(UPDATE 4/5/17: This offer is now over – make sure you subscribe to the weekly email here or via the link in the sidebar so that you never miss a deal!)
Qatar Airways launched a 7-day sale last Wednesday that includes economy and business class deals for flights departing the UK.
However, I was distinctly underwhelmed by the prices being offered and suspected as always that the best deals are to be found departing various European cities. Travel must also be completed by 21st June 2017, which I thought was pretty restrictive.
You can view the offers for flights departing the UK on this page here
I had a look around and the following offer to New Zealand seems to be the absolute pick of the bunch, particularly because since it is available for travel until 10th December 2017.
As a rule, New Zealand is generally quite a pricey destination to get to from the UK. This situation isn’t helped by the fact that there are no direct flights, given the distance involved. Many people would also prefer to travel in comfort considering the sheer length of the flights. However, prices for business class seem usually to be somewhere between £3,000-£4,000 per person!
That is why this offer from Stockholm to Auckland, New Zealand is so impressive.
Let’s take a look just how good the pricing on offer is. I compared prices for flights from London to Auckland versus this deal from Stockholm for a 2-week trip in October.
Here is the price for flights from London:
As you can see the cheapest option is roughly £2,800 but that also includes a lengthy 17-hour stopover in Guangzhou.
And here is the price using the Qatar deal:
So a total of 17,358 SEK which works out as just £1,522! That is a terrific deal.
As for getting to Stockholm, it should be straightforward to book yourself either a cheap Reward Flight Saver return ticket from 13,000 Avios and £70. Alternatively, you could pic up a cheap £80 return with the likes of Norwegian Air.
OTHER PERKS
As Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance, you can credit flights taken with them to British Airways Executive Club. A quick check using the BA Tier Point Calculator reveals that this trip would earn you 600 Tier Points and 29,758 Avios.
600 Tier Points is the required threshold to earn BA Silver status*. This is a valuable perk which allows you lounge access, additional baggage allowance and the ability to choose your seat for free at the time of booking, among other benefits.
HOW TO BOOK
There are several key dates to be aware of when booking this deal:
- Travel must be booked by 3rd May 2017
- Not bookable for travel between 27th June – 27th July 2017 and 1st August – 15th August 2017
- Minimum 5-day stay requirement
- Travel completed by 10th December 2017 (if utilising MASTERCARD code listed below – otherwise 15th December 2017).
There is an additional Qatar promotion running at the moment that I used to bring the price for these flights down to the £1500 range.
You will receive an extra 15% off economy and business class flights when you book using promo code “MASTERCARD” between 26 April and 21 May 2017 and pay using a MasterCard debit/credit card.
Full details and T&C’s of the MasterCard promotion are here. The promo code is also prepopulated in the flight search function using that link.
Alternatively, you can visit the Qatar Airways homepage directly and input the “MASTERCARD” code yourself.
VERDICT
Without a doubt, this a fantastic business class price to New Zealand, especially as you get to experience Qatar Airways’ superb business class. I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see a better price for the rest of the year.
If I hadn’t wrapped up my travel plans for the rest of the year I would almost certainly have booked this myself.
Visit Qatarairways.com to book now
*You must also have taken 4 eligible BA flights during your membership year to qualify for BA Silver status.