Value in booking international air 3: Different Cabins in Different directions

In my third installment of Higher Value on International Flights, I have something that I do for people often, especially for Europe. Doing different cabins by direction. In my last blog on this, mixing cabins on the same direction is just a trick to keep flights from going up. This, instead, actually reduces cost.

Flying to Europe with lay-flat seats is a game-changer. Jet lag is reduced, you don’t start that first day completely exhausted, and it’s just a great way to start a trip. For Americans going to Europe, it's an overnight journey, and everyone agrees that having a bed in the sky is a wonderful way to start a trip and worth paying extra for.

On the way back, the value is more debatable. A flight back from Europe feels like a very, very long day, and most people don’t tend to sleep as much. We also often plan a little time at home where we can relax and get our feet back underneath us.

First example: A good fare to London, nonstop from Denver, is $4314 for business class (Polaris) round trip. If we do that in Premium Economy (Premium Plus), the overall cost drops by close to $1000.00. If you haven’t flown premium plus, it's as nice or nicer than United Domestic First class (same or more legroom, a little narrower, but with more options on the bigger plane).

Next!

Air France, into Paris and back from Nice. Business class the whole way costs $4031, returning in premium Economy saves over $850.

One more, and let’s get a little more specific.

Say you want to go to Sicily, and you have a lot of United Mileage Plus points. You’ve got Status! . You look and see airfare on Lufthansa for $4796! (yay!_, and you look at the best you can get on United (016 ticket stock for accrual rules), because you fly alot and know that often the carriers are matched, ….

But not this time. This time United $6308. So(boo!) , we look at a Premium Economy option, and our fare is $3758.50! AND so long as we have a United flight number in at least one direction, we can put it in as a 016 (united ticket) as opposed to a 220 ticket.

This is important because the Cheapie Lufthansa ticket is a “P” fare, a “Deep Discount economy which we can see from United Mileage accrual with Lufthansa will also accrue half of the mileage as a more expensive business class fare. United Lufthansa mileage accrual. So not only are you saving at least $1000 ( and more than double that if you really wanted United Miles to be fully accrued) but you are also getting more miles (Likely, depending on your status)