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The great British Airways deals to the US that I highlighted yesterday are still around until midnight UK time tonight but, based on the fare rules, this deal to Shanghai appears to be separate from the luxury sale that the airline is currently running.
Headline Fare Rules
- Reservations needed 60 days before departure
- A Saturday night stay is required
- Maximum stay is 12 months
- Unlimited stopovers allowed (max 6 months) – 2 at €100 each and the rest at €200 each
- Infant/child with seat – 67% of adult fare
- Infant without a seat – 10% of adult fare
There’s no obvious end date for this fare so it may be around for a while or it may disappear at any time.
Routing & Aircraft
Being a British Airways fare the itinerary involves a layover in London….
….and the aircraft employed on the long-haul sectors is a Boeing 777.
The aircraft type is a definite weakness here as the 777 can feel like it has the most densely packed Business Class cabin of all the aircraft in BA’s long-haul fleet…but it’s still a flat bed that’s on offer and you’ll be traveling to Shanghai in a lot more comfort than you’d find in Economy or Premium Economy.
Fare Availability
There are actually two very similar fares available right now with one being more expensive that the other and this is the fare that appears first…..at the end of April:
The cost comes down by around $100 from the end of May….
…and this is the price which hangs around through September…..
…before the lowest cost appears towards the end of October:
The sub-$1,800 roundtrip Business Class fare is then available through 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 (below is an example showing the search parameters I used for this fare)…..
…but as Matrix won’t allow you to book the flights you’ll have to head over to BA.com to lock in the deal:
You should also be able to find this deal through most Online Travel Agencies but don’t forget that some credit cards (like the Platinum Card from American Express) only offer bonus points when booking directly with an airline.
Where To Credit The Flights
As British Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance this fares can be credited to any oneworld loyalty program…but I suspect most readers will be crediting to the British Airways Executive Club.
The number of Avios you’ll earn will depend on your status, but the minimum on offer should be 18,658. All flyers will earn 360 Tier Points towards BA Executive Club status.
If you decide to credit these flights to American Airlines you’ll earn 2 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) per mile flown (if you have elite status you earn a little more as you’ll get a minimum of 1,000 EQM on the short-haul sectors).
You’ll earn Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) based on the distance traveled (approximately 2,987 EQD) and Redeemable Miles (RDM) based on a combination of the distance traveled and your American Airlines status.
If you’re not sure where to credit you flights you should probably check out the wheretocredit website which will give you all the information you need.
Bottom Line
I’m not going try to suggest that the British Airways Club World (Business Class) cabin on the 777 is anything fantastic….but it’s also not terrible either. As a way of getting between Europe and China it’s a perfectly acceptable cabin to fly in…there just happen to be quite a few better Business Class cabins out there.
At under $1,800 roundtrip this is a pretty decent fare (albeit not a stunning one) and with the starting point being in Belgium most readers for whom this fare will be attractive won’t have too far to fly if they need to position to Brussels.
You can find this fare now on BritishAirways.com
Anyone tempted by this?
