If you want to pamper yourself on your next trip, you may be in luck. We have been seeing great fares for upper class travel to the Caribbean, Central America, South America and even to Europe.
In recent weeks, we have seen first class fares from Dallas to San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Croix in the $600 range and no, that’s not one-way, it’s roundtrip, including all taxes.
As a comparison, we looked at first class fares from Dallas to New York and we found nonstop flights were $2,200 roundtrip and it’s a shorter flight than to the Caribbean. You would be paying 75 percent less per mile to go to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Kitts in first class than you would pay to go to New York and I can’t think of any destination in the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America which isn’t at least half the cost of first class to New York.
When you fly in first or business class, you’ll have 2 x 2 seating in larger seats with more leg room. In addition to the extra space and better service that are offered in first and business class, you also get two free checked bags, priority boarding and free food and adult beverages. You’ll be more comfortable during your travels because of these perks and when I fly in first or business class, I like to joke to my fellow passengers in the same cabin that the next round is on me. I don’t ever remember making that same offer when I’m flying in coach.
On some routes to the Caribbean and Central America, it will cost just $100 more each way to fly in first class and we have been seeing these fares for travel through February 14. Even if you are a platinum level frequent flyer, these fares can be worth a look because they offer confirmed seats and you don’t have to use any miles for the upgrade.
If you are traveling abroad for Thanksgiving, we are also seeing discounted first class fares to the above destinations and to Europe. Thanksgiving is a time when we see discounts on upper class seats on international flights because business travelers are not flying abroad over Thanksgiving. That leaves empty seats up front, so we see fares go down. We expect to see business class fares to Europe for up to 50 percent off for travel during the Thanksgiving holiday.
One thing we’ve found is that you can get the best business class fares for travel between New York and Europe, so you can often save $300 or $400 by buying a coach class roundtrip from Dallas to New York and flying in business from there to Europe. We also sometimes see deals out of Houston that are pretty good, so that is another departure city to check. Roundtrip business class fares for Thanksgiving travel include $1,400 from New York and $2,000 from Dallas and a roundtrip coach fare will run around $300 between Dallas and New York.
Because demand is higher, business class fares to Europe over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are about $300 to $600 more than the Thanksgiving fares. These fares are still cheaper than the fares we’ve seen for travel before and after the holidays. For example, the cheapest fares we’ve seen from Dallas to London for non-holiday travel were in the $3,000 to $4,100 range. However, the price difference from New York to Europe was not as dramatic before and after the holidays, so if you want to travel up front during a non-holiday period, you may want to book a coach class to New York and a business class flight from New York.
These fares come and go, so if they aren’t there today, keep checking. For just a few dollars more, you can upgrade your vacation and relax in comfort and style on your flight.
To see our Business Class airfares to Europe for holiday travel, please click here.
To see our First Class airfares to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, please click here.
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