[Inquisitive]

Bloomberg reported that Fliers splurge on most expensive seats as travel restarts quoting an IATA report.

This is good news for airlines; I predicted this in one of the forum topic that once Covid is behind us, there will be more leisure travel in business class.

Hope this continues and airlines provide better and competitive travel options.

[AMcWhirter]

Bloomberg has a strict paywall. But the article in question can be found here.

Fliers splurge on most expensive seats as travel restarts

[MartynSinclair]

I think the thread header is slightly misleading. Travel re started some months ago but right now some airlines and airports do not have the manpower to keep it going in any class!

[DavidSmith2]

In the last 48 hours I have booked 5 return business flights (4 work and one private) and 4 separate hotel bookings – inc.Hilton and Radisson – for the period June to August. I don’t know if I am typical but I certainly get the feeling that things are starting to move again. Of course circumstances may still change but that is the plan, as it stands. All I need to do now is sort visas and renmember how to pack a suitcase for a one-week business trip (don’t forget the adaptors and extension cable!).

[stevescoots]

Its not that we want to Splurge, its the insane pricing on some routes! I got prices recently LHR to SGN rtn in July around 3.5K in J with QR or EK…CX 6.5K! i guess CX are not too concerned about filling those seats. I know they have lost a ton of cash but they wont get bums on seats that way. I was paying 2.5-3 before the unknown virus of unknow origins came around

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MartynSinclair, DerekVH

[AMcWhirter]

I was shocked at some of the prices now charged for J class.

I took the example of SIA and a return J fare LHR-SIN-SYD for a two week stay in June. Travelling midweek. June is not considered peak season for Europe-Australia travel.

Anyway the return fares worked out at around £10,000 to £12,000 return.

That’s not a typo !

I tried dates a week later and the fares were similar.

Normally a return J fare with SIA for similar dates before the pandemic would have cost around £4,000.

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stevescoots

[esselle]

[postquote quote=1214154]

You could fly F on EK for less on that route.

[AlanOrton1]

While it’s always been an expensive route in J, LHR-JFK have been noticeably high over the last 6 months.
Even with a Saturday stay, J fare was almost 4 times the price of Prem Econ.
Outbound to JFK J was almost full, Prem Econ every seat full, Econ maybe a third full.

[FormerBA]

You need to get all those pesky vouchers out of the system and the best way to do it is to charge double and let people think they are still getting a bargain. Either that or they simply lapse with quite a bit of free cash to carriers.

That said I still saw a return flight to NCE on BA in June for less than £100!

Long haul premium fares to Asia and on QR in particular are just mad

[Inquisitive]

[postquote quote=1214154]

June is School holiday month in Singapore and some other Asian countries. Fares are normally very high during this time especially for London and Australia.

[DerekVH]

We have a booking LHR/RHO (Rhodes) in August booked last year for £375 in Club Europe, a friend wanted to join us – BA now asking for £1123 for the same flight! A return to the Maldives next March in F has increased by 40% from what we paid this year.

[ASK1945]

I booked LHR to Rome in February 2022 for the first week of this September, Business Class for the two of us.

We had to cancel four weeks later and re-book for the first week of July. BA wanted double for this booking and so I had to choose Economy, but was able to use the credit voucher without adding funds or getting another voucher for the difference in fares.

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1214200]June is School holiday month in Singapore and some other Asian countries. Fares are normally very high during this time especially for London and Australia.

THANKS|[/quote]

Thanks and I hear what you say.

But I have this morning checked numerous sates for travel from London to Singapore and Sydney (using SIA via SIN) and the fares are also really high over the coming months.

I mean anyone who has to depart at short notice for Singapore this weekend (out May 22/23) is faced with paying at least £9,500 return in business class for a short trip !

I have checked return business class fares with SIA on selected dates in June, July and August and they are all around £9,000 or higher.

So one assumes SIA is achieving high loads.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=1214397]I mean anyone who has to depart at short notice for Singapore this weekend (out May 22/23) is faced with paying at least £9,500 return in business class for a short trip !

I have checked return business class fares with SIA on selected dates in June, July and August and they are all around £9,000 or higher.[/quote]

Presumably the above is for direct flights where there a relatively limited options. What about indirect flights, surely passengers are not expected to pay £9,500..for indirect flights.

I wouldn’t even consider a direct flight to BKK….. (if there was one besides Thai)…

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1214455]Presumably the above is for direct flights where there a relatively limited options. What about indirect flights, surely passengers are not expected to pay £9,500..for indirect flights.[/quote]

Yes. Indirect flights will be less expensive. But when I checked Emirates just now its business class fares were higher than normally.

For example, a business class return in mid June (I chose midweek to midweek for the lowest rate) LHR-SIN was almost £5,000.

While LHR-DXB-SYD return business class with Emirates for the above dates was £7,000.

[Author]

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