GNRMatt

I was hoping someone could maybe come up with a solution for me on this. I'm looking to go from PHL/JFK/EWR (PHL is preferred, but I'll go to an NYC one if it means substantial savings) to KEF in October. One option is Icelandair, Non-Stop, from JFK/EWR for about $2K roundtrip in business. Granted, that airline's business-class is like a domestic US first class flight.

I'd prefer to fly on OneWorld though, both to have the better lounge options, lie-flat beds, LP earnings, etc.. If I just try to do PHL/JFK/EWR-KEF through AA or BA, the price is about $10K roundtrip in business, which is not realistic. However, when I look to book JFK/EWR-LHR, it's only about $3K and doing a separate LHR-KEF-LHR booking is about $580, so about $3,500 on OneWorld, which may be worth throwing in the stop at LHR (and giving me a day in London anyway). The problem for me is that this is then 2 separate tickets, and if there are issues, I can possibly get screwed, which I'd like to avoid. I've tried setting this up as a multi-city trip, and the pricing doesn't really change. Any thoughts on how to make this work to be on one ticket within AA/BA?

Thanks!
-Matt

USFlyerUS

Even as a loyal OW customer, I opted for Icelandair in Saga class when I went to KEF. It's not worth the extra time and cost to connect in mainland Europe and backtrack to KEF, and the Icelandair onboard product is good. Plus, the Icelandair lounge in KEF is nice, and, depending on the airport, they have partnerships with other carriers for lounges in the US.

FWIW, I wish Icelandair would become a Oneworld Connect partner.

PHL

JFK-KEF is blocked at 5.5 hours which means it's closer to 5 hours of actual flying time. Why would you overshoot Iceland by 1200 miles, make a connection and then double back 1200 miles for a lounge and lie flat seat when you can be there in 5 hours direct?? I get the loyalty to OW, but sometimes it's just not a fit for the trip.

james318

Because we are FTers and that is what we (used) to do. I guess some still do. I've connected through LAX to get from DFW-JFK multiple times. It used to be part of the fun.

GNRMatt

I definitely get the reason/benefits of doing the non-stop, and I still may book that. I was just looking to see if there is a way to ticket the Oneworld option on a single ticket instead of as separate tickets. I like knowing all my options :-).

USFlyerUS

I almost did the LHR connection on BA to fly to KEF, but then I decided I wanted to try Icelandair. I like flying these niche carriers every so often. It adds to the experience, especially on a vacation where for me half the fun of the vacation is flying to/from the destination.

JJeffrey

Have you played around with different dates? Depending on the date I do see some oneworld fares that are a more reasonable ~$5k. For example: Google Flights - EWR-KEF $5121

Other than that I really wouldn't worry about booking separate tickets, sometimes that is just necessary depending on fares and service. Especially true if you don't mind spending a day in London (or wherever) on the way there and back.

Another option is break it up into one-way's, for example book a one-way on BA NYC-LHR-KEF for $3k, then a separate oneway KEF-NYC for ~$900 on Icelandair on the way back. Get's you a flat bed on the way over and the convenient nonstop on the way back.

lrdpenn

It looks like the cheaper business fares LHR-KEF don’t allow combinations with North America fares which is probably why you can’t get the seemingly cheapest option to price on one ticket

fly747first

Sorry but I feel you are poorly advising the OP. How exactly is Saga Premium good? The seats are domestic F style at a pitch of just 40 inches, which is terrible for international standards. The KEF lounge gets extremely crowded and sometimes there are dirty dishes all over the place.

On top of that, Icelandair is the champion of excessively overbooking Saga and the airport staff is extremely unhelpful... the two most recent times I flew Icelandair, Saga was overbooked and the airport agents refused to provide any compensation in direct violation of EUR261, though eventually, Icelandair's corporate staff admitted the error and compensated me.

GNRMatt

That would probably explain why I'm having issues getting this to work out unfortunately. I wonder why BA set it up that way.

fly747first

I have seen LHR - KEF for as little as $205 USD one-way in Club Europe. Icelandair sometimes has US - Iceland deals for as little as $1,000 round-trip in Saga Class and British Airways won't match that since they can yield much higher Club World fares from US and Canadian cities.

USFlyerUS

It's a 5 hour flight and is a good product from my experience. It's by no means terrible and certainly, under any assessment, isn't bad enough to warrant routing through LHR. Your experiences are very different from mine.

enviroian

Does FI have a good network to service the EU? That would be nice to have another OW partner to fly to Europe on.

Antarius

Not to mention 5 hours in Saga class, IMO beats 6.5 in a lay flat and 2.5 hours in 29" seat pitch BA Club Europe.

And it's half the price of doing a separate ticket trip on oneworld and 1/5th the price of the a comparable single ticket roundtrip.

fly747first

I believe Club Europe's seat pitch is 30'' but the slim seat design makes it feel a bit roomier. I have flown KEF-LHR many times and didn't find the leg room to be bad, though I usually try to get the bulkhead seats that have substantially more room.

I would say FI definitely has a good network from key European cities.