Business Class Fares & Offers

[sl4ppy]

7 hours ago, penboy said:

Saudi Airlines have reasonable prices and flight times out of Manchester. Never had them pop up on a search before. I'll keep an eye on prices for when I can book.

Anyone have experience with them?

Saudia coming up in searches shows how desperate things are  

 

[davidge]

Qatar expanding network and restarting some routes, including Birmingham. Cardiff could restart this year as well.

https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2023/03/07/qatar-airways-announces-network-expansion-with-possible-return-to-cardiff/

Qatar Airways announced a raft of new routes and resumptions during a press conference at ITB Berlin.

The seven new destinations planned for launch this year include Chittagong (Bangladesh), Juba (South Sudan), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Medan (Indonesia), Trabzon (Turkey) and both Lyon and Toulouse in France.

Additionally, the airline will resume flights to 11 destinations including Beijing, Birmingham, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Davao (Philippines), Marrakesh, Nice, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Ras al-Khaimah and Tokyo Haneda.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, also told Business Traveller that he expects the airline’s route to Cardiff to resume this year, explaining that this depends on the speed of the repair project of the A350 aircraft.

Once the A350s come back into service, it will free up the 787 aircraft for routes such as Cardiff, he added.

Last month the airline brought an end to a long-running dispute with Airbus over issues with the carrier’s fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft.

Questioned on the future of the A380, Al Baker said that he expects the aircraft to be operational for three years, after which they will be retired as other aircraft come into service.

Qatar Airways reactivated some of its A380s in December 2021 due to issues with its A350 fleet which resulted in a loss of capacity, though the CEO stated at the time that he did not see a long-term future for the aircraft. Qatar Airways currently has ten A380 aircraft, seven of which are currently flying.

During the press conference, the airline also outlined frequency increases for 35 destinations in its network. In the UK this includes:

London Gatwick – increased from seven weekly flights to ten (and up to 14 in the peak summer season)

London Heathrow – increased from 42 weekly flights to 45

Edinburgh – increased from 10 weekly flights to 12

The summer 2023 schedule will see more than 655 weekly flights compared to the same period last year. Al Baker explained that the airline has had little issues with recruitment or staffing, with the expansion unaffected as a result.

On the topic of investing in other airlines, the CEO added that the company is not currently looking to invest in other airlines.

 

 

[davidge]

Has a look at the Eva website today, just in case I have to change my plans, and noticed something I don’t remember seeing before. When I searched for flights it didn’t just show Eva flights but also Thai and 1-stop flights using BA for a leg.

Just be aware if you look for flights.

[neilri2001]

If you can use airmiles or a low cost flight to get to Vienna EVA are often substantially cheaper from there than from LHR. Usually a minimum saving of £500 but when i was looking at some Easter flights a few weeks back it was £2300 from Vienna and double that from Heathrow

[davidge]

Email from EVA:

Dear Valued Member,  Celebrate Our 30th Anniversary of London-Bangkok-Taipei Route With Us!  30th Anniversary Sale Now On  Don’t miss out on our sale from 27th March to 10th April 2023.  All return flights booked from London Heathrow to Bangkok or Taipei will automatically apply a discount of GBP30 in Economy Class tickets*; GBP60 in all Premium Economy Class tickets and GBP90 in all Business Class tickets. (* V and W Economy Class tickets excluded)   Sales period  27th March to 10th April 2023  For Travel  1st May to 9th December 2023 * Please note tax / fuel surcharge included and subject to seat availability and blackout dates. Terms and conditions apply.

 

Win Free Tickets to Bangkok or Taipei To celebrate more…. We are giving away 1 x Premium Economy Class return ticket and 1 x Economy Class return ticket (for either London Heathrow to Bangkok or London Heathrow to Taipei) in a lucky draw. Check out our EVA Air UK’s Facebook (@EVAAIRWAYSCORPUK) and Instagram accounts (@EVAAIR_UK) for further details.   Campaign period  30th March to 10th April 2023 * Terms and conditions apply, visit evaair.com

[davidge]

Qatar Airways has confirmed that its Doha-Birmingham route will resume on July 6.

The carrier has not offered a regular service to the West Midlands city since the onset of Covid-19.

