Where to find discounts for business class

You’ll never pay an economy price for a business- or first-class seat, but there are ways to get into the coveted forward cabin for less than you might expect.

Columnist Ed Perkins maintains a list of websites that offer discounted upper-class fares, which can be found at the end of this article. Note that we can’t vouch for the reliability of all these sites, but they are certainly worth further investigation.

Low-fare carriers, including AirTran, ATA, and Spirit, offer business-class seats for less than you’ll find on the legacy airlines, and often offer upgrades from coach for as little as $40.

Flying in the forward cabin to Europe and beyond has become cheaper thanks to the arrival of all-business-class airlines. You can find one-way fares as low as $770, including taxes. Eos flies between JFK and Stansted, Silverjet serves both London’s Luton airport and Dubai from Newark, and French carrier L’Avion links Newark to Paris’ Orly airport.

If your pockets don’t go quite that deep, you can luxuriate in relative comfort at cheaper prices if you choose an airline offering premium economy. Currently, international carriers such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, and Singapore, offer the best premium options, though Perkins dubbed United’s Economy Plus “half of a real premium economy service.” Midwest’s Signature service is also a premium coach product. Though premium economy is a far cry from business- or first-class, it does provide more legroom, wider seats, and better cabin service than you’ll find in coach.

• 1st-Air.Net
• AccessFares
• Air Brokers International, Inc
• AirlinesBrokers
• Airlines of the Web
• Be-Airfare-Smart.com
• Best Fare Network
• Cirpac Travel Systems
• Eight Continents
• Executive Class Travel
• First Ticket Travel
• Horizon Travel
• Imperial American Express Travel Services
• Join Us Travel
• The Travel People
• Travel Team
• TravelTek

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