The Ultimate Mileage Award Ticket

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P1

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

VOL. 22 • NO. 3 • MARCH 2017

All day long here at FCF we sift and sort and dig and drag everywhere

you can imagine, looking for the best value for our miles, points, and

dollars. Time is money, and we save you the time and—let’s face it—the

drudgery of the search.

Seemingly Unbelievable

So on February 17 at around 3 p.m. (yes, it sounds like proud parents telling

when the baby was born) one of my analysts found what I believe is

“The Ultimate Mileage Award.”

To tell you the truth, I sent my analyst back a couple of times to double-

check the data. Although seemingly too good to be true, it’s true, as

conﬁrmed through two bookings I made myself—one in Business Class

and one in First (see screenshots on next page). Belt and suspenders

on this one.

And the Winner Is…

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Round-the-World (RTW) Award. It makes the

world your oyster. Open it. (Next month I’ll reveal my second favorite award.)

What makes this mileage award really ﬂy is that

anyone with Amex

Rewards or Starpoints can book it because ANA is a points-transfer

partner with both.

In this issue …

The Ultimate Mileage Award Ticket ........1

When, Truly, is the Best Time to Book

Your Next European Vacation? ..................5

The JetBlue Blues Plus the Delta

Workaround ....................................................6

Cathay Paciﬁc Business Class Upgrades

to Asia Save Up to $4,123, 54% ................ 7

Getting United’s Best International Seats

on 85 Domestic Routes ...............................8

How Anyone Can Save Up to 82% in

Cash or 43% in Miles on British Airways’

First Class Suite + “Where the Seats Are

Cheat Sheet” ................................................ 11

New Lie-Flat Seats Plus

Hard-to-Beat Business Class Fares

to the South Paciﬁc .................................... 13

Hot Ticket

The Ultimate Mileage Award Ticket

We pan for upgrade-gold, day-in, day-out and just discovered an award

that even we found hard to believe.

Welcome to Oysterville

In addition to getting up to eight stops around the

globe

, you can use this mileage award also to save miles

on standard long-haul, round-trip ﬂights:

•

American travelers: Save 10,000 to 15,000 miles

•

Delta travelers: Save 35,000 to 55,000 miles

•

United travelers: Save 10,000 to

35,000 miles

The hang-up that some people have

about Round-the-World ﬂights is that they

sound so long.

Yet the distance covered is often

little more than many typical long-haul,

round-trips.

You don’t have to see the whole world.

You’re free to skip over and stop where you want. But if

you have a bucket list that needs checking, there is no

better deal for you that I know of.

Hidden in Plain Sight

The deal is easily overlooked (I did several times even

after I was given the

web address), as you can see below.

Miss the button, miss the deal. (And please, can we keep

this between ourselves? That’s why we refer to you as

members. Make it public and ANA might rescind it!)

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P2

To put this deal in context, consider that Delta charges

140,000 miles for a simple Business Class round-trip

between the U.S. and Europe, and 160,000 miles to Asia.

Look at the chart carefully: You can ﬂy around the world

for 105,000 miles in Business Class—

55,000 miles LESS

than Delta charges to Asia

—or 160,000 in First. (The

kids can even ﬂy coach for just 65,000.)

Here’s a sample itinerary:

New York > Frankfurt > Tokyo > Seoul > New York

All that for up to

35,000 to 55,000 fewer miles

than the cost for any one of those round-trips on

American, Delta, or United! Just look to the right:

Let’s Get Creative

Haven’t been to the Taj Mahal? Add Delhi for

10,000 miles to the itinerary above.

Want to scratch o the

“Venice of the North”

(St. Petersburg) from the list? That won’t even

cost a dime more, on the Taj Mahal itinerary.

All Nippon allows up to eight stops; some cost

extra, some don’t. Sydney, for instance, can be

had for 40,000 more miles because it requires

veering far to the south.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P3

No Miles? No problem.

You know the routine by now: Just buy the miles. In fact,

I needed to do that to make the booking above. Amex

sells them for just 2.5¢ each—a ﬁve-minute phone call

to Membership Rewards è voila!

You can buy 105,000 points for just $2,625 and

transfer them to All Nippon for RTW itineraries of fewer

than 18,000 ﬂight miles!

That’s $7,414 (70%) LESS than the lowest published

Business Class fare with United. (More on RTW Business

Class fares

here.)

What Else to Know

•

You must book by phone (1-800-235-9262).

I recommend using

Aeroplan.com and United.com to

get a sense of availability of the long-haul ﬂights before

calling, because ANA’s website is less efficient.

Short-haul flights are generally easy to find space.

•

Transfers from Amex to ANA take two to four days,

so there’s a chance your seat could disappear; here’s

how I think about this:

•

I look for routes and dates with cluster availability,

meaning if I miss one day, there’s a good chance the

seat is available on the day before or after.

•

With ANA, the downside is minimal, even if the seat

falls through, as ANA miles are very often worth much

more than miles on most other carriers, as they can

be used for everyday round-trips at much better rates

than United miles, for example. Or bank the miles

and you’ll be ready to strike instantly the next time

you book the RTW steal.