The route will operate daily during the summer 2023 season, as follows:

From Doha

Flight QR33 will depart Doha at 0805 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving into Birmingham at 1315

Flight QR35 will depart Doha at 0220 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving into Birmingham at 0730

From Birmingham

Flight QR34 will depart Birmingham at 1445 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving into Doha at 2340

Flight QR36 will depart Birmingham at 0900 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving into Birmingham at 1755

Flights will be served by a Boeing 787-8 configured with 22 seats in business class and 232 in economy.
 

(Business Traveller)

[davidge]

I was looking at flights in November earlier and saw that Gulf are offering fares of around £2400-2500. Not cheap, but probably lower than most for decent 1-stop connections. I was looking at November out, February back so don’t know how many dates it’s available for. 
I’m not going to be able book until at least the end of August and am probably going to be looking at coming back in March. It’s 99.9% certain I’ll just stick to direct with Eva as well.

Still interesting to look 

[hammerman]

7 hours ago, davidge said:

I was looking at flights in November earlier and saw that Gulf are offering fares of around £2400-2500. Not cheap, but probably lower than most for decent 1-stop connections. I was looking at November out, February back so don’t know how many dates it’s available for. 
I’m not going to be able book until at least the end of August and am probably going to be looking at coming back in March. It’s 99.9% certain I’ll just stick to direct with Eva as well.

Still interesting to look 

Check this routing, I was also looking November and some of their flight are 2 stops via Singapore.

I settled upon the Qatar option with BA 777 new suite LHR to and from Doha, Qatar A380 Doha BKK.

Same flights were £500 cheaper on Qatar than BA, plus Qatar gave me more discount for same Avios than BA although I am Silver status on BA.

[hammerman]

1 minute ago, hammerman said:

Check this routing, I was also looking November and some of their flight are 2 stops via Singapore.

I settled upon the Qatar option with BA 777 new suite LHR to and from Doha, Qatar A380 Doha BKK.

Same flights were £500 cheaper on Qatar than BA, plus Qatar gave me more discount for same Avios than BA although I am Silver status on BA.

Plus, if you have a Paypal account, you can pay Qatar and spread interest free over 4 months. 

[davidge]

14 hours ago, hammerman said:

Check this routing, I was also looking November and some of their flight are 2 stops via Singapore.

I settled upon the Qatar option with BA 777 new suite LHR to and from Doha, Qatar A380 Doha BKK.

Same flights were £500 cheaper on Qatar than BA, plus Qatar gave me more discount for same Avios than BA although I am Silver status on BA.

Yes, you have to check with Gulf now. A friend works in Bahrain and he’s had to change dates slightly to avoid the extra stop on the way back. I think it’s roughly every other day. Always direct on the way out.

Edit: GF153 is direct; GF166 stops at Singapore. Looks like GF166 is Tue, Thu & Sat.

[The Serpent]

I was watching "The Business" program on the ABC the other night (A = Australian)

They had some airline industry "expert" on and in his opinion, he reckons that all airlines should be back at pre covid capacity by March 2024

 

[oldmanemu53]

20 minutes ago, The Serpent said:

I was watching "The Business" program on the ABC the other night (A = Australian)

They had some airline industry "expert" on and in his opinion, he reckons that all airlines should be back at pre covid capacity by March 2024

 

Yes looking at business class Sydney to Bangkok average $5000 Non stop 😲😲

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by oldmanemu53

[Hamchang]

The Qatar Birmingham UK to BKK is showing some good numbers. 2 of us in September coming in at £3.8k if we take half a day in Doha for a nosey about on the return. 

[Just Browsing]

11 minutes ago, Hamchang said:

The Qatar Birmingham UK to BKK is showing some good numbers. 2 of us in September coming in at £3.8k if we take half a day in Doha for a nosey about on the return. 

Hi That is cheap, I paid £5,800 for 2 of us BKK-MAN 

Plus if you book today for travel up to 20th July 2023 you can save up to 14%

https://www.qatarairways.com/en-th/offers/fly-together.html?cid=EMTH683810

Or paying by Visa card to can save up to 15% 

Edited May 21, 2023 by Just Browsing

[davidge]

Just wondering if anyone has recent experience of Asiana?

I’m looking for flights roughly November to January and Eva fares are eye-watering. I much prefer direct but the difference could be huge.

