A few days ago I wrote about an amazing fare I booked with Qatar Airways from Philadelphia to Kyiv Ukraine. It’s one of the first time I’ve ever seen Qatar Airways offer business class fares from the United States for less than $2,000. The only issue with this particular fare is the required minimum stay. Within the fare rules of the flights I booked, Qatar Airways requires at least a 7 day minimum stay. For reference, the fare filed by Qatar Airways is “RJHQPZZX” and the fare rules reads as follows:
Category 6: Minimum stay requirements
TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO EARLIER THAN 7 DAYS AFTER DEPARTURE FROM FARE ORIGIN.
Now, this would have been a great deal if I were willing to spend a week in Europe, but I’m quickly running out of paid time off from work. So instead, I booked a Qatar Airways trip with a month long stay in Europe. That may seem counterintuitive, but it allows for a ton of flexibility. Instead of staying in Europe for a month I’ll book a reverse round trip that will bring me back to the US. Next I’ll use the return leg to get me back to Europe to catch my original Qatar Airways flights home. Are you following along?
Great British Airways Business Class Fares
When I started looking around for return round trips I found the usual $350-$500 economy flights that I’ve been seeing for the past few years. However, as I searched I was reminded of a FlyerTalk Premium Fare deal from a few days prior. This time, the fare in question was British Airways Business Class from Paris to Chicago for just $1,100!
Thankfully, as I searched for various dates I was eventually able to find dates that worked for my existing trip to Kyiv. Provided the way I booked everything I now have two long weekends in Europe this summer and I couldn’t be happier. The only thing I still need to figure out is how I’m going to get between Kyiv and Paris. Likewise, I still have no idea if I’m going to spend the days in Kyiv, Paris, or somewhere in between.
The good news though is that I have all of the long-haul flights to/from Europe booked. Figuring out the rest should be very straightforward.
The Flights I Booked
What I ended up with are flights that leave Paris around noon two days after I arrive in Kyiv. From Paris I fly to London where I have a 3 hour layover before catching a British Airways A380 flight to Chicago. I’ve flown in Business Class on the A380 before so I’m fairly familiar with that product. However, British Airways has made some significant changes to their on-board product since I last flew with them.
To get back to Kyiv I’m essentially doing the exact reverse. I’ll leave Chicago in the early evening, but this time I’ll be on the 747-400. I’ve never flown in a premium cabin on BA’s 747 before so I’m quite excited to try it out. I’m especially excited because I was able to pre-select my seat and I’ll be seated on the upper deck! I’ll then have a several hour layover in London again before catching the final flight to Paris.
Final Thoughts
I’m still not sure where I’m going to try to spend my days in Europe. I love the idea of wandering around Paris in the summer for a few days, but also like the idea of staying in London. Likewise, I think it could be a ton of fun to rent a car and drive somewhere. I’ve driven very little in Europe over the years. Either way, I at least now know exactly how I’m getting to and from Europe. What I’ll do in between is still up in the air.
Lastly, given everything that’s happening in the world, now might just be an excellent time to book an international premium cabin flight. Just today I saw some incredible deals out of Italy and to/from parts of Asia. While I think it’s wise to not put yourself in harms way, I also think it’s wise to try to take advantage of some of these sales.
