ng business or first class across the Atlantic has always been out of reach for most travellers. Airline ticket prices from New York to London normally start around $3000 and can easily reach $7000. Here are some top tips to reduce that airfare and maybe get you in to that business class premium cabin.Tip 1: Fly All-Business Class Silverjet
Silverjet is a small all-business class carrier which flies twice daily from London Luton to New York Newark. Started in January 2007, it also flies daily to Dubai from Luton.
Silverjet uses Boeing 767 aircraft fitted out with 100 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Seat pitch comes in at an excellent 75″ and the seats are almost lie flat. Customer service on-board is top notch.
This airline has its own private terminal at Luton meaning passengers can turn up 45 minutes before take-off and be quickly processed. Luton is situated around 45 minutes north of central London and is a hub for budget airlines and private jets.
A return ticket on Silverjet will set you back £1,150 / $2,350 all-in, although special offer prices have been as low as £799 / $1,700.
Silverjet is the only London - New York all business airline in service after the recent bankruptcies of Maxjet and EOS Airlines.
Tip 2: Fly via Iceland
If flying Trans-Atlantic business class, get price quotations from the more ‘off-beat’ airlines that you may never have considered.
For example, Icelandair flies from London to New York via Reykjavik and can be extremely competitive with its Saga Class (business class) airfares. Prices are under £1,100 / $2,200 for a round trip all-in. It routinely undercuts the big boys by 30-40% in a bid to poach traffic to route through Iceland rather than fly non-stop.
Icelandair’s website is excellent at finding the best fares and you can also find cheap upgrade deals if flying economy.
Tip 2: Consider Middle-Eastern or Asian Carriers
Some other off-beat airlines ply their trade between the UK and North East USA such as Kuwait Airways and Air India, which fly from London and New York, and Pakistan International Airlines which serves Manchester, UK to both Chicago and the Big Apple.
Air India offers business class return deals from Heathrow to JFK from £1,100 on a Boeing 777.
You can find London - NYC business class deals on Kuwait Airways from around £850 / $1,700 return, also on a Boeing 777. Or fly First Class for £1,700 / $3,400.
Tip 4: Go Premium
If your budget doesn’t stretch as far as business class, then book a premium economy ticket. You will get superior legroom and a better chair than the standard economy class seat. It will also mean that you are more likely to be upgraded for free to business class. This is due to the relatively small number of premium economy seats available - any overbooked situation in economy will overspill to premium economy and you could be bumped up to business class. This doesn’t happen everytime, but choose a busy flight and you will not harm your chances.
Happy Flying!
Tip 5: Invest in Your Air Travel Knowledge
You should consider investing in the Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide from AirTravelGenius.com This teaches you many more useful insider tips and tricks to maximise your chances of flying business or first class, helps you find the world’s lowest airfares in any class and how to really make the most of your airmiles (most miles are unfortunately wasted). If you ever fly internationally, this guide is a must-read.
The ‘Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide’ ebook is available at http://www.airtravelgenius.com These secret insider tips and techniques could really save you thousands of pounds, dollars or euros in airfare costs. Learn how to find that rock-bottom low airfare, how to get elite frequent flyer status in as little as a few weeks, and find amazing ‘hidden’ business class deals. All this and much much more.
Want to improve your chances of a free airline upgrade? For this and lots more useful free info you are always welcome to head over to the comprehensive frequent flyer articles section at: http://www.airtravelgenius.com/articles