•

Together with the pricing chart, use the Circle Mapper

tool to help quickly calculate the distance and cost of

your various itinerary ideas.

•

Want to go nuts and use this fare to fly A380s? Go

here or here for ideas. (Hint: ANA partners that operate

the plane include Asiana, Lufthansa, Singapore, and Thai.)

•

The rest of the relevant ﬁne print can be found here.

•

For me, I ﬁnd traveling East to West causes less jet lag.

FCF Best Mileage Award

So, What’s Your Nominee for Best Mileage Award?

Start giving it some thought because we’ll be announcing

a new contest soon.

Sample Savings With The Ultimate Business Class Mileage Award

Miles Flown Miles Cost Cost If Buying Points from Amex Normal RTW Fare SAVINGS

Up to 18,000 105,000 $2,625 (plus $500+ award taxes)

$10,539

$7,414 / 70%

18,001 to 20,000 115,000 $2,875 (plus $500+ award taxes) $7,164 / 68%

22,001 to 25,000 145,000 $3,625 (plus $500+ award taxes) $6,414 / 61%

What About Availability?

Asiana generally has very good availability from Los

Angeles and New York to Seoul, as does All Nippon

to Tokyo.

The best airlines to/from Europe, o the top of my

head, are Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and Turkish.

So, although there’s no shortage of ﬂights within the

Star Alliance to Asia or Europe, availability is always

a concern.

That’s why this month, FCF’s Daily Alerts will focus

on “availability trends” that can help you piece together

world-class itineraries with ANA, fast. Keep an eye

out for them.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P4

High & Inside

When, Truly, is the Best Time to Book Your

Next European Vacation?

Ever read an article about the best time to book a ﬂight?

Travel “gurus” often mention Thursday. “Midnight” is also

popular. Or you’ll often see “right now,” making sure to

pique your interest before then going on to give advice

such as Close to departure, prices are more likely to go

up (while others say down) … and … You want to start

looking for deals about six months before travel … and

… In general the cheapest tickets are available two to

three months before travel … and … But for peak holiday

travel, the cheapest tickets are available earlier than

that … and … You don’t want to buy 11 months or a year

in advance.

Perhaps it’s the Ides of March or when the sun’s shadow

is at 37 degrees at Stonehenge. Yes, it can be rather

arbitrary. But I think of the best time to book a flight

differently.

The FCF Mindset

First of all you have to remember that many of these

articles are based on economy travel—which is very

dierent from premium travel—and they probably cover

every or many regions of the world. So Europe is lumped

into the same box as Asia and the Paciﬁc. But dierent

regions have dierent fare restrictions and airlines

price regions dierently.

First Best Time to Book:

When Fares Are Ridiculously Low

One thing is true across the board for all regions and

classes:

Lucky Fare Deals, or as we call them at FCF,

“Flash EasyUp Fares.” These come and go within hours

or days, can be restricted to certain departure and

destination cities, certain airlines, may only be valid for

travel during a certain season, and can vary how far in

advance fares have to be booked.

Recent Lucky Fare deals FCF spotted for Business Class

included:

Italy for $1,757, to Nairobi for $2,146, to Hawaii

for $897, to Mumbai for $2,382, to Tokyo for $1,997, to

Frankfurt for $1,996, to Seoul for $1,997, and to

Manchester for $1,996.

FCF’s team watches for these fares like a scientist looks

into a microscope. But you’ve got to be constantly looking

into the microscope, day in, day out.

In Brief

Air Canada: It will launch seasonal service

between Montreal and Tel Aviv starting June 22,

ﬂying a three-cabin A330-300 with lie-ﬂat

Business Class seats. Fares start at CAD$3,577 /

USD$2,686. More details here.

Air Canada will also start seasonal service from

Toronto (June 21 through Oct. 8) and Montreal

(June 23 through Oct. 9) to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Both ﬂights will use an A319 (

Air Canada Rouge

aircraft), which only has Premium Economy and

economy cabins. PE fares start at CAD$2,092 /

USD$1,598. More details here.

Air Canada Lie-Flat Business Class

Air Canada Premium Economy

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P5

Next Best Time(s) to Book:

What do you do when you don’t have a Lucky Fare Deal

to Europe? Here are six pieces of advice to keep in mind.

Also remember, this is a general guideline; if you wait

too long, flights can fill up and the low-fare buckets

disappear, so all fares citied are based on inventory

availability.

Know About the Five-Month Trend

Most often—about 90% of the time—the lowest

Business

Class fares to Europe require a 150-day advance

purchase

to get the best deal. If you haven’t followed

FCF’s reporting long and are hearing this for the ﬁrst

time, don’t feel bad because this trend is only about

eighteen months old.

Know You Can Buy 100 Days for $500

Miss the 150-day advance fare, and you can often end up

paying about $1,000+ more. However, some destinations/

routes in Europe sometimes offer 50-day advance

purchase fares for only $500 more than the lowest fare.

So check these cities when you are still more than 50

days from departure. For example, Dallas-Frankfurt on

American goes for $3,618 with a 150-day advance purchase

mid-week, miss it, and the fare increases by $500 to $4,118.

