EK J Class companion deals ex Athens

Back to Forum
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

  • Anonymous
    Guest

    Binman62
    Participant

    Now this is what I call a sale!!!

    http://www.emirates.com/gr/English/ibe/CUGO/our_special_companion_fares/special_fares_list.aspx

    Headline is surely 2128 euro each to SYD or AKL…. but other fares are superb. Flights are not the most convenient to SYD or AKL based on the quick search I just did and seem to require stop in BKK perhaps call could provide better options.

    Nonetheless for travel on the same days ex LHR BA want £6528 for club and a laughable £5278 for world traveller plus. On the club fare you you get the QF slide on the way home. Flat beds are more expensive.

    Travel dates 5th 26th August.

    £2000 can go a long way even in OZ with less than $1.5 to the lowly pound.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    What complete cobblers!

    Outbound 6th August, return 26th BA is quoting £3,260 rtn in Club, and £2,600 in WT+.

    Honestly, you’re just making up numbers now…..

    Emirates involves three flights, probably three different sorts of business class seat, is about 30% less distance travelled and takes a whopping 30 hours – 30 HOURS!! – including several middle of the night stopovers for 4+ hours.

    No wonder it’s discounted.


    Binman62
    Participant

    VK perhaps you would like to look at my post again and, before leaping, take time to actually read it.

    EK are offering companion tickets ex ATH. It is a companion deal therefore 2 must travel!!!

    The BA fare is as quoted correctly by me as that is for 2 and you have agreed as the price you have quoted is for just 1.

    I have therefore not made anything up and it is far from cobblers. An apology would be welcome but I shall not hold my breath.

    I provided a link to a range of destinations but highlighted the offer to SYD as it appeared good value

    I suggested that a call may illicit more convenient flights perhaps even the A380 nonstop to SYD. The web site is rather clunky and makes searching a bit tiresome. I do not know if better flights are available nor have a looked to see if stops are allowed. The fare however is great value for what is undoubtedly an excellent product.

    My post was therfore accurate and provided information to others who may feel that 30 hours in J class on EK is an big improvement on BA WT+, especially as the saving is £1427.

    Another example of an exceptional saving over BA is MLE where BA want £7043.6 for 2 in club whilst EK are offering it for £2505.98 again for 2, a saving of over £4537!!!! Travel 5/26 Aug though BA operate 1 day later.

    Etihad also have some very good offers ex ATH Including a £1000 saving for 2 to SYD over BA club with a night in AUH and then nonstop to SYD.

    http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/Etihad/gr/en/home/Pages/sales.aspx

    All savings quoted exclude the costs of getting to or from ATH.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    Not illicit, you meant to write elicit.

    No apology from me; you quoted €2128 each vs. £6528 for Club.

    You made no reference to the fact the BA fare was for two people, and were not comparing apples with apples.

    It would have been more accurate to quote €4256 (for a 30-40+ hour journey, on three planes, with long layovers and variable Business Class seating without costs and extra sectors to get to ATH) vs. £6528 (for a 22 hour journey with a guaranteed consistent fully flat bed).

    Of course all BA fares can benefit from the year round shareholder discount, for eligible customers, and partner fares are available if you know where to look.

    I have no doubt these are *cheap* exATH fares on Emirates, but they are also very lengthy journeys, at inconvenient times and not what I would call good value, however inexpensive.

    Again for your Maldives fare, you have chosen a misleading BA fare; in fact Club World (a direct flight, as opposed to Emirates via DXB) can be had for as little as £1707 per person/£3414 for two in August simply by choosing dates more carefully.

    Of course BA fares are higher during early August’s school holidays when demand is higher, but the effects of supply and demand are wasted on this particular poster.

    Other airlines do offer less expensive fares than BA, and elements of the service/product may be better or worse. Personally, I am pleased BA is able to command such fares; it’s not a sign of weakness, but rather a demonstration that the service offered justifies a premium. Long may it continue.

    In the round, BA offers considerable value for savvy travellers who know where to look for bargains, and want direct flights, consistent product and the advantages of being part of a oneworld partnership.

    You can find year round best fares by looking here:

    http://www.britishairways.com/travel/low-price-finder/public/en_gb


    Potakas
    Participant

    Just a note here because I have experience from those Emirates companion offers, as my parents booked the last F offer that Emirates had exATH.

    The service that Emirates was providing during the offer period on F was the minimum They had the worst planes on that route with minimum service, I don’t say that the offer isn’t good as after your (usually) overnight connection at DXB you experience normal service, and maybe a Suite.

    My parents were unlucky as their A380 changed to a B777 without suites.

    Once more, I am not saying that the offer is not good but be aware that the last time the service was the minimum/ with the worst hard product.

    This was also reported at flyertalk.

    Also be aware that a stopover in Athens can be very expensive, the cheapest option is to spend your night at the Sofitel airport hotel which I thing is the worst thing that this French company has. It is a totally rip off property but it is the only Airport Hotel (can cost you 200E/night).


    craigwatson
    Participant

    highly misleading binman, so ek is 2128 per person and ba is 3200, so a savings of around 1100, then you need to get to athens, overnight in dubai, and touch down in bangkok, or have a couple hours in singapore with BA.

