Pretty certain this will not come as a surprise, but I am on a never ending search for cheap airfares. Below are those that I have found over the past few days and re-confined them this morning. I hope that these will help you out in your quest for miles, enjoyment of air travel or even maybe a “normal” vacation. These are all Economy fares. I created a separate site for the sole purpose of discussing and posting First & Business Class fares, sorted by airline: FandJfares.com
I hope you will join me there and add your expertise. Thanks and good flying!

• LGA-PVG (Shanghai)-JFK $789; American; round-trip 2/18-2/25 –Kayak
• EWR-PVG $850; United; round-trip same dates as above –Kayak
• JFK-DXB-PVG $878; Emirates; round-trip 2/2-2/9 –Kayak
• LGA-ATL-JNB $850; Delta; round-trip 3/6-3/12 3/6-3/12 –Kayak
• ROR (Palau)-NRT-SFO $1531; Delta “Y” fare ONE-WAY 3/23 –IATA.com
• GUM (Guam)-NRT-SFO $1238; Delta “Y” fare ONE-WAY 3/23 –IATA.com

In the past, the “good” fares I came across were posted on Planereality under “Where the Good Fares Are”

While I have received positive feedback on that section of the site, I’ve always thought that there had to be a better way to allow readers to share their wisdom. In addition, it was evident that First and Business Class Fares generate the most demand.
Enter FandJFares.com.

This is a simple forum I created to allow all readers to share their experiences, findings and insights as they pertain to First and Business Class airfares. I am confident that each reader possesses unique knowledge when it comes to Business and First class airfares.

Ask questions, post fares, link to your trip reports, blogs and booking engines… nearly anything goes, as long as the subject pertains to Business & First Class airfares. Last thing: the forum is categorized by airline. Feel free to post or email me feedback.
Here’s to sitting up front.

Ok. Enough travelling for the moment. Let’s take a break and look at some airfares. Without which we won’t be able to plan another trip. This is another installment of “Where The Good Fares Are”

I search for international airfares using a random set of dates and somewhat random city pairings. I see relative value in these fares. They may be good for mileage runs, checking out different airlines, positioning or hell… even leisurely travel. Not an all inclusive list. I found all the fares today on Orbitz (where Planereality has an affiliate agreement) using January 11, 2012 through January 18, 2012. I used the “search 1 day before/after” function in Orbitz.  Fare listed include  fees and taxes.  You may want to do the same.  Labor Day Weekend fast approaching.  No hurricanes please.

ECONOMY CLASS

JFK-Dublin $540 Delta – search for fare

JFK-Berlin $647 Air Berlin – search for fare

EWR-Oslo $708 SAS – search for fare

IAD-CDG $699 Air France & Continental search for fare

LAX-Madrid $781 Iberia – search for fare

SFO-Beijing $939 Air China – search for fare

BUSINESS CLASS

LAX-Shanghai $3453 Air Canada – search for fare

Boston-LHR $2858 Virgin – search for fare

JFK-Madrid $2721 Air Europa – search for fare

Airlines advertise and promote airfare sales throughout the year. Typically there are numerous sales taking place simultaneously. A lot of travelers receive sale notifications via email, twitter or perhaps seek them out on an airline’s website. I typically ignore these fare sales as what looks good on the surface often turns out to be an average sale fare at best.
Example: fares to Europe starting at $225 each way. Wow! Cool!
But when you add fees, taxes and fuel surcharges, the fare prices out at well over $1000… A thorn in the side of the frequent flier’s existence!

I decided to take a closer look at some current airfare sales to compare the advertised price vs. what the actual fare costs. Here are the random 6 I priced out:

1) European Carrier
SALE: Fall travel from US to Europe from $284 each way
(fine print: up to $260 surcharge + weekend surcharge)
Only 1 route at the advertised $284 (BOS-LHR)
I priced random dates 10/13-10/17 for BOS-LHR
Outbound fare was $562.92
Return (most basic fare unavailable) $736.20
Total Airfare: $1299
56% More than advertised!
By the way, I looked at Kayak and there were 19 carriers cheaper than $1299 for same dates

