Flying in style without splashing out

Co-presented with Ciaran McNulty at the Inviqa's enlightening lunch.

How to fly in style without splashing out. With so many competing airlines and travel agents, it is hard to find flights at the right price, or the right level of comfort and convenience. Ciaran and Marek will show us how to "exploit" the system to get the best deals, travel in style, and maximise your benefits.

Transcript

1. Fly in style without splashing out Ciaran McNulty & Marek Matulka
3. Cost Spending as little as possible
4. LHR-JFK £419.55
5. LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00
6. LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00 UK government fees: £114.65 US government fees: £41.90
7. LHR-JFK £419.55 BA ticket cost: £100.00 UK government fees: £114.65 US government fees: £41.90 BA fuel surcharge: £163.00
8. Pricing is demand-driven • Scheduled 10-12 months in advance • Aircraft positioning crucial to operations • Inconvenient for the airline to cancel
9. Airlines hide pricing
10. Google flights https://flights.google.com • Very fast • Great for direct flights • Includes nearly all economy airlines • Can’t search ranges / multiple destinations
11. ITA Matrix (owned by Google) https://matrix.itasoftware.com • Slow(er) • Very wide searches • No budget airlines • HUGELY powerful extra options
12. Example: LHR-LAX in July?
17. Codeshares: Same flight; different airline
18. Finding more deals
19. Convenience Vary travel time and route
20. LHR-SIN direct for Easter
21. LHR-SIN with a layover for Easter
22. 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
23. DUB (Dublin) • 1 hour from London Gatwick, Heathrow, City • English-speaking • US customs pre-clearance
24. AMS (Amsterdam) • KLM Hub • 5-6 flights/day to major UK Cities • ~ 1hr flight time
25. LHR-LAX in July from £984 All prices in economy. - 2 weeks - travel with BA or OW
26. 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
27. 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!
28. 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
29. 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
30. DUB-LAX-LHR in July
31. 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
32. Read the Fare Rules
33. Adding stops Transfers • Defined as <24h • Limited number allowed • Normally free Stopovers • Defined as >24h • Normally chargeable • Sometimes free
34. Adding Transfers DUB->LAX->HNL->LAS->LHR
35. Adding Stopovers FRA-LHR-SIN-BKK-HKG-LHR-FRA
36. Adding Stopovers FRA-LHR-SIN-BKK-HKG-LHR-FRA
37. Adding Stopovers CPH-LHR-JFK-LHR-CPH
38. Comfort Have the most enjoyable experience while flying
39. Free upgrades
40. Free upgrades
41. Paid upgrade
42. 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
43. 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
44. Upgrade with miles
45. 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
46. LCY-AMS Example avios and tier points earning table.
47. LHR-SIN Example avios and tier points earning table.
48. - oneworld alliance - airline partners - hotels - credit cards - tesco - shopping at avios.com Collecting avios
49. Spending avios
50. 8000 avios + £35 will get you...
51. 13000 avios + £35 will get you...
52. 17000 avios + £35 will get you...
53. Standard Redemptions Avios + applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges
54. Upgrades with Avios
55. Status
56. Blue - collect avios - spend avios Bronze - 25% bonus avios - free advance (7 days) seat selection - business class check-in - priority boarding
57. 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
58. 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
59. Airline alliances
60. oneworld - 15 members; 155 countries / 1010 airports served
61. Star Alliance - 27 members; 193 countries / 1321 airport served
62. Sky Team - 20 members; 171 countries / 1052 airports served
63. Seat Selection Seat Guru - Covers all airlines The BA Source - Very detailed on BA flights
64. ex-EU business cheaper than UK economy
65. LHR-SXM £836.41 in coach Tier points earned: 100 Avios earned: 5883
66. MAD-SXM £868.60 in Business Class Tier points earned: 420 Avios earned: 14709
67. MAD-SXM £889.97 in Business Class Tier points earned: 360 Avios earned: 14064
68. LHR-SXM £2,599.31 in Business Class Tier points earned: 400 Avios earned: 15298
69. LHR-SXM £891.07 in Business Class Tier points earned: 420 Avios earned: 14065
70. LHR-SXM earning 420 TPs
71. Tier Point runs
72. LHR-LAX earning 280 TPs
73. LHR-LAX earning 560 TPs
74. LHR-LAS earning 280 TPs
75. LHR-LAS earning 860 TPs
76. LHR-HNL earning 700 TPs
77. LHR-HNL earning 1120 TPs
78. CPH-HNL earning 1360 TPs
79. LAX-PTY earning 980 TPs
80. Summary
81. Thanks!