Business Class for a Fraction of What it Used to Cost

NYT Columnist Joe Starkey writes...

...A crisis for airlines has created opportunities for business travelers bound overseas and determined to make the trip in productive comfort-- without buying a ticket that can cost as much as a good used car.

 You can now fly overseas in business class for a fraction of what it used to cost. Airlines started introducing spot fare sales for international premium seats last fall when demand fell in a deteriorating economy. Now, as conditions have worsened, airlines seem to be settling into a basic restructuring of international premium-class fares.

"I don't know even what counts as a sale anymore," said Joe Brancatelli, who publishes Joesentme.com, "Airlines are now yield-managing fares up front like they do in the back. It's looking like a permanent sale environment."

Business class from New York to London? For the British Airways swanky Club World cabin, that will be about $2,544 round trip for late summer travel, with an advance purchase. The walk-up fare for Club World on that route used to be about $11,000 and is still about $7,500.

Check the fine print on advance purchase restrictions and fees.