Looking for Airfare Deals? Try Business Class.
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Here's your Money Briefing for Friday, June 25th. I'm Charlie Turner for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R. Whalen. If you think flying in comfort this year has to be expensive, think again. Airlines are offering big discounts this summer on business and first-class tickets. And it isn't business travelers who are scooping them up.
It's really been leisure travelers and people taking advantage of the lack of business travelers.
Coming up, our middle seat columnist Scott McCartney tells us where you can find the best deals on airfare. That's after the break.
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Airlines have been working hard to recover from the downturn caused by the pandemic. In a bid to lure flyers back for summer travel, carriers have taken to discounting tickets for roomy, high-end seats. That means travelers can find big bargains in business and first class. Let's find out more with our middle seat columnist, Scott McCartney. Scott, thanks for joining us. Good to be with you, Charlie.
How are airlines discounting business and first-class seats after the pandemic?
Scott, you've been talking with travel experts. What kind of discounts are we talking here?
You know, it's really extraordinary. You haven't seen this kind of thing in a long time. Looking at international business class seats that are 30 percent, 40 percent, even 60 and 70 percent below what they were in 2019. One example, New York to Vienna on Austrian Airways. The price for September, $1,800 basically. It was $6,000 in 2019. And it works domestically too. Chicago, Atlanta, first class on Delta for $407. It was available for flights in July and August. Cheapest price in 2019 for the same period, $675. So it's just a whole lot cheaper.
And who's been buying these tickets? They aren't just business travelers.
No, it's really been leisure travelers and people taking advantage of the lack of business travelers. So, you know, you've got to be willing to go to big cities. You have to be willing to bet that Europe's going to be open by September or so. But people are taking advantage of that.
Who is actually buying discounted premium seats—business or leisure travelers?
You know, a New York to Paris ticket in business class for $1,600, that's a deal that people are willing to gamble on.
Scott, which locations are seeing the best bargains? Is it in the U.S. or overseas?
Well, I think it's both. I think percentage-wise, the deals on international business class seats are quite extraordinary. But there are still good deals, 30%, 40% off, and some of them 20% off for domestic first class in the U.S., not as much of a priority for people, but if you want some extra room, you're not going to get the full first-class service these days because airlines have cut back. But it's still worth it to people to be able to spread out a little bit and have a more comfortable flight. I think you're going to find these deals in sort of city-to-city traditional business travel routes. You're not going to find them to Caribbean destinations or mountain destinations where a whole bunch of leisure travelers are going.
It really sort of mimics where you would find business travelers.
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