One option is Gulf, who I know about and are ok, the other is Asiana who show cheaper than Gulf for some dates. I know they’re a member of Star Alliance so I could use my Eva FF card but how’s the service and seating on board? Anyone know? On the BKK leg are they proper Biz seats? I’ll look at SeatGuru etc but first hand reports would be nice.

Also, what’s Incheon like as an airport? It looks like a 45 minute connection which I’m nervous about. Longer on way back so is lounge any good.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

(edited for errors)

[davidge]

Things change frequently but I’m probably looking at saving £1000+ if I use Gulf or Asiana rather than Eva.

Edit:

If I’m allowed a moan  it’s not exactly easy using the websites either.

Eva now include flights with other airlines. Sometimes Thai, sometimes 1 stop using KLM, BA etc to connect. It makes it very difficult to find the cheapest Eva fare as the comparison in the flexi  search shows those flights. You can filter by time etc BUT that doesn’t change the daily comparison at the top. So, you have to check each day at a time, going out and coming back to find the cheapest fare.

Gulf don’t let you search just for Biz fares. So the comparison in the flexi search shows the cheapest Economy fare. They also don’t show all the flight options when you then choose a Biz fare. The travel agents show cheaper flights with longer connections but the only way to get those to show on the Gulf site is to do a multi-city search.

Kayak and Skyscanner, obviously show flight prices with various agents including dodgy ones so they’re no use to find the best fare direct with airlines either.

Asiana site is pretty good for a search but not so easy to find baggage and fare rules for the different category of fares.

 

Moan over.

 

[Hamchang]

Finnair on Trip.com seem to be coming in at 2.6k right now. Anyone been on Finnair? Can live with the regional Bus Class for a short hop. 

[Just Browsing]

19 minutes ago, Hamchang said:

Finnair on Trip.com seem to be coming in at 2.6k right now. Anyone been on Finnair? Can live with the regional Bus Class for a short hop. 

I like Finnair & put my Qatar frequent flyer miles on their scheme to save up towards a free flight with them, but since the Russia/Ukraine war broke out their flights to  Manchester have gone from <17 hours to >32 hours! 

Don't get me wrong, Qatar is a better airline (Especially it you can get QSuites) but Finnair mileage flights are easier to save up towards & I like "Free" flights... Lounge in Helsinki is great... Just not great enough to spend > 8 hours there. 

After my last flight to UK I should have enough miles for a Business Class return with them next time, but will continue to pay until the flight times get back to any where near normal. 

 

Recommend Finnair if the flight times are ok... 

 

[komplot]

58 minutes ago, Hamchang said:

Finnair on Trip.com seem to be coming in at 2.6k right now. Anyone been on Finnair? Can live with the regional Bus Class for a short hop. 

I've traveled with Finnair many times, and have booked my next trip this summer with them. Only traveled with Finnair and Thai Airways when they still had direct flights from my local airport.
Finnair has decent new upgraded business seats, good food and very good service. 
The entertainment system is one of the best I've used on a airplane. Lots of new movies to watch.

The lounge in helsinki is standard. The food is a bit meh. The lounge has showers so you can take a shower before going on the plane.
If you get 14+ hours layover in helsinki, change the dates when searching for flight tickets. I'm able to take a morning flight the same day and only have a 3 hour layover.

[Bira]

Davidge,

I’ve flown on Asiana several times in the last year, although only in Biz (almost always on the A380).

Operationally, I have not been disappointed. Hopefully there was sufficient retraining after their B777 landed short of the Runway in SFO.

Cabin service and food is well above average. Seats (lie flat) and amenities are just average, but that is good enough for me. After the entrees are served, one of the stewardesses goes through the aisle with a selection of sauces. I like A-1 Steak sauce, so they leave the bottle on my tray. I also like kimchi, which they serve with the on demand in flight snacks of ramen noodles (two choices of Ramen - normal or spicy). 
 

Price and schedule has been attractive enough, at least on the LAX - ICN - BKK itinerary. Not the cheapest, but well below the highest fare. It is a Star Alliance carrier, if that makes a difference for you.

Lounge in LAX is OK, but prefer the One World (when I fly on JAL). The lounge in ICN is less than average, but at least I can enjoy the shower (also love the beer dispenser)

Lastly, ICN airport is definitely the better choice for making a connection (if comparing to Tokyo Narita). Just a short walk, and security line is always short. 
 