Know About Pressure-Relieving,

28-Day Advance-Purchase Destinations

These routes often oer their lowest fares with only a

28-day advance purchase requirement. For example:

New York-Madrid on SkyTeam and oneworld starts at

$2,500 (New York-Paris can be as much as $7,118), Los

Angeles-Copenhagen at $3,400, and Chicago-Madrid

at $3,300. Most U.S. carriers have at least one European

destination with a 28-day purchase fare. That can be

the dierence between paying $2,500 and $8,000.

Know About the

“I Want to Leave Today” Route(s)

On SkyTeam airlines Air France, Alitalia, Delta, and KLM,

the lowest Business Class fare on the New York-Frankfurt

route starts at $2,494 and does not require an advance

purchase.

Know About the Lesser-Known Airlines

Scandinavian Airlines, a Star Alliance (United) partner,

oers new

lie-ﬂat Business Class seats, ﬂies from Boston,

Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

and Washington, DC to

about 100 cities in Europe,

oering connections in its hub cities, Copenhagen and

Stockholm, but requires only a 28-day advance purchase

for its lowest Business Class fares on most routes. Other

airlines that oer travelers such freedom are airberlin

(16-day advance purchase on many fares) and LOT

Polish (3- to 28-day advance purchase on many fares).

Know How to

Decode Advance Purchase

Requirements

Generally speaking, my favorite search tool is

Google

Flights. Use it early in your planning process to get a

general lay of the When-to-Book Land. Just input your

route and class of service, ﬁlter by stops and preferred

airline/alliance, then click on the departure date, and a

fare calendar comes up. It’s very user-friendly.

You can survey months of fares before and ahead of

your planned departure date. This will give you an idea

of how far in advance—or when—the lowest fares are

available.

Of course, not everybody is so well organized, or wants

to be. At FCF, we often talk of the beneﬁts of being a

bags-packed traveler to take advantage of short-term

travel opportunities. Here it’s more about long-term

thinking. Either way, FCF just wants to start you o with

eyes wide open.

In Brief

South African Airways: Has launched its Airbus

330-300 on Washington, DC-Johannesburg (operates

three-times weekly; Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday),

with a stop in Dakar or Accra. The upgraded ﬂat-bed

Business Class seats are conﬁgured 1x2x1. More here.

South African Airways Business Class

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P6

Transcon Update

The JetBlue Blues Plus the Delta Workaround

The blue carrier is no longer driving down fares on the Transcon—but Delta has

a little-known work-around to book for much less on short notice trips.

JetBlue changed the Transcon market when it launched

Mint, on its New York-Los Angeles/San Francisco service,

in 2014. It undercut the majors (American, Delta, and

United) by up to 54% in Business Class and it oered

comparable, if not better, lie-ﬂat seats. It was an Indie and

FCF gives it a Gold Star for its performance.

Now the majors have lie-ﬂat seats, too, and now JetBlue

is acting like them—by raising fares. So the three major

carriers have a new wingman.

Still a bit pesky, but no longer a plague.

Now JetBlue’s lowest fares come with a 30-day advance

purchase requirement (long the norm at the big three),

and Business Class costs $1,300 to $1,700 (I class, which

is very hard to ﬁnd), depending on the advance purchase

requirement and availability, an increase of $100 to $400.

No-advance D class fares, which oer more availability,

start at $2,200 and J class at $3,200.

FCF suspects that this is because of route expansion.

JetBlue now ﬂies Boston to Los Angeles/San Francisco

and has plans for San Diego and Seattle to Boston and

New York, and New York to Las Vegas, and LAX/SFO

to Ft. Lauderdale.

It looks like the demand is there. So why not raise the

price?

Program Update

British Airways Cuts

AARP Discount

Until recently, being a member of AARP got you a

$400 reduction on BA First and Business Class fares.

Now it’s been reduced to $200.

Okay, but it’s still worth going for and you don’t even

have to be 50—

anyone of any age can join AARP.

Annual dues: $16. In the same way, I am an “Associate

Member” of the American Bar Association (although

not a lawyer), but I can still take advantage of certain

travel discounts available to ABA members.

The discount also applies to EasyUp fares—

New York–

Budapest, for example, drops to $2,513 from $2,713

with the AARP discount—and for BA code-share ﬂights,

including American and Iberia, to Europe.

What’s Changed Since FCF’s

Report a Year Ago

American’s Fare Evolution: Gone are low seven-day

advance-purchase Business Class fares from SFO and

low First Class fares.

United’s Fare Evolution: Seven-day advance purchase

fares are also gone.

Fare increases on the major three—American, Delta, and

United—are from $100 to $400, and now fares range

from $1,300 to $3,200.

The FCF Work-Around: Delta Vacations

This Short-Notice Package Approach Can Save 52%

First o, it comes with a hotel in New York or Los Angeles,

which you need anyway.

LAX-JFK Sample: We found a Delta Vacations oer of

$1,694 per person (based on two travelers) LA-NY in

Business Class, a three-night package that includes the

Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel and no Saturday-

night stay requirement. If you book the ﬂights and hotel

separately, the price would be $6,990—$831 for the hotel

and $6,159 for the two tickets—making this strategy worth

$3,602 (52%) o. Better than a two-for-one.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P7

An average hotel was chosen on purpose to spotlight the airfare; deals are readily available at many high-end hotels.

