Cyba

I'm not surprised flights are so busy. Weather is best in sep and oct so season is quite long. I'm worried about LCA fares esp with BA's monopoly at LHR. Compared to other band 4 destinations fares in CE have usually been lower to LCA but that seems about to change. I usually try to book into D class but nowadays that requires some forward planning. Which reminds me I'd better hold some seats for autumn !!

Calchas

If there was any way to sell you a full fare J seat for £1500, BA would be falling over themselves to do it, even if it meant offloading a few discount Y folks. I don't believe the J bucket is restricted by the current cabin size, but rather always the maximum size. The cabin isn't going to expand any further I'm afraid.

JamesNCL

I used to live in Nicosia and so travelled between my other home in Newcastle regularly - it always bugged me that flights from both LCA and PFO leave so late that I could not connect to NCL the same day and had to stay in Hilton T5 on a few occasions.

I eventually started flying to Athens with Aegean at 05.30 and catching the 08.20 flight to LHR on BA, then being able to connect on to NCL shortly after arrival. However I understand that with such a large amount of passengers going to LCA being holiday makers, going to Athens in the early hours and having 3 flights is too much hassle.

Unfortunately also, there were never any direct flights between LCA and NCL when I needed them with any low cost carriers. It would seem they only fly between around May-October-ish.

tooblue

If you don't want to head west to the Caribbean and/or Florida, I'd choose the Canaries. From Christmas onward, Cyprus can be wet, grey and quite cold. Also, its position at the easternmost end of its timezone means that it gets dark quite early. Many hotels close. Same goes for several restaurants and bars. In January, the seafront area becomes quite deserted from very early evening onward; as visitors go to their hotels for dinner and they mostly remain there for the rest of the evening.
Average January Weather:
Playa de las Americas: 19°C (65°F)
Paphos: 13°C (55°F)

Also, be aware that Cyprus hotels tend to be generously rated. Five star (as we know it) certainly exists but only in about 10% of the hotels which boast that rating. Same goes for four star, etc.

MrSimonR

You used to be able to do it with CY, by taking their 5am flight to LHR. Of course that got canned when they switched slots with VS and moved it to a 10am departure. And that got canned when CY sold the slot.

And the last remaining slot is gone as of mid-September, meaning BA now has a monopoly on LCA/PFO-LHR/LGW.

tooblue

Not forgetting easyJet and Norwegian.

MrSimonR

Err let me think about that for a second.

No.

I don't do LCCs unless (i) there is no other option and (ii) really there is no other option

MrSimonR

It would appear so. I am waitlisted to PFO on 3 Sept, and can't get on the flight (in CE) for any money.

Lioneye

I'm certain you're aware ( not least because this is a Grrrr Larnaca thread) but there is plenty of availability on the Larnaca flight that day. The cab journey is probably 90mins.

Also, regarding you LCC comment. Easyjet consistently outperform BA on this route in terms of service whereas BA outperform on lower cost.

Calchas

Not in this situation: MrSimonR expects to travel in J.

As poor as CE is, it is still better than U2 Y.

Lioneye

This will confuse the hell out of him.......................


http://www.theguardian.com/business/...-class-service

Lioneye

They have a business fare of £156.99 on 3rd Sept flying from Stansted to Pafos.

I'm here to help!

Calchas

As you know, that is not a business class service. Certainly you won't be paying the higher rate of APD. It's just some extra baggage and flexibility.

Lioneye

And better seats.

Add in some warm champagne and bingo!

Seriously though - any competition is good as it will keep BA on its toes.

And if MrSimonR is deseperate to fly that day at least it's an option.

alexwuk

The most cost effective way to "do" LCA in biz if it's full is to book PFO/LCA(stopover)-London-USA-London(stopover)-LCA/PFO. It's about £2,200 to NYC, and you get J class on both LON-LCA/PFO segments, R class on the trans-atlantic (including the LCY-JFK flights if you want, or the great AA 77W via the codeshares), no limit in time to either London stopover (except the whole thing has to be flow in 12 months), and it's fully changeable/cancelable without penalty.