 

[SlowlyMan]

11 hours ago, davidge said:

Just wondering if anyone has recent experience of Asiana?

I’m looking for flights roughly November to January and Eva fares are eye-watering. I much prefer direct but the difference could be huge.

One option is Gulf, who I know about and are ok, the other is Asiana who show cheaper than Gulf for some dates. I know they’re a member of Star Alliance so I could use my Eva FF card but how’s the service and seating on board? Anyone know? On the BKK leg are they proper Biz seats? I’ll look at SeatGuru etc but first hand reports would be nice.

Also, what’s Incheon like as an airport? It looks like a 45 minute connection which I’m nervous about. Longer on way back so is lounge any good.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

(edited for errors)

Incheon is a nice easy terminal. I've made the 45 minute transfer many times. Usually with time to spare. Of course if your inbound is late, you got no wiggle room. 

[A6-GIV]

On 21/05/2023 at 09:10, Just Browsing said:

Hi That is cheap, I paid £5,800 for 2 of us BKK-MAN 

Plus if you book today for travel up to 20th July 2023 you can save up to 14%

https://www.qatarairways.com/en-th/offers/fly-together.html?cid=EMTH683810

Or paying by Visa card to can save up to 15% 

Wondering how tricky that VISA discount is... I fear it will be on slightly bumped up fares and then the discount applies.   The real deal is the final price to be checked. 

The fact that the discount code is to be entered before you search and not after, when it’s time to pay.  I feel it is pure marketing 

[davidge]

9 hours ago, Bira said:

Davidge,

I’ve flown on Asiana several times in the last year, although only in Biz (almost always on the A380).

Operationally, I have not been disappointed. Hopefully there was sufficient retraining after their B777 landed short of the Runway in SFO.

Cabin service and food is well above average. Seats (lie flat) and amenities are just average, but that is good enough for me. After the entrees are served, one of the stewardesses goes through the aisle with a selection of sauces. I like A-1 Steak sauce, so they leave the bottle on my tray. I also like kimchi, which they serve with the on demand in flight snacks of ramen noodles (two choices of Ramen - normal or spicy). 
 

Price and schedule has been attractive enough, at least on the LAX - ICN - BKK itinerary. Not the cheapest, but well below the highest fare. It is a Star Alliance carrier, if that makes a difference for you.

Lounge in LAX is OK, but prefer the One World (when I fly on JAL). The lounge in ICN is less than average, but at least I can enjoy the shower (also love the beer dispenser)

Lastly, ICN airport is definitely the better choice for making a connection (if comparing to Tokyo Narita). Just a short walk, and security line is always short. 
 

 

Many thanks for that. As I’d usually fly Eva (except at the silly prices I’m seeing for November) being part of Star Alliance is a plus but not a determining factor. On board sounds fine, thanks. Of course, the negative as I’ll be flying from the U.K. is an extra 4 or 5 hours flight time to BKK compared to the Middle Eastern airlines.

6 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

Incheon is a nice easy terminal. I've made the 45 minute transfer many times. Usually with time to spare. Of course if your inbound is late, you got no wiggle room. 

I’m very nervous about 45 minute connection, especially as I’m pretty slow moving around airports nowadays. On some days I can get a similar fare with about 2h30m to connect so I’d book that in all likelihood. On other days, only the short connection is available at the cheaper fare.

[davidge]

I’ve been playing around with dates and can get Gulf without the extra long stopover for £2234 on specific dates. £2464/£2469 on other dates. The one anomaly is that I can’t get the flights if I search for a Return on the Gulf website but only if I do a Multi-City search for the exact same dates. I don’t imagine this will lead to any problems though? 
 

For anyone interested, there are fares as low as £1962 if you’re prepared to use certain agents, about £2050 with the cheapest agent I’ve been prepared to use in the past. Now, I’ll only book direct with airlines.

[neilri2001]

Davidge,

If you are prepared to take a cheap positioning flight take a look at EVA from Vienna. Usually several hundred pounds cheaper than from Heathrow and around Easter / Songkran time savings of over £2k could be found.

In May i got a return on Etihad for either £2.3 or £2.4k. 1 2 1 seating on all four legs and the latest A350 - 1000 aircraft on the London / Abu Dhabi sectors. Lowest prices were for travel on Sun to Tuesday