Below: Delta Vacations package cost screenshot.

JFK-LAX Sample: Using the same dates as above,

Delta Vacations charges $1,881 per person in Business

Class, based on two travelers for a three-night package

at the Westin Bonaventure (no Saturday-night stay

requirement). Book the ﬂight and hotel separately and

the tab is $7,156—$997 for the hotel and $6,159 for the

tickets—making this strategy worth

$3,394 (47%) o.

That’s almost a two-for-one on the airline ticket alone.

Share… your successful upgrade experience

with us and your fellow travelers.

If we publish your tip, we’ll extend your subscription

accordingly—our way of saying “Thanks!”

Write today:

Mr.Upgrade@FirstClassFlyer.com

Below: Air only screenshot with Delta.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P8

Elite & Non-Elite Upgrades

Cathay Pacific Business Class Upgrades to

Asia Save Up to $4,123, 54%

•

Low cost mileage upgrades—starting at 30,000 round-trip—and no co-pay

•

Even if you have few or zero miles, it’s possible to get an upgrade

•

Great availability from eight cities

•

Earn “elite credit,” if that’s your thing

Crazy-low Business Class fare sales occur to Asia less

frequently than to most other places, and advance-

purchase fares usually start at $4,000 to $7,000+, even

on very competitive routes such as Tokyo and Seoul.

That’s why a mileage upgrade is often the way to go

when ﬂying to Asia.

Cathay Paciﬁc is a prime example. The lowest Business

Class fare to Hong Kong is currently $7,640 from New

York and $5,418 from Los Angeles.

Six Reasons Why I like Cathay Paciﬁc Upgrades

Reason #1: Costs About Half the Miles

The airline oers mileage upgrades at 30,000 (LAX) to

45,000 (NYC) round-trip. Other carriers can charge nearly

double that.

It costs even fewer miles if you ﬁgure in the miles earned

(16,000 to 18,000) on the trip. Your net cost to upgrade

can drop to as low as 14,000 miles.

Upgrade Survey: Using Miles on Cathay Paciﬁc to Hong Kong

U.S.

Departure

City

Business

Class Fare

Upgradable

(Premium

Economy)

Fare*

Miles

Needed for

Upgrade

Round-Trip

Cost to Purchase

Transferable

Points from Amex

Savings When

Using Asia Miles

(If You Buy

Amex Points)

Boston $7,640 $2,392 45,000 $1,125 $4,123 / 54%

Chicago $6.263 $2,392 45,000 $1,125 $2,746 / 44%

Los Angeles $5,418 $2,258 30,000 $750 $2,410 / 45%

New York $7,640 $2,392 45,000 $1,125 $4,123 / 54%

San Francisco $5,120 $2,238 30,000 $750 $2,132 / 42%

*Sample Premium Economy fares do not require an advance purchase or minimum stay; maximum stay is 12 months; fare valid Monday through Thursday

now through May 23 and Aug. 15 through Dec. 9.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P9

Sweet Redeem Survey: Cathay Paciﬁc Upgrade to Business Class

Departure

City

Availability to Hong Kong Availability from Hong Kong

Handful Hopeful Hooray Handful Hopeful Hooray

Boston March, April, June

July July, Aug. to Jan.

March, May, June,

July

July Aug. to Jan.

Chicago March, Aug., Nov. Sept., Dec. Nov., Dec., Jan. March, Aug. Nov., Dec. Sept., Dec., Jan.

Los Angeles Aug., Oct., Dec. Sept., Jan.

March, Nov., Dec.,

Jan.

March, Aug., Dec. Nov., Jan.

March, Sept. to

Jan.

New York

(Newark)

March Aug. Sept. to Jan. Aug. Sept. to Jan.

New York (JFK) March, July Aug., Sept., Oct.

Aug., Sept., Nov.

to Jan.

March, July Sept.

Aug. to Oct., Nov.

to Jan.

San Francisco Aug. to Oct. Nov., Dec., Jan. Jan. Aug.

Sept. to Dec.,

Jan.

Toronto Oct., Nov.

March, Sept.,

Oct., Dec., Jan.

March

Sept., Oct., Nov.,

Dec.

Sept., Oct., Dec.,

Jan.

Vancouver Oct. Sept., Dec. Oct., Nov., Jan. Oct., Dec. Sept. Oct., Nov., Jan.

Months in black at least one seat available; in blue at least two seats.

Handful: Our most recent research shows that award space is available 4 to 8 days during the months indicated.

Hopeful: Our most recent research shows that award space is available 9 to 12 days during the months indicated.

Hooray: Our most recent research shows that award space is available for 13 days or more during the months indicated.

Reason #2: $0 Co-Pay

In addition to paying in miles, American and United charge

an $1,100 co-pay. Cathay Paciﬁc doesn’t.

Reason #3: Great Availability

See chart below for mileage upgrade space with Cathay

Paciﬁc to see what I mean:

Reason #4: Great for Business Travelers

When your company or client is covering the cost,

upgradeable Premium Economy fares are reasonable—

generally around $2,300 from most U.S. gateways.

