September 19, 2007

Bump You Up

Business Class on the Cheap

If fashion editor Jamie can get a $3,000 Paul Smith suit for $250, and sommelier Kerry can get free meals at The French Laundry, why can’t little old you buy a first class ticket for less than $9,700?

There may be no such thing as a free ride, but you can fly a better class for less than retail.

Y-Up Where You Belong
What looks like a coach ticket but lands you in first or business? The discounted first class tickets called Y-Up (a.k.a. Q-Up). They’re valid on flights within the U.S. and Canada, and seats are almost always available (though most travel agents won’t offer unless you ask). Y-Up fares cost more than Orbitz’s best cheapies, but are much less than actual first class fares. FareCompare.com has a great search engine (and explains the fine print).

Try Delt
When you go to Rome, or Paris, or Tel Aviv, go with Delta. If you can book at least 50 days ahead, you can get up to 75 percent off BusinessElite Leisure fares. Delta has recently done a major upgrade, to the tune of horizontal sleeping suites (available next February), TV with HBO, and meals created by Michelle Bernstein. (Here’s the how-to fine print.)

E-I-E-I-Eos
And, of course, we can’t forget Eos, the excellent all-business-class London-NYC airline. Only 48 people travel on a plane built for 220, and you fly to Stanstead airport, avoiding the madness of Heathrow. We checked airfare for the middle of October: $3,292 on Eos, $5,836 on Virgin.

That extra $2,544 can buy a lot of Paul Smith suits.