Some folks turn up their noses at the cheapest of the cheap airfares now available.
After all, the cheapest fares are highly restricted: no changes and last to board. United won’t let you carry on a full-size bag. Delta won’t give you frequent flyer credit. Alaska Airlines won’t let you use any upgrades.
Still, you can fly from Anchorage to Seattle for $67 one-way.
More people are asking for deals on first-class seats, especially international first-class tickets.
This week I found a real doozy, from Anchorage to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Typically, first-class tickets to Africa cost between $15,000 and $20,000 round-trip. Lufthansa offers a fare with their partner United Airlines for $21,536 round-trip.
Between Jan. 15 and March 27, British Airways is offering first-class tickets from Anchorage to Johannesburg for as low as $5,875 round-trip. Because British Airways is a partner with Alaska Airlines, you’ll earn a big pile of frequent flyer miles on the trip. In fact, with all of the bonus miles you receive for flying first class, you can qualify for MVP Gold in one trip. You total haul is 103,770 miles. A little more than half, or 59,250, are “elite qualifying miles” for MVP Gold and 75K status.
[Alaska Airlines cutting flights by 10% through January due to omicron-driven staff shortage]
British Airways’ partnership with Alaska Airlines means your first flight is Anchorage-Seattle on Alaska Airlines in first class.
On arrival, head over to the British Airways lounge in the South Satellite at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. There’s a bit more than 90 minutes between flights. You’ll receive priority boarding for your first class “suite” aboard a Boeing 787 to London.
Your seat folds down to a bed that’s 6 feet, 6 inches long. The staff will provide all of the food and drink you want on the 10-hour flight to London’s Heathrow Airport.
There’s a layover of 9 hours and 20 minutes in London. You can spend it in the fanciest lounge at Heathrow: the “Concorde Room” in Terminal 5. This lounge is available only to those traveling in first class. There are showers, sleep pods to take a nap and all manner of fancy food and beverages.
Your concierge in the lounge will let you know when it’s time to board your Airbus 380 for the flight to Johannesburg. This is an 11-hour flight and there’s another comfy fold-out bed waiting for you on board.
A wild itinerary like this only makes sense if you really want to see the world. The last time I was in South Africa, I didn’t get a chance to visit several must-see destinations, including Kruger National Park. See the Big Five animals: lions, elephants, Cape buffalo, rhino and leopard.
There’s a huge wine country region in South Africa. Check it out. There’s also a luxury train called the Blue Train, which leaves from nearby Pretoria to either Kruger or Cape Town. It’s expensive, but it’s a great way to see the countryside.
Speaking of Cape Town, it’s fabulous. That was where I spent five days on my first trip to Africa.
If you can’t carve out the time to go to Africa, you can make it as far as London.
There’s a Seattle-London nonstop on British Airways. Usually the first-class seats cost between $10,000 and $15,000. Between Jan. 28 and April 7, fly British Airways for $4,425.37. Flying in the front of the bus earns you a total of 43,020 Alaska Airlines miles. Of those, 23,900 are elite qualifying miles.
If you wish, book a business class seat on the nonstop for $3,226 round-trip. You’ll earn a total of 23,900 Alaska Airlines miles, including 14,340 elite qualifying miles.
The Seattle-London specials don’t include your connecting flight from Anchorage. The published price for Anchorage-Seattle-London in first class is $7,056 round-trip. So, you’re better off getting a separate ticket to Seattle and pocket the savings.
International travelers need to be familiar with the COVID-related regulations at their destination. In England, for example, they are doing away with the required COVID-19 test before you fly. But that new change is not yet reflected on British Airways’ website.
It falls to individual travelers to search out the latest regulations. That may mean packing rapid tests where you do the test in front of your computer screen. This is a popular option when it’s difficult to find a COVID test overseas.
Closer to home, Delta is having a sale on its Comfort+ seats between Anchorage and Seattle. Between Jan. 28 and Feb. 28, you can fly for $137 one-way in the extra-legroom seats.
Alaska Airlines doesn’t break out its premium extra-legroom seats in the same fashion. You have to select the flight you want, then purchase the premium seat before checking out. The price can vary from day to day. I picked Jan. 28 to price it out, and the cost was a bit higher: $151 one-way.
It’s rare to find good sales prices on premium seats. For the British Airways tickets, they also come with a bunch of bonus miles for Alaska Airlines frequent flyers.