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In 2016, the average price of business class flights abroad increased by 20%, according to one of the specialized portals. What are the ways to get comfort and premium service at a discount?
Tutu.ru travel service experts have identified the most affordable and most popular foreign destinations in the business class air travel segment. To do this, they analyzed the average prices for international flights (one passenger, round trip) in 2016 and compared them with the previous year.
It turned out that the lists of the most popular countries in the economic and business segments are very different. The most popular destinations for business class flights in 2016 were Israel, Montenegro, Germany, Cyprus and Spain. Economy class air passengers most often flew to Moldova, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Germany and Armenia. “Business class tickets are mainly issued to European countries, economy class tickets to neighboring countries,” explains Natalya Anisimova, head of the public relations department at Tutu.ru. The presence of Germany in the top 5 of both rankings Anisimova explains that Germany is equally attractive destination for both business and leisure travelers.
The most accessible destinations for business class flights were Moldova, Belarus, Austria, Ukraine and Armenia (see table). You can fly to Chisinau from Moscow and back for 36.2 thousand rubles, to Minsk – for 40.7 thousand rubles, to Salzburg – for 41.3 thousand rubles, to Lviv – for 49.6 thousand. rub., to Yerevan – for 53 thousand rubles. The most budgetary destinations in business class do not coincide with the most popular ones. Anisimova explains this by saying that low ticket prices are not a key factor for Russians choosing a travel route. “Demand, the country’s developed infrastructure for tourism and business, outweigh the “cheaper to get” factor, she says.
What happens to prices and demand
Compared to 2015, the average price of a business class flight to European countries increased by 21%, to countries of other continents – by 20%, while tickets to neighboring countries, on the contrary, fell in price by 5%. Air tickets to Montenegro, Greece, Italy and Spain grew the most — by an average of 21-27%. At the same time, the most noticeable decrease in the cost was recorded for tickets to Azerbaijan (minus 15%) and Uzbekistan (minus 20%). Natalya Anisimova suggests that in this way airlines are spurring demand on the respective routes.“Perhaps in the directions in the near abroad there is solvent demand, and the companies are trying to keep more passengers in the business segment. In foreign directions, the situation is better, since not only Russian -speaking passengers form demand, ”she argues.
According to Aviasales tourism service, in 2016, a business class accounted for 0.47% of all purchases through the company's partners. In two years, the number of booking in this segment has doubled. However, the general director of a similar Biletix.ru service, Alexander Sizintsev, notes that on their portal the volume of sales of tickets to a business class in 2016 has almost not changed and amounted to 0.62% (versus 0.65% in 2015).
Aviasales tourism service PR Director Yanis Zenis notes that, due to the reduction in the number of bookings in the business class, some airlines began to order planes without premium sites at all. “Let's say S7 has cars in the complex“ only economy, ”he says. “The business class replaces a“ premium economy ”, which involves an increased level of service at a lower cost.” The same trend is observed by the ONETWOTRIP Development Director Arkady Ginity. “A discount business classes began to appear on the market-without the possibility of exchanging or returning a ticket, with fewer luggage places, but with all the other advantages,” he says.
So, at the S7 airline you can buy tickets of categories “Business Basy” and “Business Flexible”. Tickets of the first type for April Moscow – Chisinau – Moscow will cost 18.4 thousand rubles, the second – 30.7 thousand rubles. Of the restrictions that are provided in the cheaper version, one bag of baggage instead of two, the impossibility of returning and making changes. In addition, the use of a business room is not provided.
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How to save on flights
If you don’t want to travel with an economy class, and the places in the business class seem too expensive, that is, several ways to purchase them with a discount. Firstly, this is the most obvious recommendation that will help save on a business class flight-to buy tickets in advance. Especially on long -distance routes and in the peak season. “To plan a trip to America, Australia, South Africa stands in six months or more,” advises Arkady Ginity. “You can start airline tickets to Europe three months before the trip.”
Secondly, it is also worth checking neighboring dates.If the trip is not tied to specific days, then when choosing a flight, you should consider the dates plus or minus three days from the pre-selected one. Benefits can be as high as 20%, according to Guinness. “Sometimes it’s cheaper to spend one extra night in a hotel than to buy tickets for certain days,” he concludes.
Third, Dzenis thinks it makes sense to keep an eye on sales. For example, Qatar and Etihad airlines often offer promotions like two business class tickets for the price of one.
Fourth, you can join the frequent flyer program, that is, get a bonus card and indicate its number when buying tickets and checking in for a flight. “In this case, if you buy an economy class ticket, you have the opportunity to “upgrade” it to business class with airline miles,” says Guinness. “Or if you overbook in economy class, you will have priority over other passengers.”
Fifth, you can earn bonus points with the help of bank loyalty programs. “For example, by purchasing airline tickets in one place or regularly paying for all purchases with a loyalty card, you can save up for a year for a business class flight to Europe,” says Guinness. According to a study by Frank Research Group, which was conducted at the beginning of this year, the most profitable cards for travelers in the high-yield segment were the cards of Russian Standard Bank British Airways American Express Premium Card, VTB24 Platinum World Card from VTB24, Gazprombank Ural Airlines Platinum and OneTwoTrip credit card from Tinkoff Bank.
However, in order to save money on buying tickets with these cards, you need to actively use them to pay for services, making transactions for fairly large amounts. So, the owner of the British Airways card is awarded three points for each transaction for 65 rubles. ($1 or €0.8), as well as 5,000 additional points for spending over 300,000 rubles. ($4,700 or €3,800) within three months of card activation. One point corresponds to one ruble. You also need to take into account that servicing this card will cost 10 thousand rubles. in year. The credit VTB24 Platinum World Card from VTB24 provides for 6,000 welcome miles and the accrual of four bonus miles for every 35 rubles spent. One bonus mile equals 0.33 rubles. The interest rate on this loan product is 22% per annum, and its maintenance will be free only in case of transactions for more than 65 thousand rubles. per month.
When opening a Gazprombank – Ural Airlines Platinum debit card, the owner receives 1,000 welcome bonus rubles, and for every 35 rubles, $1 or €1 spent, he receives 1.5 bonus rubles. One bonus mile equals 0.3 rubles. For servicing the card, Gazprombank charges 7.5 thousand rubles. in year. The OneTwoTrip loyalty credit card from Tinkoff Bank allows the owner to receive up to 9% of the purchase amount in the form of bonuses that can be spent on booking hotels and buying air tickets on the website or in the OneTwoTrip app. One bonus is equal to 1 rub.When shopping with a card for 50 thousand rubles. per month and with the cost of air tickets at the level of 100 thousand rubles. per year, the user will receive bonuses for 20 thousand rubles. This is less than the average price of a business class flight to Chisinau.