2) US Carrier
SALE: Fall travel to Hawaii from $344 roundtrip
fine print:  travel from 8/22-12/15
I priced same dates 10/13-10/17
LAX-HNL was $237 outbound & $237 return for total of $474
LAX-Maui (OGG) was $623 round-trip
37% & 81% more (respectively) than advertised

3) Asian Carrier
SALES: LAX-NRT $766 R/T
travel between 8/16–11/15
used same dates as above
priced at $882 Total
15% more than advertised

4) US carrier
SALE: flights to CA (listed under “deals”)
but no base fare no travel dates provided
the airline did give example routes (in case you don’t know what cities are in CA)
JFK-SFO $318 Total
Nothing to compare; but this price has you leaving NY at 6am and returning at 12:30am

5) US carrier
Flights to Delhi
from $516 each way was cheapest city pairing (IAH-DEL)
travel from 9/1-/9/30
fine print: up to $190 surcharge & Saturday stay minimum
example dates 9/15-9/20
$515 outbound + $515 return
$1073 all in
12% LESS than advertised (taking into account maximum surcharge)

6) US Carrier
SALE: Europe travel between 8/14-10/27
from $295 each way (for FLL-MAN) round-trip purchase necessary
$239 outbound $219 return
total $615
4% More than advertised

I was surprised at the results, admittedly assuming every flight I priced would be significantly greater than advertised. It’s really a mixed bag though! The moral? Take a minute to look at the fare sales, but don’t get too excited about the base price. Paying a bit more attention to these sales may save me a few bucks.

CONTEST: First person to name the airline that is running each “sale” in the COMMENTS section will receive a $25 AMEX gift card for their next trip.  Offer expires at 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time (12 hours from time of post)  Example: 1) tree top airlines 2) fuji air etc….
Boarding Area bloggers & staff cannot win. Check back in the comments section for the winner.

I’m sure this goes without saying, but I spend entirely too much time researching airfares. But I finally just put the finishing touches on my next trip. Come to think of it, I actually need 1 more domestic flight.
Anyway, throughout the planning process I came across a few fares that piqued my interest. Some could be used as potential mileage earning opportunities, others just to enjoy a 5 star airline. These fares are being posted under “FARES” a.k.a. “Where The Good Fares Are”

I’m sure you can figure out where I am going next by looking at these fares. Or at least narrow it down… or, perhaps you don’t care, which is OK too.

Do you “Like” Planereality on facebook? That’s where I put the other 75% of the pictures and other stuff from the road.

Disclaimer Alert! I do have an affiliate agreement in place with Orbitz, but not the other sources referenced. The blogging gods say I am supposed to disclose this (as if blogging is a highly regulated industry) Basically, all this means is that if you click on the Orbitz link and buy a fare, I would receive a commission. Scandalous huh?

Fares.
One-way departing November 9, 2011; A mix of economy and business

• SIN-ICN-AKL: 1708 KoreanAir Economy; Y fare; Orbitz
• SIN-BKK-AKL: $744 Thai Economy; V fare; Thai.com
• SIN-AKL: $473 Emirates Economy; Orbitz
• MNL-CDG: $1546 Qatar Business Class; QatarAirways.com
• TPE-SFO/LAX: $1500 United Business Class; United.com

This is a series of posts that highlight relatively inexpensive Business Class (and sometimes coach) fares between random city pairs on somewhat random dates.  This particular edition is focused on fares originating from California. The list is nowhere close to all-inclusive, just fares that have caught my eye while looking around. All of the fares were found within the last hour on Orbitz, where Planereality has an affiliate agreement in place. Round trip, including fees & taxes.  Cheap fares, even using random city pairing are getting harder to come by.  Hope these help.

• LAX-Haneda (HND); $2904; 11/14-11/17 > AA, United, Delta -Orbitz
• SAN-Heathrow; $3597; 11/14-11/17 > Delta, KLM  -Orbitz
• LAX-Hong Kong; $3666; 11/14- 11/17 > Eva Air -Orbitz
• LAX-Guam (GUM); $2918; 11/14-11/16> United -Orbitz
• SFO-Shanghai; COACH $832 11/14-11/17 > United -Orbitz

This is a series of posts that highlight relatively inexpensive Business Class fares between random city pairs on somewhat random dates. The list is nowhere close to all-inclusive, just fares that have caught my eye while looking around. All of the fares were found within the last hour on Orbitz, where Planereality has a marketing agreement in place. Round trip, business class, including all fees. Here’s to you, sitting up front.

