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There are a selection of very good Business Class fares around right now with a number of Star Alliance Airlines offering fantastic fares between Europe and the US, Singapore airlines offering a sub-$2,000 Business Class in the other direction and Qatar Airways offering $750 off Business Class flights from the US.
Now I’ve noticed another great deal.
British Airways is offering roundtrip Business Class fares between Amsterdam and Bangkok for a fantastic $1,680.
Price-wise that’s not quite as good as the cheapest Qatar Airways fares we saw for travel between Europe and Bangkok but it’s not all that far off ($1,400 was my benchmark fare for a great QR deal).
I don’t know how long this deal has been around for (it may be new or I may just have missed it in my previous searches) but, irrespective of its age, this is a very nice deal if you can use it.
Headline Fare Rules
- Reservations must be made at least 60 days before departure
- Saturday night stay is required
- maximum stay is 12 months
- Unlimited stopovers allowed in each direction (2 at €100 each and unlimited at €200 each)
I haven’t been able to find any official date range for travel nor have I been able to spot a “book by” date – this fare may be around for a while or it may disappear at any time.
The Fare
I’ve said the fare starts from $1,680 to be on the safe side but I have actually found the odd date here and there where Google Flights priced it up lower:
Availability for the fare appears to start around the end of February….
….it gets better in March….
….and by May the fare is available for departures on every day of the month…..
….and this continues almost unchecked through to the end of the bookable schedule:
When choosing flights be careful not to accidentally leave yourself with an unnecessarily long layover in London (unless that’s what you’re actually looking for). Quite often it’s prudent to pay a few dollars more than the cheapest fare to give yourself a considerably shorter journey:
The one downside to this fare is that you can’t get away from flying in BA’s 777 Business Class cabin.
The British Airways Business Class product is generally underwhelming and outdated but it reaches its nadir on the 777’s.
BA flyers dubbed the 777 Business Class cabins “flying dormitories” quite some time ago and they had very good reason to do so.
As ExpertFlyer shows, there are a LOT of seats packed in to a relative small Business Class cabin and even BA’s own seat map can’t mask then fact that this is a densely packed cabin|:
In practice this means that the experience can feel tight and claustrophobic (compared to a lot of other Business Class cabins) so it would be fair to describe it as probably the least “premium” of BA’s long-haul Business Class cabins.
Still…
BA’s Business Class cabin may be considerably behind the times but it’s still a much better experience than flying in Economy or Premium Economy so, in my opinion, the fare is well worth paying if you want to visit Bangkok.
These fares are easy to find on the British Airways website (just remember to include a Saturday night stay):
What Miles/Points Will You Earn?
I suspect that most readers will be crediting these fares to the British Airways Executive Club or the American Airlines AAdvantage program so this is what this fare will earn in each of those loyalty programs:
BAEC Tier Points:
All members will earn 360 Tier Points for the roundtrip journey
BAEC Avios:
- Blue – 19,258 Avios
- Bronze – 22,468 Avios
- Silver – 25,678 Avios
- Gold – 32,096 Avios
360 Tier Points is enough tier points for Bronze Status (with Tier Points left over) and will get you 60% of the way to Silver Status which gets you free seat selection at the time of booking, an extra baggage allowance and access to all oneworld Business Class lounges.
American Airlines AAdvantage – EQM
All members will earn 24,756 Elite Qualifying Miles for the roundtrip journey (approximately)
American Airlines AAdvantage – EQD
All members will earn 3,096 Elite Qualifying Dollars for the roundtrip journey (approximately)
American Airlines AAdvantage – Redeemable Miles
- No Status – 15,470 miles (approximately)
- Gold – 20,420 miles (approximately)
- Platinum – 22,900 miles (approximately)
- Platinum Pro – 25,365 miles (approximately)
- Executive Platinum – 30,325 miles (approximately)
Bottom Line
This is a seriously good Business Class fare for travel to Bangkok and, depending on which loyalty program you choose to credit the flights to, it could help you make significant progress to attaining or requalifying for elite status.
Personally I would choose to credit the flights to the BAEC as I find it cheaper to earn status with BA than I do with American….but your situation may be different.
