cheapest time of the year to fly to new york?

brettcta

i want to take the lady away for her birthday and she's expressed an interest in new york in recent months.

it doesn't really matter what time of year we can get over, so long as it's not in exam time (may/june)

any advice would very nice.

also, i know it's unlikely, but are there ever any 'cheaper' times or ways to fly first class? neither of us have ever flown in first due to the massive cost of it, but i have heard of people getting business or first for a lot less than what you'd normally pay.

many thanks

dmg24

January is cheap, but it will be very cold!

Are you sure that you want to fly first class? If you know no different, business will be more than sufficient for you. I found first quite suffocating (perhaps because I had the cabin and two staff to myself)!

itn

what are prices like for new york mid feb for 7 days? whos the cheapest to book with?

malkie76

London - New York is one of the cheapest route as it's extremely popular and hence many airlines fly there with 4/5 flights per day. As a result the competition is high and costs are low.

In a premium cabin sale you could be looking at business return flights with BA or VA for ~£1000 each. Still a lot of money for most people, but a bargin for comfort.

Other options are 'miles for upgrades' flights. For example you'd need 25k BA miles to upgrade a London-New York flight from economy plus to business (per person). You can raise 25k miles reasonably easily through partner offers (eg convert Tesco CC points). London-New York is one of the easiest routes to find award seat availability. A ecomony plus ticket (during a sale) can be had for as little as £500 pp.

Another option would be to consider a european carrier from a different starting point. For example consider SWISS via Geneva for a great business class experience for around £1500 pp at any time (including your transfer from london to Geneva).

edit

As others have pointed out, if you've never flown business before, then I'd fly business rather than spend the extra on First. Be aware that many carriers don't have a First class product, but market their business class product as such.

eslick

flown business with work and its excellent in the likes of BA some other such as KLM are not as good. Business with BA and Virgin is definately the best way to fly but to be honest I wouldnt pay it myself

If you havent flown first class before then try business with BA the flat beds look better than first class.

We had a strange couple on a flight via Miami when we went business class, myself and a colleague were excited as it was our first time in this class and were investiagating the entertainment and bed and then this older couple came in. The woman was dressed as if she was a 50s film star, and had the dark sun glasses through out the whole flight, as soon as she got to her seat she started to have a go at her husband complaining she couldnt fly this way and how dare he book business class. He explained that first was fully booked and she kept at him for the first hour and a half of the flight, even keep on going as her husband used the onboard phone to talk to someone after 30 mins and he stayed on the phone for a full hour, it must have cost him a fortune in call charges below, just shows how the other half live made us smile

HGLTsuperstar

Virgin don't have a business class - they have premium economy (very nice) and Upper Class (very very nice but have only had the chance to look longingly!)
VA PE fares can be as low as £450 - they have a sale on at the mo' but think its about to end.

malkie76

VA's Upper Class is their business class product.

bb69

last minute.com have deals at the mo for early Feb

http://www.lastminute.com/site/travel/gridpage.html?trawlProductId=60376

HGLTsuperstar

malkie76 wrote: »

VA's Upper Class is their business class product.

No it's their amalgamation of biz and 1st class

duchy

Technically it's their business product.

I was upgraded last month from economy to business on JFK to LHR. The food was fab and the service good but by the time they'd finished faffing around serving the meal it didn't leave much time to snuggle down and enjoy a sleep under the duvet on the lie flat seats. Nice as a freebie but I'm not sure I'd pay for it unless I had already eaten before boarding and declined all in flight service.

dmg24

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

No it's their amalgamation of biz and 1st class

There is nothing first class about Virgin's Upper Class product.