Originally Posted by
JohnnieZ
Just as a data-point for LY prices:
TLV-NYC-TLV, fly early April and return late May, in C.
LY (W class - cheapest business fare): $3519.95. Cancellation fee: $220 Change fee: $190
CO (Z class - cheapest business fare): $3428.95 Cancellation fee: $200 Change fee: $150
Note how both fares end with 95 cents?
Is it absurd that LY charges more than CO, both fare-wise and penalty-wise? To me it is. To others, probably not.
Agreed that it's absurd, though some have claimed the soft product on LY is indeed better. IMO, the food on LY is better (at least the KSML,) and the service was on par. Obviously seat-wise, it's no question; CO clearly is better.
Originally Posted by
economyman
...and not when your destination is not NYC but BOS, IAD, ORD, ATL, etc. Then flying BA is more comfortable without having to switch in the US after a long flight to a short haul pain-in-the-... flight with typical delays / cancellations. By flying BA you get all the way to your final destination (or near enough) in comfort.
Valid point
I have flown three times with BA in the last 3 months in C for under $3K when the cheapest LY C fare has each time been $3.5K - and that's for W class which gives you the same points as Y and no upgrades. Any BA C fare including the cheap I (around $2500 return) and R fares (around $2800 return) give you full mileage and tier points plus the ability to u/g to first with miles if you like. Frankly BA's C is so good it really is not necessary to u/g whereas on LY the F hard product does not match even closely BA's C product.
There are times when flying direct to NYC makes much more sense and in that case the extra few hundred dollars may be worth it for some but I can't really justify it unless I need to be in NYC on a Sunday morning for example.
No doubt the biggest advantage of LY is last minute upgrades which as a PL you can be pretty sure to get on non-busy flights. I tend to fly however on the typical business flights leaving Sunday or Monday, returning Wednesday or Thursday which means I need to worry about the u/g and follow the loads in advance to see if I should upgrade prior to the flight with a full voucher or not. It's a pain and takes up too much of my time. I'd much rather pay for C in advance at about the same price as LY full S/Y fare and not be concerned about getting C.
I will be sorry to see my PL gone later this year but LY should be sorry to lose about $30K of annual business from me - all they had to do was offer C at similar prices to BA and they would have had my business - it's a shame.
BA has CW fares for under $3K?! Maybe I should consider taking BA in May instead of CO. An Israeli resident can get Silver, just by one round-trip, TLV-NYC, in CW, correct?
Also, you wrote that F on LY doesn't even compare to C on BA - to that I disagree. C on LY doesn't come close to CW, and F on LY doesn't come close to F on BA. LY's F though and CW are closer.