn’t include the cost of getting to Milano and back.)

The BA lounges are very nice, but I’d sit out in the main concourse for this level of savings.

[MartynSinclair]

Errr…..I’ve been on enough long haul flights to know that its not “rubbish”. Even you VK confirm that there is “leeway”. That means a long haul is delayed for connecting pax. I agree that fligjts will not be delayed indefinitely for connecting pax.

Accorfing to my baec account I took 14 ex- Europe long hauls last year and did not miss one connection.

[Binman62]

Vk. Agree with Martin here, fares ex EU offer year round value compared to the hit and miss sales fares. JFK for example almost 80%more expensive than 18 months ago and still higher than most near European departure points. As a long standing BA passenger and gold card holder Who is cost conscious the current BA offering is simply not worth the fare ex UK. I have a flight ex Europe in August saving almost £14,000 on the fare available ex UK on same dates. The sale has not made a dent on this and indeed if flying to HKG would have been £1500 more than I have paid including a near 5 hour sector on CX.
With the advent of transparency offered by AA and ITA but resisted by BA those of us who are cost conscious will be able to choose where we can originate and pick the fare that best matches our pockets and schedules. That will only impact on BA.
as for delaying waiting for connections it happens and it happens more often than BA will admit. IF using near Europe departure points then you will return on the same aircraft to LHR as you departeD on more often than not. Like Martyn never had problem.

[NTarrant]

Here is an example of a trip I am planning for December to DXB. Pre-sale the Club World fare was £1983. The fare currently in the sale is £1589.03. The price to travel from BRU is €1774.57 or £1536.86, a saving of just £52.17. In this case it is not worth the trip to BRU.

On the presale fare a saving of £446.14 can be had, but there is travel costs to take into account. Perhaps on this route BRU is not a good example, but bearing shareholder discounts aside it does show the discount in the sale.

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