You’d think I could write about something other than airfare. Last week, I wrote Oops! I Did It Again: Half-Price Business Class for my barge trip out of Paris this coming May. Before that I penned a post about my quest for cheap Business Class To Amsterdam for my Dream Cruise in October.
But because “getting there” is an important part of river cruising, especially for those of us who reside in North America, we can never talk enough about getting a good deal to cross the Atlantic in comfort. That means booking tickets in first class, business class or paying for an upgraded economy seat, such as Delta’s Premium Select, or United and American Airlines’ Premium Economy.
I’ve taken care of air for my barge trip in May, reducing the points required for business class air by more than 50 percent.
For my Dream Cruise in October, I reached out to Brian Cohen at Award Magic. For a fee, Brian will do the legwork for you, using your bank of points to find optimal routings and fares. He’s come up with some clever ideas about getting two of us to Amsterdam and back from Zurich for my Dream Cruise.
However, my quest to find cheap business class air took positive turn when I decided to search an old favorite, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System). On the day I searched, I found business class air for my Dream Cruise, remarkably, for just $2,594. That’s for business class every segment of the journey. The fare has since increased to $4,250.
There is a catch. SAS is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Am I worried about my flight? No. The airline has some well-heeled investors who have agreed to take major stakes. SAS is fully expected to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, according to the excellent travel website, One Mile At A Time.
The site’s founder Ben Schlappig wrote earlier this month: SAS is getting new investors, including airline group Air France-KLM. Specifically, investments in the reorganized airline will total $1.16 billion, with U.S. investment firm Castlelake taking a 32 percent stake, Air France-KLM taking a 20 percent stake, and the Danish state taking a 26 percent stake.
What happens if all fails and SAS ceases operations? I may have to scramble for new flights. And if there’s a loss, I will bear the costs because I booked the flights while the airline was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy—trip insurance doesn’t cover losses due to default in this case. However, it’s worth what I view as a relatively small risk to save close to $5,000 in airfare.
What are the lessons here?
- Acquire and use award points when possible. Award points offer the greatest bang for the buck when it comes to flexibility in booking. Bookings made with award points can usually be canceled and points redeposited with no penalties.
- Use a tool like Google Flights to get a broad overview of what the going rates are for your flights. But just know that not all airlines show up in the results. My flight on SAS did not. I went directly to the source.
- Try routings that are not direct. A flight from Asheville to Venice in business class typically would cost a fortune. Not so when I routed us through Copenhagen to get to Venice. We had a pleasant two-night layover in the Danish capital and saved a ton for our business class tickets.
- Look at programs such as Lifemiles for acquiring points that can be used on Star Alliance carriers.
What are your tips? Let us know in the comments below.
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