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Business class to USA from £687
With visitors to the US falling since the start of the year, flight prices are falling to some very decent levels, which we have not seen for a while. Even if you are not keen on visiting the US, it can be a useful stepping stone to places like Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. I loved Bermuda and flew via JFK on separate tickets when I visited, which saved a lot of money versus direct.
The fares are with Aer Lingus in business class on long haul and economy on short-haul. Aer Lingus impressed me on long haul. The seat isn’t the best out there, but it was good enough with much improved food and service. The seats don’t all have aisle access with configuration varying between aircraft but there are “throne seats” which have oodles of room. The seat was comfortable but I did find it very low to the ground when in bed mode.
On short haul, I found the seats somewhat similar to sitting on an ironing board, so I’d advise against long sectors if you are likely to struggle with that. Be aware BA status does not count on Aer Lingus except lounge access at Dublin on Heathrow flights. So you are unlikely to get lounge access for the economy legs, but will for the long haul legs.
The catch is that you have to book through Alaska Airlines. I can’t see the fares on Google Flights, so you will have to search for dates on the Alaska website with dates available from June 2025 onwards. This also means that you must then message or call Aer Lingus for seat selection. However, flying through Dublin means that you will go through US immigration and customs at Dublin and land in the US as a domestic passenger, which, given the concern by some about US immigration being overzealous currently, may make you feel more at ease. (I noticed zero difference when I entered the US last week.)
The fares are available from European departure points such as Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, and Lisbon to New York, Washington, and Boston. Here are some of the best fares:
- Paris to New York £963
- Rome to New York £687
- Budapest to Chicago £837
- Budapest to Washington £706
You can find the Alaska Airlines website here.
HT: Premium Flights
British Airways sale – up to £300 off holidays
There’s yet another BA sale that has just started and is on until 20 May. Having looked through all the business class fares, there is nothing outstanding, but it could be worth a look if you have something you want to book anyway.
With the new BA Club, BA Holidays continues to give extra Tier points versus booking a flight only, so their latest sale offer could be worth considering.
British Airways Holidays is offering customers an additional saving of up to an extra £300 on holidays, for a limited period, during their May Sale. Those booking a flight + hotel or flight + car holidays to destinations and all cabins between 1 May – 6 May 2025 can make the following additional savings:
- £300 extra discount with a min spend of £10,000 per booking (Flight+Hotel only)
- £200 extra discount with a min spend of £5,000 per booking (Flight+Hotel only)
- £100 extra discount with a min spend of £2,500 per booking
- £50 extra discount with a min spend of £1,250 per booking
- £25 extra discount with a min spend of £625 per booking (Flight+Car only)
You can search for BA Holidays here.
Hilton sale with 20% off
The Hilton Sale is now on, with up to 20% off UK and Ireland stays this summer until 2 September 2025. Currently, it is only available for Hilton Honors members (it’s free to join), with stays to be completed on weekends between 2 May and 7 September 2025. From 7 May, it is available for everyone again for weekend stays until 7 September 2025. Hilton members get 20% off, and non-members get 15% off the best available rate.
A “weekend” is defined as Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday nights. The downside is that you have to pre-pay the booking in full, and changes are not allowed.
You can find the sale page here.
3 comments
Why would I, as you state, ‘not be keen to visit the US’ ?
Ridiculous question and the statement was ‘even if you are not keen’ rather than ‘as you are not keen’. Believe it or not, some people don’t have a desire to visit the US so the following statement about it being a stepping stone to other places and a cheaper option too was perfectly valid.
If I may digress from the theme of your newsletter, have you heard anything more (perhaps whispers!) about the special tier points uplift promised on BA Amex Premium Card spend? It’s over four months since BA announced their new convoluted change to collecting tier points and the promised tier points carrot from Amex card spend. BTW, glad to see that you haven’t entirely distanced yourself from your unique ‘creation’ and continue to provide your informative newsletters.