Discount airfare to bangkok

Extra legroom and gourmet meals needn't cost as much as you think.

If there's anything Tom Parsons hates more than flying coach, it's paying for something better. So he employs an arsenal of tactics to make sure he gets a premium seat at a bargain price.

For example, he recently paid $168 (not including taxes) for a discounted coach ticket between Dallas and Miami on American Airlines, then used frequent-flier miles to get a first-class upgrade that would normally have cost $1,930.

Parsons, who is the editor of Best Fares magazine, has also made a science of studying aircraft seat configurations. For example, on domestic flights, airlines generally offer two classes of service (coach and first-class), while international flights add an intermediate business class. Parsons makes a point of booking a seat in the front of the cabin to increase his chance of ending up in business class by default. "Airlines occasionally sell business-class seats as domestic coach service" on planes that are designed for international flights but used on a two-class domestic route, he explains.

Parsons always confirms his preferred seat at the time he books. And when he flies on TWA, he requests the "Y up fare"--a full-fare coach ticket (for which the ticketing symbol is Y) with a free upgrade to business class that's good on any route except those that originate from or terminate at TWA's St. Louis hub. To benefit from such special fares, "you have to ask for them," he says.

Normally, the price tag for extra legroom, gourmet meals served on china plates, and personal video screens that pop up from your armrest is out of reach--for example, a staggering $5,366 round trip for business class on British Airways between New York City and London--unless you're a business traveler flying on company time and money. Yet even at that price, premium service is much in demand, especially business class on long international flights (which is generally comparable to domestic first class).

Service is usually best on new aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, and on popular routes; it can be tough to get a seat in business class from New York to Frankfurt or Rome, says Joe Broesler of Hickory Travel Systems, in Saddle Brook, N.J. Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class, which the carrier touts as first-class service at a business-class price, includes an onboard lounge staffed by a beauty therapist who provides complimentary massages and manicures on select flights.

But service can also be spotty. On a recent Delta flight aboard an older L-1011 traveling from Miami to Dublin, several business-class seats did not adjust properly and food was served on plastic trays, says Robert Hubbard of Interworld Travel, in Coral Gables, Fla.

Aside from the amenities, business class has other advantages. The price of a ticket is usually the same no matter when you book, and there's no penalty if you cancel, in nearly every case, "business-class travel allows unlimited free stopovers en route for up to one year," says Terry Trippler, editor of Airfare Report.com (also visit the related Web site, www.rulesoftheair.com). Airlines base their prices for international routes on mileage, so as long as you fly the primary carrier from which you bought your ticket for the first over-the-water segment of your flight, "the airline does not care if you stop in other cities or fly another carrier along the way," says Trippler.

Compared with premium rates to Europe, business-class fares to Asia are downright bargains on a dollar-per-mile basis. Singapore Airlines charges $3,050 for a round-trip business-class ticket between San Francisco and Hong Kong--almost $2,300 less than that British Airways ticket between New York and London.

LANDING A DEAL

Premium air travel isn't cheap at any price, but if you know how to get around, you can save up to 30% on published business- and first-class fares, says Hubbard.

UPGRADE YOUR TICKET. Most carriers require 40,000 frequent-flier miles for upgrades on transatlantic flights (until May 14, Northwest requires only 20,000 miles). Continental doesn't allow mileage upgrades on flights to Hawaii or Europe; other carriers allow upgrades on full-fare coach tickets only. With seats in demand, experts advise frequent fliers to book an upgrade a month or two in advance, particularly on flights from a carrier's hub.

Like TWA, a few other airlines offer free business-class upgrades to travelers who have purchased full-fare coach tickets. E1 A1, the Israeli carrier, offers a business-class upgrade that can be applied to most coach fares (including discounted ones) for a surcharge of $749 each way--still cheaper than the posted business-class fare between New York City and Tel Aviv.

BOOK TWO ONE-WAY FARES. With coach, booking one-way fares would almost always cost significantly more. But that's not necessarily the case for business class, says Trippler. Because of currency fluctuations and a strong U.S. dollar, a one-way ticket originating in a foreign country can cost substantially less than one purchased in the U.S., and it can easily be booked by a U.S. travel agent.

To test this strategy, Trippler recently checked out one-way versus round-trip fares between Detroit and Paris. Northwest's round-trip business-class fare was about $6,630. But split into two one-way tickets, the amount totaled $5,580, a savings of $1,050.

By booking a flight through a Canadian gateway, Trippler was able to save even more. The cost of a coach ticket from Detroit to Toronto was about $350 on Northwest. From there, business class to Paris on Air Canada cost $1,500, while the return business-class fare from Paris to Detroit on Northwest was $2,300. Total cost: $4,150, more than $2,400 less than Northwest's round-trip fare between Detroit and Paris.

SHOP AROUND. Because of the exceptionally weak Canadian dollar, flying through a Canadian gateway in general will lower the cost of a business-class flight to Europe or Asia. "If I fly from Cleveland to London via Washington, D.C., it's $3,000 one way, compared with $1,600 if I go through Toronto," says Broesler.

While business-class fares on popular routes (such as New York to Tokyo and New York to London) tend to be consistent among the major carriers, they can vary significantly on less-traveled routes. For instance, the one-way business-class fare from New York to Copenhagen ranges from $1,220 on Continental to $1,690 on USAirways.

CONSULT A CONSOLIDATOR. Companies such as World Travel Network (800-409-6753) and Interworld Travel (800-468-3796) buy up blocks of business-class seats at wholesale prices--usually from second-tier carriers, such as Iberia Airlines, Korean Air and Tap Air Portugal--and resell them either directly to the public or through a travel agent.

Subscribers to Best Fares ($59.90 annually; 800-880-1234) can find consolidator fares, as well as other special promotions, online at www.bestfares.com. For instance, Best Fares recently offered a round-trip business-class fare from Los Angeles to London on Air New Zealand for $3,400--substantially less than the published fare of $7,134.

THINK BIG. One popular option among globe-trotting business travelers is to buy a round-the-world ticket. Also available for coach and first-class travel, these tickets generally must be purchased at least seven days in advance and require you to make at least three stops in one direction (you can't fly from Paris to Bangkok and then backtrack to Zurich). On United Airlines, a round-the-world business-class ticket costs $4,599--a steal considering you'd pay at least that much just to get between New York City and London.

GO DISCOUNT. Brussels-based City Bird (888-248-9247) charges $699 one way for business-class service from Miami or Orlando to Brussels, or $849 from Los Angeles, Oakland or Las Vegas. Tower Air (718-553-4300) offers business class on both transcontinental flights and flights from New York to Athens or Paris.

But be warned: Discount carriers shave a bit off your legroom as well as your fares. You'll find that seats aren't as spacious as those on most major U.S. carriers.