Reason #5: Great for Elite-Status Seekers

Elites shouldn’t think about free mileage awards because

they don’t earn elite credit. The solution: Go for an

upgrade, and if you’re in American’s AAdvantage program,

booking Cathay’s “R” fare (the upgradable Premium

Economy code) nets you 100% base award miles, 1.5

Elite Qualifying Points per mile, and 20% Elite Qualifying

Dollars.

Reason #6: Asia Miles Are Easy to Get

No Cathay Paciﬁc Miles? No Problem.

Transfer

Starpoints to Asia Miles (25,000 to 40,000

required), or

Amex or Citi Points to Asia Miles (30,000 to

45,000 required).

Cathay Paciﬁc Business Class

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P10

Seat Beat

Getting United’s Best International Seats

on 85 Domestic Routes

Where to find free “In-Class Seat Upgrades” through little-known aircra-deployment anomalies.

You call that a seat? This month, in our third FCF install-

ment about getting an international seat on a domestic

route, we look at

United Airlines. In the last two months

we’ve looked at

American and Delta.

Again, we compare Seat 2A on two dierent ﬂights. They

are both from Washington, DC, to/from San Francisco in

Business Class: Seat 2A on Flight UA525 and Seat 2A

on Flight UA424.

It’s the same airline.

It’s the same route.

It’s the same seat address: 2A.

But from there on they go their own way.

Flight UA424 uses an international aircraft—a B757-200

—with international Business Class seats.

Flight UA525 uses a domestic aircraft—a B737-900 —with

domestic First Class seats.

On international ﬂights, Business Class is usually Business

Class. On domestic ﬂights, however, First Class (despite

the name) is a big comedown in comfort and overall

experience on United (its transcon being the exception).

United has completed its international lie-ﬂat Business

Class seat rollout and is in the process of

introducing

new Business Class seats

. It’s an opportunity to get a

double upgrade on domestic routes, meaning not only

an international premium seat, but a lie-ﬂat seat at no

additional cost.

If you know the 85 dierent domestic ﬂights on which

United uses aircraft with international Business Class

seats, you’ll have a simple way to get an “in-class seat

upgrade.” How can you possibly know those 85 ﬂights?

Sit down, buckle up, and read on.

It Starts with the Type of Aircraft

United’s B777-200s and B767-300s: On one route,

Chicago-Newark, both aircraft oer the “United First” suite,

which has a 22-inch-wide seat that converts to a 78-inch-

Seat 2A Seat 2A

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P11

long ﬂat-bed. Seats on the B777-200s are conﬁgured

1x2x1, while those on the B767s are 1x1x1. Otherwise

the seats are identical: 18.8-inches wide converting to a

76-inch-long ﬂat-bed, and a 15.4-inch touchscreen monitor.

United’s B767-300s and B767-400s: (Business Class only):

both have lie-ﬂat Business Class seats (75-inches long,

20.6-inches wide, and a 15.4-inch touchscreen monitor)

in a 2x1x2 layout.

United’s B787-8: These have lie-flat Business Class

seats (78-inches long, 20.6-inches wide, and a 15.4-inch

touchscreen monitor) in a 2x2x2 layout.

United’s B757-200: These have lie-ﬂat Business Class

seats (76-inches long, 20.6-inches wide, and a 15.4-inch

touchscreen monitor) in a 2×2 layout.

When to Pay Cash for an International

Seat on a Domestic Route

First Class fares for ﬂights within the continental U.S. have

taken a nose-dive over the past few years, which is why

we think that mileage upgrades and free mileage awards

are very often not the better deal on many routes.

A good example is Washington, DC-Chicago, a route on

which United ﬂies the B737-900 and the internationally

conﬁgured B757-200.

If you book United ﬂight UA221 (a B757-200) with a new

international lie-ﬂat Business Class seat, the lowest

domestic First Class fare is $460 round-trip, the same

as United charges for the B737 ﬂight! That makes an

award ticket or upgrade pointless, given the return on

miles of less than one cent.

Good Connections Count

Keep the ﬂight numbers and routes mentioned in

the chart in mind when connecting to get a better

seat. When ﬂying El Paso-Newark, for example,

connect in Houston to catch UA557 so that you

get the B767-300; when ﬂying Houston-Paris, go

via Washington, DC, to catch UA1011 so that you

get the B767-400.

When to Maybe Consider Paying with Miles

for an International Seat on a Domestic Route

The Return-on-Miles Math: On the Washington, DC-San

Francisco route, United uses a B757-200. This route oers

an okay return on miles because fares aren’t cheap—a

Business Class ticket starts at $1,014. United charges

50,000 miles for a Business Class ticket, which equals

about 2¢ per mile ($1,014 divided by 50,000). An even

better alternative: Use 35,000 Lufthansa miles or 40,000

Singapore miles.

Mileage Upgrade—not worth it: The math for an upgrade

on the Washington, DC-San Francisco route: Subtract the

published Business Class ticket cost ($1,014) from the

upgradeable economy ticket ($566 including co-pay),

and then divide the savings by the cost of miles (40,000):

$1,014 minus $566 is $448, divided by 40,000, yields a

return of 1¢ per mile.

