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Cheap First Class Airfare Is There For The Taking
That Is, As Long As You Know How To Find It And Book It
Kirstin Cole
Reporting
(CBS) NEW YORK Krista Rosenberg has uncovered a secret -- flying first class at coach prices.
"I was getting to pay the same amount as someone in coach," she said.
What's her travel trick? A special type of fare most commonly called a y-up. And it's so easy. Online travel Web sites let users search by specific fare type. Instead of looking for economy flights, choose first or business class. If a y-up is available, the fare will automatically show up as the lowest rate accompanied by letters that are higher up in the alphabet like y, q or z. These are codes the airlines use to symbolize first class.
Experts said there are tens of thousands of these fares and the leading airlines all confirm they've offered them for years, since the on-set of frequent flier miles. Because so many frequent fliers upgrade to first class, y-ups actually help carriers increase the number of paying passengers flying in first.
Matthew Bennett, with firstclassflyer.com, said it could amount to some big bargains.
"Full-first class can be double or more what a y-up fare can be," explained Bennett.
We wanted to see how first-rate the deals are so we asked Rick Seaney, president of FareCompare to help us find a roundtrip flight from Dallas to St. Louis on American Airlines. The y-up fare is $278 dollars. That's nearly $1,500 cheaper than a regular seat in first class and more than $1,000 less than the most expensive seat in coach.
“A lot of times the y-ups are matching some sort of low-cost carrier in a particular market," said Seaney.
On a roundtrip Delta flight from Baltimore to Atlanta, the q-up fare was $638. That's $750 less than regular first class and nearly half the price of full-fare coach. That's a surprise to frequent flier Bill Griffith, who rarely sits up front.
"I would never have thought of even trying to go first class," Griffith said.
We showed Bill how to look and he found a y-up in just minutes.
"My days flying coach may be over," said Griffith.
In addition to sitting in the front of the plane, the y-up seats offer even more benefits. Experts said they're generally fully refundable seats and you may also load up on extra frequent flier miles for being in first.
That Is, As Long As You Know How To Find It And Book It
Kirstin Cole
Reporting
(CBS) NEW YORK Krista Rosenberg has uncovered a secret -- flying first class at coach prices.
"I was getting to pay the same amount as someone in coach," she said.
What's her travel trick? A special type of fare most commonly called a y-up. And it's so easy. Online travel Web sites let users search by specific fare type. Instead of looking for economy flights, choose first or business class. If a y-up is available, the fare will automatically show up as the lowest rate accompanied by letters that are higher up in the alphabet like y, q or z. These are codes the airlines use to symbolize first class.
Experts said there are tens of thousands of these fares and the leading airlines all confirm they've offered them for years, since the on-set of frequent flier miles. Because so many frequent fliers upgrade to first class, y-ups actually help carriers increase the number of paying passengers flying in first.
Matthew Bennett, with firstclassflyer.com, said it could amount to some big bargains.
"Full-first class can be double or more what a y-up fare can be," explained Bennett.
We wanted to see how first-rate the deals are so we asked Rick Seaney, president of FareCompare to help us find a roundtrip flight from Dallas to St. Louis on American Airlines. The y-up fare is $278 dollars. That's nearly $1,500 cheaper than a regular seat in first class and more than $1,000 less than the most expensive seat in coach.
“A lot of times the y-ups are matching some sort of low-cost carrier in a particular market," said Seaney.
On a roundtrip Delta flight from Baltimore to Atlanta, the q-up fare was $638. That's $750 less than regular first class and nearly half the price of full-fare coach. That's a surprise to frequent flier Bill Griffith, who rarely sits up front.
"I would never have thought of even trying to go first class," Griffith said.
We showed Bill how to look and he found a y-up in just minutes.
"My days flying coach may be over," said Griffith.
In addition to sitting in the front of the plane, the y-up seats offer even more benefits. Experts said they're generally fully refundable seats and you may also load up on extra frequent flier miles for being in first.
I don't understand it either. In fact, I'm more confused than ever.
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