With Christmas festivities around the corner, budget flyers and backpackers have all the reasons to celebrate as American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia are planning to organize fare sale to offer dirt cheap air tickets to and from Europe.
Oneworld alliance members –American Airlines, British Airwaysand Iberia Airlines, in order to commemorate the first anniversary of their joint business, have decided to launch a joint fare sale for flights between the United States and European destinations, reveals a recent news release issued by American Airlines.
The airline trio is offering round-trip economy class tickets as low as $224 each way booked on American Airlines’ website AA.com. The sale of special fares aboard economy and business class is valid only until 15th November 2011 and the airline urges travellers to book them now. The economy class fares must be booked seven days before travel while the book-by-date for business class fare is 14 days before commencing travel.
While travel on special Economy Class fares to continental Europe is cheapest Sundays through Thursdays, cheap flights to UK can be booked Monday through Wednesday. However, tourists can grab discounted business class fares any day of the week.
Cheap flights under this scheme can be booked on www.aa.com using a credit card with billing address in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, the United Kingdom, or select Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Travel Dates
The originating travel dates for economy class to Europe are 8th Nov through 16th Dec 2011 and 25th Dec 2011 through 1st Apr 2012. For business class, the originating travel dates range from 15th Nov 2011 through 22nd May 2012. However, travel in both classes must be concluded by 15th June 2012.
While a minimum stay of a Saturday-night is required, the maximum stay could be of 180 days, based on travel days.
Taxes, Fees and Terms & Conditions
As per the news release on AA.com, these special fares do not include
- a federal excise tax of $3.70 per U.S. domestic flight segment, defined as one takeoff and landing, of a passenger’s itinerary
- up to $18 per round trip in local airport charges
- September 11th Security Fee of $2.50 per enplanement originating at a U.S. airport
- government taxes and fees of up to $190 for Economy Class and $250 for Business Class, for international destinations, which may vary through destinations.
Additionally, the special airline fares and exclusions are highly dependant on the currency exchange rates at the time of purchase and might undergo slight fluctuations in prices. The fares are subject to change without prior notice.
Ticketing and Travel
Travellers must book cheap economy and business class tickets, seven and 14 days before departure respectively, but not later than 11:59 p.m. Nov. 15, 2011 (Central Time).
Economy Class
Economy class tickets will be valid for travel originating Nov. 8, 2011 through Dec. 16, 2011 or from Dec. 25, 2011, through April 1, 2012, with return travel complete by midnight June 15, 2012.
Business Class
Business Class fares will be valid for travel beginning Nov. 15, 2011, through May 22, 2012, with return travel complete by midnight June 15, 2012.
The tickets will be non-refundable and may not be obtainable on all flights.
Flight Cancellations
An unused ticket for flights cancelled before the scheduled departure would be valid for one year from the issuing date. While for a partially used ticket the validity would span for one year from originating travel date. Conversely, if the flights are not cancelled before the scheduled departure, the ticket will bear no value.
Change Fees
Changes to tickets are possible subject to certain conditions. While the change fee for economy class fares to Europe will be $275 plus fare difference (if any), the change fee for business class fares to Europe will be $500 plus fare difference. In addition, changes may only be made before flight’s scheduled departure time.
Embargo Dates
The AA news release reveals the embargo dates for economy class travel to be from 17th Dec through 24th Dec 2011. However, there are no embargo dates for business class travel.