Getting Miles: United is a point transfer partner of Chase

Ultimate Rewards. Or, buy the miles directly from the

airline when they’re on sale, about every other month or so.

United Business Class

FIRST CLASS FLYER

GROUND RULES

Everybody knows how frequently airfares change

(some estimates claim that there are up to 500,000

fare changes daily). Because that’s a few too many

for First Class Flyer to keep up with, FCF cannot

guarantee that all fares discussed will be available

when you go to make a booking. Also, for the sake

of quick and easy “executive summary” format, all

fare rules and restrictions can’t possibly be included.

Fares quoted usually include the average taxes and

fees for the routes in the chart and are round trip.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P12

Why Pay Top Dollar for an Inferior Seat?

FCF’s insider

cheat sheet below shows the routes and the ﬂight numbers on which United currently uses an

internationally conﬁgured aircraft, so you can identify the opportunities when selecting ﬂights through your travel

agent or online.

Where to ﬁnd United’s International First and Business Class Seat

on Domestic Routes – continued on P13 & P14

Route Departure Flight Days of Operation Return Flight Days of Operation Aircraft

Chicago - Newark

UA385 Mon. to Sun. UA1062 Mon. to Sun. B767-300

UA366 Sun. to Fri. UA77 Mon. to Sun. B777

UA436 Sun., Wed. UA792 Sun.

B752

UA1959 Wed. UA2015 Sun.

UA516 Sat. N/A B777

UA446 Sat. UA308 Sun., Mon., Tues.

B752

N/A UA2001 Wed.

Denver - Houston UA2049 Mon. to Sun. UA1126 Mon. to Sun. B788

Houston - Newark

UA936 Mon. to Sun. UA508 Mon. to Sun. B767-400

UA557 Mon. to Sun. UA385 Mon. to Sun. B767-300

UA1979 Sat. UA663 Sun.

B752

UA67 Sat. UA1161 Sat.

UA1867 Sat. UA1534 Sat.

N/A UA687 Sat.

Houston -

San Francisco

UA404 Mon. to Sun. UA721 Mon. to Sun. B788

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P13

Where to ﬁnd United’s International First and Business Class Seat

on Domestic Routes – continued on P14

Route Departure Flight Days of Operation Return Flight Days of Operation Aircraft

Houston -

San Francisco

UA937 Sat. N/A B788

Houston -

Washington, DC

UA1057 Sun. UA762 Mon. to Sun.

B767-400

UA1011 Mon. to Sat. N/A

Los Angeles -

Houston

UA1963 Sun. N/A

B752

Washington, DC -

Los Angeles

UA325 Mon. to Sun. UA706 Sun. (12th)

N/A UA411

Mon. to Fri. (also on

Sun. 19th)

Washington, DC -

San Francisco

UA424 Mon. to Sat. UA727 Mon. to Sun.

Newark - Denver

UA1821 Mon. to Sun. UA1771 Sun. to Sat.

N/A UA749 Mon. to Sun.

Washington, DC -

Chicago

UA221 Mon. to Sun. UA225 Mon. to Sun.

Denver -

San Francisco

UA268 Sun. N/A

Washington, DC -

Honolulu

UA145 Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun. UA144 Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun. B767-400

Newark - Honolulu UA15 Mon. to Sun. UA14 Mon. to Sun. B767-300

Newark -

San Francisco

UA912 Mon. to Sun. UA779 Mon. to Fri., Sun.

B752

UA800 Mon. to Fri., Sun. UA535 Mon. to Sun.

UA1978 Mon. to Sun. UA443 Mon. to Sat.

UA1991 Mon. to Sun. UA1071 Mon. to Sun.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P14

Where to ﬁnd United’s International First and Business Class Seat

on Domestic Routes

Route Departure Flight Days of Operation Return Flight Days of Operation Aircraft

Newark -

San Francisco

UA1885 Mon. to Fri., Sun. UA441

Sun., Mon., Tues.,

Fri.

B752

UA1878 Mon. to Fri. UA414 Mon. to Fri., Sun.

UA418 Mon. to Sun. UA233 Mon. to Fri., Sun.

UA637

Mon., Tues., Thurs.,

Fri., Sat.

UA1799 Mon. to Fri., Sun.

UA936 Mon. to Sun. UA1796 Mon. to Sun.

UA1920 Mon. to Fri., Sun. UA726 Mon. to Sun.

UA212 Tues. to Sat. UA1884 Mon. to Sun.

UA1483 Sat., Sun. UA213 Mon., Tues., Fri., Sat.

UA792 Sat. UA443 Tues., Fri., Sat.

N/A

UA577 Mon. to Sat., Sun.

UA212 Mon. to Sat.

Newark - Orlando

UA1905 Mon. to Sun. UA1601 Mon. to Sun.

UA1788

Wed., Thurs., Fri.,

Sat.

UA686 Wed., Thurs., Sat.

UA1784 Sat. UA1716 Wed.

UA1527 Sat. UA1727 Sat.

N/A

UA1530 Sat.

UA1764 Sat.

*Always recheck aircraft type at the time of booking as aircraft can change by the week. FCF research is based on ﬂights for the week of March 12, for example,

as it’s impossible to check every route over the next 12 months.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P15

The Suite Spot

How Anyone Can Save Up to 82% in Cash or

43% in Miles on British Airways’ First Class

Suite + “Where the Seats Are Cheat Sheet”

Normal Lowest Airfare: $5,596 round-trip to London

from Seattle with a 150-day advance purchase requirement;

up to $10,144 if you miss that deadline.

Usual Lowest Award Cost: 136,000 miles to/from Boston,

Chicago, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, and

Washington, DC o-peak (peak is 160,000); 170,000 miles

to/from Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas,

Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco,

San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver o-peak (peak is 200,000).

Not only does BA have great First Class award availability

for solo passengers on many routes, but FCF research

shows eight routes that oer award space for four

passengers, which is very unusual.

Most airlines, given the small size of the First Class cabin,

usually only oer award space for one passenger.

Sweet Redeem Survey: British Airways First Class – continued on P16

Departure Cities

Availability to London Availability from London

Handful Hopeful Hooray Handful Hopeful Hooray

Atlanta

Aug., Oct.

March, April to

June, Sept., Nov.,

Dec., Jan.

March, July, Aug.,

Sept., Oct., Nov.,

Dec., Jan.

March, April, July,

Sept., Oct., Dec.

July, Oct., Nov.,

Dec.

May to July, Aug.,

Sept., Nov., Jan.

Boston June, Oct.

March, April, May,

Aug., Sept.

March, April, May,

June, July, Aug.,

Jan.

July, Oct.

March, June,

Sept.

April, May, June,

July, Aug., Nov.,

Dec., Jan.

Chicago March Jan. March, April, Jan.

Denver Oct.,

Nov. to Jan. Nov. to Jan. Dec. Dec.

Oct., Nov., Dec.,

Jan.

Houston

March, May,

Sept., Oct.

April, June, Nov.,

Dec., Jan.

July, Aug., Dec.,

Jan.

March, July, Oct.,

Jan.

July, Sept.

April to June,

Aug., Nov., Dec.,

Jan.

Las Vegas Nov., Dec., Jan. Dec. Nov., Dec., Jan. Dec.

Miami

Jan. Jan.

New York

(Newark)

April, June, July,

Aug.

March, Jan. July, Aug., Jan. April, Jan. Aug. Aug., Jan.

New York (JFK)

April, June, July,

Aug., Sept.

March, Jan. July, Aug., Jan.

March to May,

July

Jan. June, Aug., Jan.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P16

Even Better: BA Partner Award Opportunity

Save up to 85,000 miles (43%) by booking the Suite

through Japan Airlines’ loyalty program

(accessible to

Starwood players). Inventory through JAL is often similar

to BA’s own. Cost is 100,000 miles round-trip London

to/from Boston, Chicago, Miami, Newark, New York,

Philadelphia, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, DC;

and 115,000 from Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las

Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco,

San Jose, and Seattle.

No British Airways Miles? No Problem.

Transfer Starwood Points to BA: 111,000 to 140,000 miles

to/from Boston, Chicago, Newark, New York, Philadelphia,

Toronto, and Washington, DC; 140,000 to 160,000 miles

to/from Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas,

Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco,

San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver.

Transfer Amex Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards

Points

to British Airways.

Another Great Option: “Miles + Money” reduces the

miles required for an award ticket by upping the cash

portion. But you must have 50% of the miles required for

the ﬂight in your BA account.

New York-London o-peak mileage cost in First Class is

136,000 plus $1,256 in taxes, but via Miles + Money it comes

down to 68,000 miles plus $2,666. In eect, you are

buying 68,000 BA miles for $1,410 or 2.1¢, not a bad rate.

Transfer Starwood Points to JAL: 80,000 to 95,000

round-trip—up to 36% fewer miles than many airlines

charge for Business Class.

Sweet Redeem Survey: British Airways First Class

Departure Cities

Availability to London Availability from London

Handful Hopeful Hooray Handful Hopeful Hooray

Philadelphia Sept. March, July, Aug. Jan. Aug. Jan.

Phoenix Nov., Jan. Dec. Jan. Nov., Dec. Jan.

San Diego Oct. to Dec. Jan. Jan. Dec. Jan.

San Jose Dec. Jan. Jan.

Seattle July, Dec. Oct., Nov., Jan. Nov., Jan. Aug., Oct., Nov. Dec., Jan. Jan.

Toronto

May, July, Sept.,

Nov., Jan.

Oct. March,

April

April. Sept., Nov.

to Jan.

Oct.

Vancouver Dec. Nov., Jan. Dec.,

Jan. Nov. Nov., Jan.

Washington, DC

July, Sept. Aug., Jan. July, Aug. July, Jan. Aug.

Months in black at least one seat available; in blue at least two seats; in purple at least three seats; in green at least four seats.

Handful: Our most recent research shows that award space is available 4 to 8 days during the months indicated.

Hooray: Our most recent research shows that award space is available 9 to 12 days during the months indicated.

Hooray: Our most recent research shows that award space is available for 13 days or more during the months indicated.

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P17

No Miles or Points in any Program?

No Problem.

