We like this little tool for comparing long-haul fares on BA. Many thanks to
pauldb who first worked out how to do this and should get all the credit for this post.
i) Go to
http://matrix.itasoftware.com
ii) Complete "From" as
AMS;ARN;ATH;BRU;BUD;CAI;CPH;FRA;HEL;IST;LCA;LIN;LI S;MLA;PAR;VIE;WAW :: BA+
Be careful - if you can see a gap in the word LIS above then this is an FT formatting error which I cannot remove. Delete the gap if you cut and paste the above text into the ITA programme.
For completeness, you may want to do a second search on the rest of the EU and potential EU member states:
BTS;DUB;LJU;LUX;MAD;PRG;TLL;OSL;OTP;RIX;SOF;VNO;ZA G :: BA+
iii) Complete "To" as:
YYY :: BA+
YYY is your destination - if you don't know the airport code, use the glossary under 'Search' on FT.
iv) Enter rough dates and LON as "sales city" to get GBP prices
v) Click "More Options", change cabin to "Business" or "First" and uncheck "Check seat availability"
This will bring up the cheapest listed fare for the route on that day, although it does not mean that tickets will still be available at that price. You can use dnw's method in post 3 of this thread under "So how do I find/book these fares?" to find days with I (Club) or A (First) availability.
If you're looking for WT+ pricing, set the cabin as "Cheapest" and add " / F BC=T" to the "From" & "To" lines. The results will say "Coach", but it will be a WT+ T fare. You will need to delete a couple of cities from the list to fit in the extra bit of text.
When comparing WT+ prices for potential MFU's, don't forget that MFU's from countries further away from the UK ('Europe 2' zone in BA terminology) require more miles than MFU's from 'Europe 1'. You should factor in the worth of the extra miles needed when considering which fare offers best value.
vi) Click "Go". Scroll down the results if you don't fancy the first options (TIP/CAI/IST) or just delete them in the first place.
Note that you may need to click on 'Cost' to reorder your results in price order, as the default is to list CAI flights first as they offer Club and F on all legs, not just the long-haul one. If searching for First flights, be careful as it sometimes lists itineraries where only one long-haul leg is in F.
Remember that cancellation penalties and stopover fees change from fare to fare, although stopovers are usually Euro 200 each-way if you break your journey in London for > 24 hours. The easiest way to see the fare rules is to search for a specific fare on Expedia - when you have selected a trip, you can choose to view the full rules.
You also need to factor in the cost of getting to your point of departure, and potentially the cost of a hotel if you are travelling too far to return in a day (eg Cyprus, Athens). whichbudget.com lists budget airlines flying to all major cities.