    Just because something is cheaper than BA doesnt mean the slagging need start, i can find fares that even beat EK’s sale fare, try air china and/or royal brunei, both under £2000 to sydney, but would you really want to!?


    cityprofessional
    Participant

    Ooooh, Air China sub-£2k? Fantastic. Yes please. Perfectly adequate lie-flat seats, an easy connection at PEK T3 and Star Alliance credit. Service is a bit hit ‘n’ miss, but then, so is service on EK and BA. I’ve never seen anything that cheap on *A. If I had known, that would have renewed my *G for a whole year with that one ticket

    Tell me more. Where did you see that fare?

    PS Royal Brunei doesn’t fly to Sydney. Never has. Never will.


    GrahamC
    Participant

    Craig, did you miss the currency symbols?


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    Incorrect, cityprofessional.

    Royal Brunei served Sydney until 2008.

    http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/airline-suspends-sydney-operations/2008/05/22/1211182967822.html


    David
    Participant

    Digressing somewhat here…

    VK – you mentioned being able to find partner fares “if you know where to look.”

    With exception to the Amex companion vouchers, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen any BA (CW or F) offers. Are you able to comment?

    Many thanks.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    No problem.

    There have been historical “cash” 2for1 offers exUK (last one was in 2009) via BA.com. I don’t see this being repeated regularly.

    There are exUS “cash” companion ticket offers from time to time.

    Mostly I would point you in the direction of certain premium Travel Agents/corporate TAs (e.g. Virtuoso or Amex Centurion) or flight+hotel offers on ba.com or elsewhere.

    BA isn’t on the Amex travel scheme, but can sometimes cut a deal on higher value fares.

    The move towards getting the best deal by booking flight+hotel together on ba.com is an important trend which savvy travellers should be very much alive to; these are generally biased towards two people travelling together and can often significantly reduce – though not eliminate – the cost of the second ticket.

    Without taking advantage of these deals (and you only need one night in the cheapest hotel, and don’t even have to check in) it is likely you will miss out on the best value fares; this has not been the case historically, where flight+hotel wasn’t the best value at all.


    cityprofessional
    Participant

    I stand corrected. I would still of course love to see sub-£2k fares on RBA to Sydney, given they’ve just suspended everything in the Antipodes bar Melbourne

    Hey Craig, I’m also waiting for that sub-£2k Air China fare. I have a couple of SYD trips to book, so don’t disappoint me now…

    VK. Assuming I do not wish to travel with a companion, where are these reasonably priced BA premium tickets you talk of? Planning in advance, and sticking with reasonable quality airlines (LH, AF, LX, EK, CX, etc), my general rule of thumb is that you can generally find premium fares for at least 25% less than the best fare BA can offer ex-LON to Asia – more than offsetting any shareholder discount

    (No need to reference 2009… Post-Lehmans £1.5k could buy a J seat on SQ’s A380 and an F seat on EK’s A380, so BA’s fares that year were Not That Impressive)


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    If your comparing on price alone, you’ll probably always find cheaper fares elsewhere. But if you’re looking for conveniently timed schedules, direct flights, exLHR with an excellent lounge product (usually at both ends), consistent on board hard product, excellent safety record, and a decent global partnership scheme for its loyalty scheme, BA is hard to beat as a total value proposition.

    Ways of reducing the cost of premium fares include:

    BA Sale fares

    Shareholder Discounted Tickets

    The (annual) 10% off code which I published here last week (and still valid until Thursday 23 June, though the sale fares have now ended).

    exEU/exUS fares can be very competitive, as is often referred to here.

    WT+ fares upgraded with miles are among the best value fares out there, with Gold and Silver card holders often recouping the same or more miles, so in effect a “free” upgrade.

    RTW fares, if your heading in that “direction”

    Mileage redemption seats

    onbusiness redemption seats

    Cash + miles bookings (though I personally don’t find these good value)


    Binman62
    Participant

    cityprofessional…I too would like to see where sub £2k to SYD can be obtained ex the UK or indeed anywhere else at present other than the deal noted originally.

    I have just checked ITA and the very best I can get for October travel is £2597 on China Southern via CDG and CAN taking 27.5 hours outbound and 33.75 on the way home.

    Now before I get shot down in flames the search was random and the dates were Oct 2 and Oct 23rd. ITA also provided fares for which ranged from £2597 to £3182 for SAS and £3498 for Etihad.

    When sorting the result by fastest routing the cheapest fare is a QF BA combo at £4451 and 22.25hr journey time. ITA also suggested a £3258 fare was available on QF via BKK at 22hrs and 50 mins.

    Changing the dates to Nov 1 /26 results in the lowest offer being OZ/LH at £2800.

    Extending the search to European departure points results in the best being £2667 on Etihad from MXP with a stop in AUH of 4hrs 40 on the way to SYD and of 2hrs 45 on the way home. Flights AUH to /from Syd are non stop on 777 operated by Virgin Australia.

    I would add that ITA does not always have the latest sale or promotions and therfore other, better fares ex the UK or Europe may be available, the latter certainly being the case with the sub £2k fare ex ATH albeit on a companion basis.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls