Booking a business class ticket without busting the bank? If you think that’s like searching for a unicorn, think again. After a bit of flexibility and a couple of tricks you’ll know a lot more. Fortunately, there’s a way to snag some of that comfy seating without spending some top dollar.
Be Flexible with Your Dates (and Airports)
The price of the flight is changing like the tides. If you can shift your travel by a day or two however, you could save hundreds. Going off on weekends is cheaper and going off on a Tuesday or Wednesday (midweek) is cheaper. Yes, obviously early morning, after dark flights are less than ideal however, they also regularly gloat lower costs.
Make sure you also check nearby airports. Flying out of a regional airport usually means flying (at least business class) for less than that same route from a big hub. Add the cost of the extra drive or train ticket and it’s probably worth it.
Use Points, Miles, and Upgrade Offers
If you frequently fly (or have a rewards credit card), then you’ve also likely collected miles or points sitting untouched. Business class award tickets come out early on airlines but they’ll open up more seats closer to departure or as the economy fills up. You need to check availability 7-14 days before travel.
You can bid to upgrade with many airlines. If you purchase an economy ticket you will get an email a few days before departure giving you the option to bid. If it’s accepted you’ll pay what you bid and sometimes you can win the upgrade for less than half the usual extra fare so set your maximum bid thoughtfully.
Hunt for Sales and Error Fares
Airlines and search engines sometimes will do flash sales on upgrading to premium cabins. Stay in the loop by signing up for a few major carriers’ newsletters, as well as fare alert services (such as Scott’s Cheap Flights and Secret Flying).
Now and then, there are so called ‘error fares’ which slip out from an airline or booking website glitch and they put out super low prices. It’s rare and they don’t last long but if you’re willing to book something at a moment’s notice you can get killer deals. However, I definitely had to warn you since on very rare occasions airlines will cancel mistake bookings BUT most of the time they will honor them.
Consider a Mixed-Cabin or Positioning Flight
Or, if it still seems like too much in business class, break it up. Take economy on the short leg and business on the long haul. For example: you could book economy from your home city to a major hub and business class for the intercontinental flight.
“Positioning flights” is another trick. You book that discounted business class ticket from City A to City B — just a one way flight — but you live in City C. If you fly cheap economy from C to A, using a low cost carrier and hop on that affordable A to B business class flight. All you have to do is just watch your connection times!
