The cost of business class is soaring, especially on monopoly routes.
With all the concern about the cost of nearly everything these days, few travelers are going to really shed a tear over the cost of business class airfares.
On the other hand, price gouging is price gouging. I am someone who’s been in the travel business for decades. I can tell you, this year airlines are taking it to a new level, particularly on monopoly routes.
Now, some routes during certain times of year have always been expensive. Airline tickets can be booked about 331 days in advance. Many travelers who fly regularly to Hawaii have learned to try to book space the day reservations become available for the best fares.
In recent years, however, when I’ve been looking for a few clients who’ve asked me to book a certain date as soon as possible, I’ve noticed that, for example, in late December before Christmas, even when a flight is booked the first available day, there are few if any deals. The airlines know darn well that the planes will fill and they can charge what they want.
On holiday routes, airlines have few limits on what they can charge for business class.
Restaurants and hotels have higher prices for Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. Why shouldn’t airlines?
In 2023, however, it doesn’t seem to matter when passengers travel on many routes. A client in the Washington, DC, area knows he has board meetings in the coming year. They are near San Francisco. He asked me in January to book for March, June, September, and mid-December — Wednesday out, Friday back. Hardly any significant dates.
There are five different booking classes and many fares between Washington Dulles (IAD) and San Francisco (SFO) and return on United Airlines. This airline has almost the only nonstop between SFO and IAD. Today, most daytime nonstop — including the flights with flatbed seats — are priced at almost $2,600 one way. There are scattered available seats on a few flights for $1,600, but if you look at some of the flights, no one is booked in business class on them yet.
On flights between Newark and San Francisco, another United near monopoly. fares range from $2,500 (nonrefundable) to $3,500 (refundable) one way.
Competition moderates transcontinental pricing.
Meanwhile, over in the San Francisco to JFK market, which is more competitive between Delta, Alaska Airlines, American, and JetBlue, even flatbed seats can be as low as $1,000 or less.
And the flights where United does tend to have more reasonable prices in business class is on their single flight a day between San Francisco and Washington-National. Curiously enough, Alaska Airlines has one flight a day at about the same time as United Airlines’ redeyes, where Alaska also has a flight to Dulles. Competition matters.
Now, fares to Washington, DC, could be high with anticipation of business travelers, including lobbyings. But even in more traditional leisure markets, advance premium fares are sky-high, especially on routes with little nonstop competition. Random midweek dates from San Francisco to Miami — a Tuesday in September — for example, have airfares over $1,500 one way for the least expensive nonrefundable nonstop. American Airlines has three flights. United has one. And it’s pretty obvious that most of these flights have from zero to two people booked in business class. The same is true for weekend dates and Friday-Monday travel when you might at least expect non-price-sensitive clients to book early for a cruise or wedding.
Refund rules keep changing for business class travel as the pandemic ends.
And the refund rules keep changing as to whether or not an airline might allow you to rebook at a less expensive fare and get any cash back. The answer for cash back is generally, “No.” A traveler can always “bank” a nonrefundable fare for future travel. Yes, these high business class fares are also nonrefundable. However, with COVID receding, today there’s the issue that nonrefundable tickets are only valid for a year from the booking date.This could be an issue for those who book really early.
Plus, as a travel agent who tries to save clients money, I have tried regularly to hold bookings using the waitlist. It doesn’t work, even for frequent travelers. Some international carriers, like Lufthansa, say they don’t clear waitlists for a lower fare for a ticketed flight. Though on occasion I have found a relatively last-minute discounted premium seat for less — the same class that was and is waitlisted, but that’s nothing anyone can count on or expect.
The adage, “Book early for the best fare,” may not apply now. For travelers who want more comfort, paying earlier on monopoly routes may not be the answer anymore.
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Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
