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It’s not often we see transpacific Premium Economy fares under $900 but that’s exactly what Delta is currently offering for non-stop travel between Los Angeles and Shanghai on its new Airbus A350 aircraft.
I haven’t really been paying all that much attention to transpacific routes recently and I’ve been paying even less attention to Premium Economy fares so I’m not exactly sure how long this deal has been around for….but it a very good deal nonetheless.
Headline Fare Rules
- Travel Monday through Thursday
- Reservations needed at least 120 days before departure*
- Minimum stay – 5 days/4nights
- Maximum stay – 6 months
- Outbound blackout dates: 6 May – 20 June 2019
- Inbound blackout dates: 1 July – 23 August 2019
*Despite this fare rule you can book this fare for travel next week so I’m not entirely sure why this rule is in place
There is no end date published for the deal so it may be around for a while or may disappear at any moment – if it looks good to you then I wouldn’t wait too long before booking.
Routing & Aircraft
The fare is for non-stop travel between Los Angeles and Shanghai and is offered on Delta’s new Airbus A350 aircraft:
Delta’s A350 was the aircraft on which the airline debuted its ‘Premium Select’ (Premium Economy) product and the cabin offers 48 seats just behind the Delta One cabin.
Here’s what you get with Delta Premium Select (per Delta):
- More space with up to 38 inches of pitch, up to 19 inches of width and up to seven inches of recline. Delta Premium seats will also offer adjustable leg rests and head rests;
- Westin Heavenly® In-Flight Blanket with pillow and a TUMI amenity kit featuring Malin+Goetz Travel Essentials, allowing customers to settle in and arrive well-rested;
- Pre-departure beverage service followed by fresh, seasonal menu selections presented with Alessi serviceware designed exclusively for Delta;
- An up to 13.3-inch, high resolution in-flight entertainment screen that is among the largest in its class, allowing customers to stay entertained with Delta Studio’s industry-leading library of complimentary movies, shows and games, and noise-cancelling headphones;
- In-seat power ports for large and small devices and convenient storage to keep them within reach;
- Sky Priority service, which includes faster check-in, accelerated security, priority boarding and expedited baggage service.
Fare Availability
As I mentioned in the fare rules section of this post, this great Premium Economy fare is available to book for travel commencing next week….
….and is readily available in April too.
There’s only one date in May on which the fare is currently available….
…and there’s no availability at all in June and July:
The fare reappears at the end of August (at a slightly higher price)…
…and it the available through to the end of the current booking period:
Searching & Booking
My suggestion would be to use the ITA Matrix search engine to find fights that work best for you as I had issues trying to get Google Flights to bring up this fare when I wasn’t using specific dates.
Here’s an example showing the search parameters I used to find this fare:
Once you’ve used Matrix to track down dates that work for you you should be able to find the fare with ease on most OTAs and, more importantly, on Delta.com.
Don’t forget that some credit cards (like the Platinum Card from American Express) only offer bonus points when booking directly with an airline so avoid OTAs if that the type of card you plan to use for your booking.
Where To Credit The Flights
Delta is a member of SkyTeam so there are a whole host of loyalty programs to which you can credit these flights….but I suspect most people reading this will be crediting their flights to Delta’s SkyMiles program.
Booking through Delta will see you book fares in the airline’s “G” code which, according to wheretocredit.com, will earn you the following (depending on where you credit the flights):
Make sure you look through this table carefully before deciding where to credit your fare and make sure you understand how credits towards elite status will work for all the relevant loyalty programs.
Bottom Line
With most transpacific roundtrip Premium Economy fares currently coming in at well over $1,000 and with transpacific Business Class fares looking very expensive right now this fare could offer a very economical way across the Pacific with a little bit of comfort.
Featured image courtesy of Airbus