• Newark-Paris; $1723; 9/2-9/5 > OpenSkies -Orbitz
• LAX-Heathrow; $3006; 9/1-9/5 > Lufthansa -Orbitz
• Newark-Brussels; $1952; 9/1-9/6 > Brussels Airlines -Orbitz
• SFO-Seoul; $2505; 9/1-9/5 > Hawaiian -Orbitz
• Boston-Beijing; $3664; 9/1-9/5 > Continental -Orbitz
• Miami-Shanghai; $3587; 9/1-9/7 > Delta -Orbitz

A few weeks back you may have seen a post about a Swiss Airlines fare sale.  A faithful Planereality follower suggested airfare sales should be listed with all fees, taxes and surcharges included a.k.a “all in” 

This reader felt that listing just the base fare was a “buzz kill” -a term I have never heard anyone use (except myself)

I do indeed agree with said reader and thought his comment called for another installment of “Where The Good Fares Are”

This is a series of posts that highlight relatively inexpensive airfares between random city pairs on somewhat random dates.  Between the price of oil and the pick up (that’s relative too) in the economy, the real great fare are not as plentiful as they were a year ago, but here are the ones I just found on Orbitz.com

OBW- Would you rather see economy or business class fares here?

Example: Sept 1, 2011 – Sept 7, 2011 (Business Class- All In- Found on Orbitz.com)

• LAX-LHR: $2911 Brussels Airlines; $2990 Delta
• JFK-LHR: $2415 British Airways
• ORD-Frankfurt: $2471  Lufthansa
• SFO-CDG: $2984 multi airline itinerary
• DFW-Beijing: $3614 Continental/United

SWISS is offering business class summer fare specials from Newark to Switzerland and to other European cities. Sale fares are available now through May 31. Fares are valid for round trip travel from July 5 through August 24, 2011. Travel must be completed by August 31, 2011.
From Newark, SWISS offers all Business Class service on a Boeing Business Jet operated by PrivatAir. If you wish to fly beyond Switzerland connections can be made with ease at the award-winning Zurich Airport.

The Newark flight operates everyday with the exception of Saturday.
The schedule is as follows:
EWR-ZRH LX 19 departs 9:30 p.m., arrives next day at 8:05 a.m.
ZRH-EWR LX 18 departs 5 p.m., arrives 8:10 p.m.

Sample fares* from Newark to:
Birmingham $1,418 round trip
Manchester $1,518 round trip
Brussels $1,578 round trip
Zurich $1,678 round trip
Amsterdam, Lisbon,
Frankfurt, Hamburg
and Munich $1,678 round trip
Paris and Nice $1,778 round trip

Seats are limited. To book, contact a travel agent, book on SWISS.com or call 1-877- FLYSWISS.

*Fees, taxes and fuel surcharges up to $750 are not included in above fares. A Saturday night stay is required. Maximum stay: all travel must be completed by August 31, 2011. No stopovers permitted. Non-refundable ticket/changes permitted; USD 400 fee applies. Fares subject to change.

Delta Airlines is launching their Miami-London Heathrow route on March 26. They are offering an outstanding round trip fare of $1500 for Business Elite Travel. Delta will operate this route using a 767-400. Here is what the cabin looks like on the 767′s Delta flies to and from Heathrow. There is plenty of availability in March and April.

This Saturday, Delta is also starting LAX/DTW to Tokyo-Haneda.

Enjoy!

I posted one of these fares in “Where the Good Fares Are” yesterday and went back and had another look at it. For the month of January I just came across some very solid business class fares from LAX/SFO/SAN to London Heathrow. The greatest availability looks to be from LAX, followed by SAN and then SFO. Even more attractive is that almost every major North American carrier shows availability and is price competitive. I saw many $2400 round-trips (business class the whole way) on 3-5 segments.   At least 3 of the carriers are featuring flat bed seats across the Atlantic. Only January (as far as I can tell); use a flexible search. Hope this helps. If you are so inclined… Expedia.com