Fly Business for Less: How to fly business class on the cheap

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  • The business class cabin on the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER. Photo: Supplied
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  • Cathat Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Business Class cabin. 
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  • Business class on board the American Airlines Boeing 777. 
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  • American Airlines Business Class on the B777-300ER aircraft. Photo: Dallas Kilponen
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  • Emirates A380 business class. Photo: Supplied
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  • Emirates business class. Photo: Emirates
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  • Emirates A380 business class flat bed. 
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  • The spacious, well-appointed business class of Singapore Airlines' latest Boeing 777-300ER jets is arguably superior to many airlines' first class offering. 
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  • United has unveiled its new Polaris international business class cabin featuring new custom designed seats as well as exclusive airport lounges. 
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  • United has unveiled its new Polaris international business class cabin featuring new custom designed seats as well as exclusive airport lounges. 
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  • Qantas A330-300 Business Class. 
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  • Qantas 747-400 Business Class. 
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  • Virgin Australia's new business class cabin on board its Boeing 777. 
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  • Virgin Australia A330-200 Business Class. Photo: Supplied
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  • Virgin Australia's new business class cabin on board its Boeing 777. 
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  • Virgin Australia's new business class bar on board its Boeing 777. 
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  • Etihad business class studio. 
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  • Etihad Business Class seat is a semi-private space. 
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  • Hawaiian Airlines A330-200 Business class. 
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  • Air Berlin A330 business class. Photo: Gunter Wicker
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  • Air Berlin A330 business class. Photo: Gunter Wicker
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  • Qatar Airways business class on the Airbus A350. 
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  • Qatar Business Class on the new A350. 
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  • Qatar Airways business class on the Airbus A350. 
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  • Qatar Airways business class on the Airbus A350. 
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  • Garuda Airlines A330-200 Business Class. Photo: Supplied
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Last October I flew from Sydney to Rome and back from London Heathrow, business class with a Middle Eastern airline, for a price of $US3300.

The declining Aussie dollar means at today's exchange rate it's not quite the bargain price that I would have paid at the time the booking was made early in 2015 – $A3580 – but even with today's weakened Aussie dollar, a return business class ticket to Europe for $US3300 is a deal worth considering. It was the full shebang too, chauffeur pickup from home to airport and to my hotel at the other end, ditto on the way back, business class lounges all the way and all the privileges and perks that come when you fly at the sharp end.

The ticket came courtesy of US-based Fly Business for Less. FBFL is the offshoot of a US real estate operation that harvests big numbers of frequent flyer points in the course of doing business. FBFL operates as a points broker, using those points to purchase business and first-class tickets for flyers who want to travel in those classes at a discount and the discounts are huge – anything from 30 to 50 per cent off the cheapest premium class ticket purchased from the airline itself. It's one of a number of US-based operations including Alpha Flight Guru and Luxury 4 Less that all operate along similar lines.

Sounds too good to be true? There's a catch. Such a ticket violates the terms and conditions that most airlines impose on their reward flights, which stipulate that their frequent flyer points are to be used for the benefit of the flyer who earns them and their family members.

Typical is Qantas' own Terms and Conditions, which states "Reward Flights must not be bought, sold, assigned, transferred or acquired other than in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and the applicable Fare Conditions. Qantas or Qantas Loyalty may cancel, confiscate or refuse to honour any Reward Flight dealt with contrary to these Terms and Conditions or the Fare Conditions and, if travel has commenced, any continued travel will be at the passenger's expense."

However this tough talk is seldom matched by action. What makes their business model work for FBFL and other similar operations is simply that in the case of most airlines, FBFL is able to fly below the radar because the radar isn't switched on. Only very few airlines, it seems, actually enforce their own policy. From anecdotal evidence and review site reports, it appears that US airlines are the only ones inclined or able to police their own T&Cs; diligently. Evidence also suggests that these carriers will probably deny boarding to any passenger discovered to be holding such a ticket.

One way that operations like FBFL use to get around the problem of ticketing is to open a frequent flyer account in the name of the passenger and deposit points to that account, thus conferring a skin of legitimacy to the transaction.

According to a spokesperson for FBFL, passengers holding their tickets have been denied boarding only on very few occasions. Should that happen, according to the spokesperson, a call to FBFL is all it takes to get them rebooked on the next available flight.

Does flying the FBFL way work for most travellers most of the time? Among the positives, FBFL have been in business for several years now. If they were unable to deliver the goods at least most of the time they would have be driven from the marketplace long ago, especially since consumer protection legislation in the USA is more rigorous than in the Australian arena. They would also have suffered public crucifixion on travel review forums, which give wronged customers ample opportunity to vent their anger.

The most popular of those sites is TripAdvisor where there are plenty of reviews warning of the perils of booking with a points broker. Much of these come from writers who have not flown on a ticket from a points broker but there's enough feedback from those who have to suggest prudent travellers might think twice before parting with a considerable sum of money. Travellers who report serious problems, and denied boarding at the check-in desk is a big spike in your travel plans, appear more likely to have purchased their tickets through Alpha Flight Guru, another operation similar to FBFL.

A cut-price seat at the pointy end on a premier airline is a tempting proposition. If you plan to fly on a ticket bought through any points broker, paying with a credit card should offer you some level of protection if things don't work out the way they're supposed to.

Michael Gebicki travelled as a guest of Fly Business For Less

See also: Could you survive the world's longest non-stop flight?

See also: How to score a last-minute upgrade

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