Monthly Archives: January 2014

Where to find Air China discount fares

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We are increasingly asked about flights to China and specifically, Air China flights so we have researched the entire UK travel market for Air China Discount air fares and we’re surprised that nobody offers a discount below the Air China website direct price.

We were looking at London – Beijing – London, Sunday out and Friday back. British Airways quote over £2,000 because the airline requires a Saturday night stay before they’ll offer reasonable prices.

Air China does not have this restriction and offline travel agent fares were in the region of £770 return, including agent fees or markups, and credit card charges.

Expedia priced at £741 with no credit card surcharges. Several other agents offered the £730-£740 range e.g. Opodo at £737 (plus their hidden credit card fees etc)

Air China direct offered a discount fare of £711 which was, by far, the cheapest in the UK
market. Go direct to Air China here.

Note – you’ll need passport details in order to make the reservation.

PS The Air China 2 letter code is CA and the 3 letter airport code is PEK (Peking – now Beijing)

Please note. Booking Business Travel makes no commission from this advice. We simply

want you to find the best deal. If you need a hotel, why not try our comparison engine and

save even more money?!

British Airways Sale Ends Midnight Tuesday 28 January

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The British Airways Sale fares must be booked and paid for before midnight.

It is always difficult to second-guess what prices will be after the sale but for a general picture:

Beijing,is currently £619 return in O class must be booked by Tuesday night.

The next higher fare £659 in Q class is also a sale fare applicable to Tuesday

A £700 fare is booked in N class and that is available for sale after the Tuesday deadline. So we anticipate an increase of

approximately £80 on long-haul economy bookings

We’ll monitor this example and keep you updated.

In the meantime, to benefit from the sale fares please visit our British Airways Page

The end of our recommended search engine ?

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Since April of last year, Google has had a flight comparison facility called Google Flight Search (yes, very original)

We’ve watched it since it was launched and decided that it is useless if you want a complete picture – which you should

have, especially if you’re booking business travel.

See my article here about the hidden extras and incomplete flight results associated with Google Flights.

Now Ryanair’s Michael O Leary is working with Google to display its flights. Whilst that is an improvement for Google, he

say’s,

“It’ll blow comparison sites like Skyscanner out of the water.”

Read all about it in the Independent article here

We think this is an exaggeration and that Skyscanner, who already offer direct links to Ryanair and comprehensive results including all airlines will remain our recommended search engine for a long time yet!

Avios reward booking fee reduced from £35 to £1

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The current sale for Avios tickets reduces the fee from £35 to £1 but is ONLY available on the following BA routes:

Amsterdam

Barcelona

Dublin

Jersey

Lisbon

Madrid

Nice

  • Valid for travel between 31 January and 31 May.
  • Only applies to economy seats
  • Book by Wednesday 12:00 (noon) 15th January 2014

Avios is name the air-miles currency of British Airways

How does BA American Express Companion Voucher Work?

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What is a British Airways Companion Voucher?

Companion vouchers are earned by the traveller by meeting minimum spend targets on Amex credit cards

The companion voucher is accessible online as an e-voucher via the travellers BA executive club account.

So you’ll need the exec number and password. When you log-in you’ll see the companion voucher and its expiry date.

How to use a companion voucher

The Companion Voucher allows the main British Airways American Express account holder, when making a flight booking using Avios, to book another seat on the journey for a Companion without having to pay the Avios flight price for that Companion.

If the member has 2 vouchers they can take 2 people at the same price!

The account holder will have to pay the tax and fuel surcharges etc which can, for a long haul business class ticket cost typically £500+

Both travellers have to travel in the same cabin (class) and travel together.

The BA site does not allow you to book Avios tickets out  to one city and back from another. You’ll need to call BA. (example: If you want London to Shanghai and Beijing to London) In travel speak this is called an open jaw ticket.