United’s summer business class sale. A 747 at ORD (Image: Chris McGinnis)
Every year about this time I keep my eyes peeled for business class sale fares for summer travel.
As regular TravelSkills readers know, we wrote about a recent spate of summer biz class sales on European carriers.
Today, United jumped in the fray with some across-the-pond discounts, too. (Keep an eye out for other US carriers to do the same…)
The sale fares are not great, but they are certainly better than standard transatlantic business class fares which run in the $6,000 to $9,000 round trip range.
However, to get the deal, you must book 60 days in advance and stay over a Sunday night, which does not sit well with most business travelers– United is clearly after a leisure traveler with restrictions like this.
Is United business class in the bubble on a 747? (Photo: United)
What’s interesting is how close these business class fares get to the high coach fares travelers pay during peak summer months. Many are already in the $1,500 to $2,000 range– even higher if you don’t stay over a weekend.
This means you can pay a few hundred or maybe a thousand dollars more for that nice, flat business class seat instead of the usual 4-5 thousand dollar premium over economy class.
Related: Is United’s food getting better?
Some of the better roundtrip deals in the United sale (including all taxes and fees):
Washington DC – Rome: $2,500
Newark-Rome/Stockholm: $2,800
Newark-Frankfurt/Paris/Munich: $3,000
Washington DC – Amsterdam/Munich: $3,000
Chicago – London $3,600
San Francisco – Frankfurt: $4,013 (One of the priciest in the bunch)
Fine print restrictions:
>Tickets must be purchased at least 60 days prior to departure, but no later than June 30, 2015. Roundtrip purchase is required.
>Travel to Europe is valid between June 26, 2015 and August 29, 2015 with return between June 28, 2015 and September 3, 2015.
>Sunday night stay is required.
Will you bite? Here’s the link to United’s sale page
Did you miss our TravelSkills’ Weekend Editions? Not to worry! Here they are:
Delta cutting back + Virgin shines + Southwest seats + Cool coach seat design + Star Wars jet
In Case You Missed It…
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they mostly go to Asia now (the 747s), not to Europe — and they’ll get rid of them in the next couple of years. I enjoy the 747 as well.
Is the sale applicable to upgrading already purchased economy fares?
Hate to say this but you have more chance of winning the lottery than flying on a 747 with United. There aren’t many of them left to fly.
But I couldn’t agree more with you, love the bubble business class section, made you feel you were the only person on that jet.
United cut fares to cities that have been slowed, Rome, Paris and Germany. But it’s still expensive traveling to London.
I just bought a ticket last week going from Wasington to London and then two weeks later, Paris back to Washington. To buy it would of been $4,200. But with a coach buy and 40,000 miles plus $550 each way got the same ticket for $2,300. But it did cost miles and they are now making it expensive to upgrade from a coach ticket.
So yes some of these business class fares are cheaper, but are hard to find and secure.
Thanks, will check out the fares tonight. I love flying business class on United in the bubble on a 747. You feel like you’re in a private jet, and the window seats have those wonderful storage bins between your seat and the window. You definitely can get some good deals on business-class airfares if you shop around.