Purchase Amex Rewards Points: They cost 2.5¢ each

(500,000 annual purchase limit). Using this strategy, a

First Class award costs $3,400 to $5,000 round-trip

(plus award taxes at about $1,150+) for a ticket that can

cost $20,000+.

The Suite: 14 semi-enclosed cabins (no privacy doors),

conﬁgured 1x2x1. Each has a 78-inch-long ﬂatbed with a

quilted mattress and a 15-inch-wide monitor.

Experience the British Airways suite in detail.

Routes with the First Class Suite

To/From London: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver,

Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New

York (JFK), Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco,

San Jose, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.

Your North American Departure Not Listed? You can

easily connect from almost anywhere in the U.S and

Canada on the same or a separate ticket, depending

on the mileage program used to get the award.

Not Flying To/From London? British Airways serves

cities all over Africa, Asia, Europe, and the South Paciﬁc,

any of which can be added for more miles; cost depends

on the region. British Airways’ destinations here.

British Airways First Class Suite

How to Get 82% O British

Airways’ Suite When You Don’t

Have Miles or Points

That’s how much you could save through its Alaska

Airlines partnership if you take advantage of

Alaska’s current mileage-purchase bonus—up to

40%. (The carrier oers the bonus every two to

three months.) That brings the cost of Seattle-

London (and from all other U.S. gateways) down

to $4,145, the cost to buy 140,000 Alaska miles.

The walk-up fare can be as much as $23,417 from

Seattle. First Class award availability using Alaska

miles is often similar to BA’s.

In Brief

Lufthansa: Rolls out its new A350-

900 on the Munich-Boston route

starting March 14 (Business Class,

Premium Economy, and economy).

On the departure side, mileage

availability looks good for April, July,

August, and November through

February 2018, and on the return

side, April through February 2018.

Business Class costs 105,000 miles

round-trip. Asiana is a better deal at

80,000 miles round-trip. Both airlines

are Starwood partners. Air Canada

is the best Amex points partner, at

110,000 miles.

Lufthansa Business Class

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

First Class Flyer

Mahew Benne

MARCH 2017 / P18

Time to reﬁne your mental world map. Hawaii and New

Zealand just got a lot closer, thanks to very important

changes at Hawaiian Airlines on its New Zealand route.

In short: New lie-ﬂat Business Class seats have arrived

on its fleet of A330-200s, along with special fares to

New Zealand.

Adventure travelers take note: Fares don’t even require

an advance-purchase! In other words, you can wake up

one morning and buy a walk-up fare. Wake up and walk

up at the right time, and you can save 55% ($4,865) o

normal Business Class fares oered by the other major

airlines ﬂying to New Zealand.

Hawaiian Airlines New Business Class Seat

It’s on A330-200s from Honolulu to Auckland, as well as

to Tokyo, Sydney, and Brisbane. And on Feb. 18, it made

its debut on the New York-Honolulu route. (See alert

here

for more details.)

The 18

Business Class seats are conﬁgured 2x2x2,

convert to a 76-inch-long ﬂat-bed, are 20.5 inches wide,

with a 13-inch monitor, two USB ports, and full AC power.

Special Business Class Fares

to New Zealand

Hawaiian Airlines oers low Business Class fares

year-round (no-advance purchase and no-

minimum stay is required). The fares allow a

free stop each way in Honolulu—think of it

as a free second destination. Hawaiian Airlines

flies non-stop from 11 U.S. cities—including

New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and

Seattle to Honolulu (route map

here and here),

where you make the connection to New Zealand

and Australia.

The airline’s Los Angeles-Auckland Business

Class fare is $3,628, whereas American and

Air New Zealand charge $4,820 with a 50-day

advance-purchase requirement. The fare zooms

to $7,611 (52%) if you miss that deadline.

New York and other U.S. Gateways: When it

Airline Spotlight

New Lie-Flat Seats Plus Hard-to-Beat Business

Class Fares to the South Pacific

Why Hawaiian Airlines is a new smart choice to New Zealand.

comes to trip-planning, most of us are Point A to Point B

thinkers. In other words, we typically only search for

non-stop flights. It’s understandable. Time is scarce,

changing planes is tiring. But on New York-Auckland

you have to stop somewhere, so why not Honolulu,

especially if the stop is free? (A First Class ticket to

Hawaii can easily cost $2,000+.) Honolulu could also

be a good place to stop for many as it is mid-way from

New York: It’s 11 hours NY-Honolulu and 9.5 Honolulu-

Auckland.

Hawaiian’s New York-Auckland Business Class fare

is $3,960, whereas American charges $6,034 (50-day

advance- purchase requirement) and $8,825 if you miss

the deadline. The connection is in LA and you have to ask

yourself, isn’t Honolulu more come-hither as a stopover?

Especially if I can save $4,865 (55%) and spend a few

nights at a ﬁve-star hotel.

Misc. to Know

Seasons: Lowest fares are now through July 18, Aug. 4

through Oct.3, and Oct. 19 through Dec. 18.

Maximum stay: 1 month

Earn Miles: American, Delta, or Hawaiian’s own program.

Hold-friendly Airlines: Hawaiian will hold a fare from

three to seven days to Auckland. Cost: $6.99 to $8.99.

Hawaiian Airlines Business Class