Flying Business Class at Economy Class Prices

They say once you’ve flown business class, you’ll never want to fly economy class. Those who think it’s impossible for an average air traveler to experience all the conveniences of a business-class trip are egregiously wrong. All you need to do to fly like celebrities and pay like ordinary people is to put more effort into your booking process. The following secrets will teach you how to find business class tickets at coach class prices.

Take advantage of a last-minute upgrade.
Those lucky ones who are suddenly get upgraded from economy to business class, can’t believe such good fortune happened to them. However, you can keep track of the situation and call the airport 6 hours prior to your flight to know whether there is a last-minute discount available. Some of the airlines offer their customers on-board upgrades so that there is a chance you can buy a discounted first-class ticket shortly after boarding provided there are available seats.

Monitor the sales.
If you want to watch for the advantageous offers but you value your time, just choose several airlines and sign up for their alerts. Once there are attractive fares, you’ll be notified immediately by email. Remember to check out your incoming email in order not to miss an excellent opportunity to travel at a low price. You can also sign up for their newsletters and periodically get the information about the upcoming and current sales together with some useful booking and flying tips. The sales are extended not only to low-cost carriers. You can also get your discounted ticket from a premium-class carrier provided it’s a direct flight and the ticket fare is not refundable (the refundable ones usually cost twice as much).

Travel when businessmen do not.
Chances that you’ll get an affordable business-class ticket are always higher on the weekend when people don’t travel on business. Also, on some national holidays, there are a lot of unsold seats in business-class cabins so it’s very likely you’ll get upgraded there from your coach class.

Co-operate with your travel agent.
Sometimes you don’t have to look for the most affordable flight on your own because your travel agent can do that for you. Usually, travel agents know many different ways of finding the most affordable business-class fares so don’t hesitate to ask for their help. Sometimes, you can save a lot on your round-trip ticket offered by an experienced agent.

Buy miles instead of tickets.
Some American airlines offer the system of accruing miles for the frequent travelers. You can use those miles to upgrade your flight from a business to coach class. Also, you can buy a certain amount of miles at a discounted price and use them instead of a ticket or redeem your accrued miles.

Be flexible and be ready to volunteer.
If you don’t have a fixed schedule and the time of your departure and arrival may be postponed for a couple of hours, offer to give up your seat on an overbooked flight. In return, ask to be upgraded to a first class on the next flight.