New Zealand is a place many people will have on their list of destinations to visit.
Travelling that sort of distance is probably best done in the most comfortable manner possible but a quick look at normal business class pricing out of the UK indicates that prices in excess of £3,000 per person are fairly par for the course.
That’s why the following deal is such a corker!
Qatar Airways 48-hour flash sale
Qatar Airways is running a 48-hour flash sale and most unusually there are a couple of amazing deals from the UK.
Regular Tricks of the Trade readers will know that the frequent Qatar Airways business class sales offer tremendous value. In the last year alone we’ve seen £860 return flights to Singapore and Bali for £1,200.
Ordinarily, however, these brilliant prices are achieved by flying ex-EU. I explained in this article how ‘starting’ your journey from Europe can shave hundreds of pounds off the cost of your flights.
This time is different – with two terrific deals originating in Manchester.
Manchester to Auckland – £1,361
As you can see the total price per passenger is a staggeringly good £1,361!
I thought the £1,500 deal from Oslo that we saw in January was good value, but this is substantially better.
Manchester to Cape Town – £1,355
The total price per passenger is a superb £1,355!
By comparison, the British Airways monopoly on flights from the UK to Cape Town means that direct business class flights seem to average about £3,500 per person.
While normally I’d not be keen on breaking up a ‘simple’ overnight flight to South Africa with a stop in the Middle East, saving more than £2,000 per person would certainly make me think again!
How to book
The best way to go about this is to visit the Qatar Airways UK website directly and plug in your dates.
Availability still seems very good. Auckland is particularly wide open in September and November while there seems to be excellent availability to Cape Town throughout May, June and September.
Note that this deal IS available for solo travellers, unlike many of the recent Qatar companion deals which have required a minimum of two people booking to achieve the lowest pricing.
These deals must be booked by midnight TONIGHT 14th March 2018.
Get a free hotel night along the way
In addition, if you felt like spacing out your journey a little more, you can combine these incredible fares with a free hotel night in Doha courtesy of the +Qatar program.
Unfortunately, this benefit seems to have been devalued somewhat in recent months. You used to be able to enjoy a free night at the Four Seasons, Shangri-La or Ritz Carlton Doha. The list of participating hotels has been watered down, although still features hotels such as the InterContinental, Westin and Radisson Blu Doha.
This perk is valid for travel until 31st December 2018.
Earn ‘free’ BA Silver status + 20,000-30,000 Avios
The great fares are not the only reason to book. Flights on Qatar Airways can be credited to British Airways Executive Club. Destinations such as Auckland would net you a full 600 Tier points, while Cape Town would earn 560 Tier points.
If you were then to fly four British Airways (cash not Avios) flights during your membership year, this trip would effectively give you BA Silver status – which requires 600 Tier Points.
BA Silver status is a valuable perk which allows you lounge access, additional baggage and the ability to choose your seat for free at the time of booking, among other benefits.
A brief glance at the BA Avios flight calculator also reveals that a roundtrip to Cape Town would earn just shy of 20,000 Avios, with an Auckland booking earning more than 30,000!
Verdict
These deals are ridiculously good value, particularly starting from the UK.
There’s none of the faff that I know puts some people off starting their journey from a city like Oslo/Stockholm/Helsinki – where the best Qatar Airways business class deals are traditionally found.
The ability to fly to New Zealand for £1,360 is tremendous. If New Zealand’s not for you, you should consider booking this as a brilliantly cheap way to get to Australia in style. It’s very easy to pick up onward flights to Sydney/Melbourne.
While availability was still widespread at the time of writing, don’t wait – a lot of people are booking these deals and availability won’t last.
Head to the Qatar Airways website to see what you can book.
Let us know in the comments section below whether you pulled the trigger on this deal!
Hat-tip to Godsavethepoints and richonlybyname on Flyertalk for this one.
This is amazing and you get enough Avios for 4 flights to Europe. Love the blog.
Yep and if used wisely that can easily be worth £500+ which makes this an even better deal.