Originally Posted by
mechteach
I'm having a really frustrating time with this on .bomb! As long as I am going to a destination served by UA, I can book these fares. If I look at a destination served by a UA codeshare (ie, an SAS or LH flight connecting from FRA under a UA number), the fare shoots up when I go to the booking screen. Fortunately, I can still book those same flights on Orbitz without the repricing.
I flew IAD to GVA last November, which is not exactly peak time for the airlines. The best fare I could find was around $3500. I flew in coach for $800 and used an upgrade because I saved $2700. Not the best use of an SWU, but certainly not the worst. (And I flew in the full recline business seats with C class half empty and great service.)
The promotional fares are during peak times for European travel and are about $1000 under the best business class fares I found in November. For example, IAD to GVA in late July with this special is about $2300.
What's more, the upgradable coach fares go way up in the summer. Traveling on or around the same dates is about $1350 (W class).
So is it cheap? Spending $2300 for a flight to Europe is not cheap for me. But is it a good deal compared to what it normally is? Yes. For less than $1000, you get 1 1/2 EQMs and save your SWUs if you have them. I travel a lot. If I had to go to Europe in the summer, I would rather buy these fares and save my SWUs for a long and expensive flight to Asia.