JJReyes Posted May 22, 2019 Posted May 22, 2019 The Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and consolidators for premium economy and business class tickets are not flexible about their prices. It is about 50% of the arline's published price. The claim of 70% or 75% discount is not true. Here's my new strategy although it's too early to tell if it works all the time. There are 3 major airline code sharing groups namely: Star Alliance, One World and Sky Team. I started with an Air France membership (Sky Team), but joined British Airways (Star Alliance) about a week ago. Don't ask me to explain how code sharing works, however, we ended up with $1,254 one way business class from Los Angeles to Madrid. This is direct, non-stop flight on Iberia Airlines. The main benefit are seats that convert to flat beds for a 14 hours flight. Great for someone with a bad back. Our return is premium economy on American Airlines from Madrid to New York and then economy class from New York to Los Angeles. Price is $564 each. The US domestic carriers charge about $75 extra for economy seat upgrades that give you more legroom. Out of curiosity, we selected economy seats in the higher category. There were no additional fees possibly because it was a connecting flight by premium economy passengers. My back thanks American Airlines. The new membership is British Airways while the flights are with Iberia and American Airlines. I think the lower price is because this airline group won't be paying commissions to OTAs. I am happy and plan to continue with direct booking. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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