Oneworld carriers American Airlines and British Airways team up with affiliate Aer Lingus to bring you a bevy of discounted business class fares during the early months of 2024. While flights to New York are the cheapest, you can travel to four more destinations in the eastern part of the USA and Canada for less than GBP 1,500. You can even shave roughly £180 (~€211) UK departure tax off the price when departing from Jersey.
These fares include lounge access, 2×32 kg of checked bags and lie-flat-seats on flights across the Atlantic Ocean.
These are nonstop fares departing from London:
- New York at £1,333 (~€1,559)
- Toronto at £1,346 (~€1,575)
- Montreal at £1,346 (~€1,575)
- Chicago at £1,370 (~€1,603)
- Boston at £1,395 (~€1,632)
You can find the following fares with departure from Manchester:
- New York at £1,341 (~€1,569)
- Toronto at £1,364 (~€1,596)
- Montreal at £1,365 (~€1,597)
- Chicago at £1,389 (~€1,625)
- Boston at £1,414 (~€1,654)
Our third example are departures from Glasgow:
- New York at £1,346 (~€1,575)
- Toronto at £1,359 (~€1,590)
- Montreal at £1,359 (~€1,590)
- Chicago at £1,383 (~€1,618)
- Boston at £1,408 (~€1,647)
You can also depart from Aberdeen, Belfast and Edinburgh for similar prices.
Tickets from Jersey are up to £180 (~€211) cheaper:
- New York at £1,159 (~€1,356)
- Toronto at £1,171 (~€1,370)
- Montreal at £1,172 (~€1,371)
- Chicago at £1,196 (~€1,399)
- Boston at £1,221 (~€1,428)
Flights can be up to £80 (~€94) cheaper when choosing Aer Lingus over British Airways on the long-haul flights. This will cut into your mileage earnings. You can also score discounted tickets to New York, we have covered that deal here.
Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days for departures from London Availabilities from other airports are more or less the same. The tool will forward you to British Airways with your selected flight dates.
Flights from London are nonstop services by British Airways or American Airlines, operated by a wide variety of Boeing 787 and 777 planes. Flights from other UK airports feature a stop in London.
Even if American Airlines doesn’t enjoy a good reputation for many, its business class is very good. Every seat has direct access to the aisle and the service, as well as the food and the seat, are at a very high standard. Travel-Dealz founder Johannes tested the Boeing 777 and really enjoyed the flight.
British Airways was the first airline to offer lie-flat seats – over 20 years ago. Sadly, many seats are still from that time and no longer reach today’s standards in other aspects. Especially in the Boeing 747, the seats were extremely narrow. Furthermore, it is unusual that every other seat is facing backward. If you, however, fly in a plane that has the new Club World seats installed, you’ll be flying in a much better product, sometimes even with Suite seats that offer a lot of privacy. A general downside at British Airways: there is no free seat reservation, which is unusual for a business class.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, these tickets are on sale until May 30, 2023. You need to stay at least one night from Saturday to Sunday at your destination to get the lowest fare. The discounted flights are available in the first three months of 2024.
Google Flights helps you find additional availabilities. We recommend booking premium tickets directly with the airlines involved, in this case British Airways.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
British Airways issues these tickets in booking class I. A roundtrip from Manchester via London to New York earns you the following mileage:
- 19,710 Award Miles + 11,826 Elite Qualifying Miles on Alaska Mileage Plan
- 11,826 Avios + 1,150 Elite Points on Iberia Plus
- 10,926 Avios on Aer Lingus AerClub
- 10,780 Avios + 360 Tier Points on British Airways Executive Club
- 10,780 Miles on American AAdvantage
- 10,780 Points on Finnair Plus
- 8,984 Avios + 76 Qpoints on Qatar Privilege Club
- 8,984 AsiaMiles + 120 Club Points on Asia Miles
- 8,984 Miles on Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- 8,984 Award Miles on LATAM Pass
- 8,984 Miles on Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- 8,984 Miles on Royal Jordanian Royal Club
- 8,984 Miles on SriLankan FlySmiLes
- 7,186 Points + 16 Elite Points on Malaysia Airlines Enrich
As mentioned earlier, you can also fly nonstop with Aer Lingus at a lower price. However, your mileage accrual would be limited by that choice:
- 14,994 Award Miles + 8,330 Elite Qualifying Miles on Alaska Mileage Plan
- 9,996 Avios on British Airways Executive Club
- 6,664 Award Miles on United MileagePlus