<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As far as paying for the BF ticket... NO way... $7200 to LGW x2? </font>
Since you seem willing to spend at least some money on full-fare BF tickets, have you considered the American Express Platinum International Airline Program (IAP)? This would give you a "buy 1, get 1 free" deal on most CO BF flights (Hawaii is excluded, but many cities in Europe, as well as Brazil, Israel, and Japan are included). The $300 annual fee pays for itself many times over the first time you can take advantage of this offer. There's about 17 airlines involved, with CO having the strongest participation among US airlines. When you use the Amex Platinum IAP, the purchased ticket gets full mileage, including BF fare bonus, but the second ticket doesn't get any miles.