Flying in style without splashing out

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Fly in style without splashing out Ciaran McNulty & Marek Matulka

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Cost Spending as little as possible

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LHR-JFK £419.55

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LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00

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LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00 UK government fees: £114.65 US government fees: £41.90

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LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00 UK government fees: £114.65 US government fees: £41.90 BA fuel surcharge: £163.00

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Pricing is demand-driven ● Scheduled 10-12 months in advance ● Aircraft positioning crucial to operations ● Inconvenient for the airline to cancel

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Airlines hide pricing

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Google flights https://flights.google.com ● Very fast ● Great for direct flights ● Includes nearly all economy airlines ● Can’t search ranges / multiple destinations

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ITA Matrix (owned by Google) https://matrix.itasoftware.com ● Slow(er) ● Very wide searches ● No budget airlines ● HUGELY powerful extra options

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Example: LHR-LAX in July?

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Codeshares: Same flight; different airline

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Finding more deals

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Convenience Vary travel time and route

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LHR-SIN direct for Easter

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LHR-SIN with a layover for Easter

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Don’t fly from the UK! ● Different pricing models in different markets ● Tax/Duty differences ● Exchange rate differences ● On sale at different times ● Public holidays at different times

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DUB (Dublin) ● 1 hour from London Gatwick, Heathrow, City ● English-speaking ● US customs pre-clearance

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AMS (Amsterdam) ● KLM Hub ● 5-6 flights/day to major UK Cities ● ~ 1hr flight time

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LHR-LAX in July from £984 All prices in economy. - 2 weeks - travel with BA or OW

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DUB-LAX in July from £774 All prices in economy. Pros: - Instant £200 saving per person - US Immigration passed at DUB Cons: - Needs to pay for travel to DUB - Overnight accommodation may be required

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Positioning flights Unlinked tickets: ● LON -> DUB ● DUB -> LAX ● Give a buffer between your positioning flight and the main fare (night before?) ● or try going back-to-back ● Make sure your travel insurance handles missed departures!

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DUB-LAX in July from £874 All prices in business. Pros: - Instant £100 saving per person - US Immigration passed at DUB - Business not Economy! Cons: - Needs to pay for travel to DUB - Overnight accommodation may be required

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DUB-LAX-LHR in July

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Dropping last legs ● Go hand baggage only ● or make sure there’s an overnight before the last leg ● or make sure there’s an airport change ● or just make a fuss and get your bags back ● Don’t book via a travel agent

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Read the Fare Rules

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Adding stops Transfers ● Defined as <24h ● Limited number allowed ● Normally free Stopovers ● Defined as >24h ● Normally chargeable ● Sometimes free

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Adding Transfers DUB->LAX->HNL->LAS->LHR

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Adding Stopovers FRA-LHR-SIN-BKK-HKG-LHR-FRA

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Adding Stopovers FRA-LHR-SIN-BKK-HKG-LHR-FRA

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Adding Stopovers CPH-LHR-JFK-LHR-CPH

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Comfort Have the most enjoyable experience while flying

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Free upgrades

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Free upgrades

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Paid upgrade

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POUGs Promotional Online Upgrades - check emails from the airline - check MMB often Cost? - ET to CE - £59-139 - WT to WT+ - £85-250 - WT+ to CW - £400-599 - CW to F - £400-599

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AUGs Airport Upgrades - usually offered at check-in desk - more expensive than POUGs Cost? - ET to CE - £75-150 - WT to WT+ - £229 - WT+ to CW - £400-800 - CW to F - £599

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Upgrade with miles

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British Airways Executive Club Avios - awarded based on miles flown - class bonuses (up to 300%) - tier bonuses (up to 100%) - can be used to spend on flights, car hire, hotels, etc. Tier Points - fixed amount per flight segment - different to different classes - reset every year - collect to get / retain status

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LCY-AMS Example avios and tier points earning table.

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LHR-SIN Example avios and tier points earning table.

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- oneworld alliance - airline partners - hotels - credit cards - tesco - shopping at avios.com Collecting avios

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Spending avios

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8000 avios + £35 will get you...

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13000 avios + £35 will get you...

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17000 avios + £35 will get you...

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Standard Redemptions Avios + applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges

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Upgrades with Avios

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Status

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Blue - collect avios - spend avios Bronze - 25% bonus avios - free advance (7 days) seat selection - business class check-in - priority boarding

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Silver - 50% bonus avios - free advance seat selection - lounge access + guest - additional checked bag when flying economy - overweight baggage fee waived Gold - 100% bonus avios - free advance seat selection (including front row seats) - First Class lounge access + guest - extra bag in all classes - Arrivals lounge access (no guest) - Additional redemption availability

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Status progress Free to join 2 BA flights + 300 tier points or 25 flights 4 BA flights + 600 tier points or 50 flights 4 BA flights + 1500 tier points

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Airline alliances

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oneworld - 15 members; 155 countries / 1010 airports served

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Star Alliance - 27 members; 193 countries / 1321 airport served

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Sky Team - 20 members; 171 countries / 1052 airports served

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Seat Selection Seat Guru - Covers all airlines The BA Source - Very detailed on BA flights

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ex-EU business cheaper than UK economy

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LHR-SXM £836.41 in coach Tier points earned: 100 Avios earned: 5883

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MAD-SXM £868.60 in Business Class Tier points earned: 420 Avios earned: 14709

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MAD-SXM £889.97 in Business Class Tier points earned: 360 Avios earned: 14064

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LHR-SXM £2,599.31 in Business Class Tier points earned: 400 Avios earned: 15298