• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » British Airways » British Airways Releases 50,000 Extra Business Class Award Seats
Award TravelBritish AirwaysUpgrades

British Airways Releases 50,000 Extra Business Class Award Seats

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 15, 2018November 14, 2023 5 Comments

a seat in an airplane

British Airways has released thousands of additional business class award seats available for a limited time across a limited, but wide, date range.

Through December 2nd, British Airways has made 50,000 extra Club World business class seats available for travel between December 16, 2018 and March 31, 2019. Since British Airways pulls upgrades from the same inventory, this also means there are thousands of confirmed upgrades available now.

Longhaul award space has been added to/from the following destinations:

  • London Gatwick:
    • Fort Lauderdale – FLL
    • Tampa – TPA
    • Orlando – MCO
    • Las Vegas – LAS
    • San Jose (Costa Rica) – SJO
    • New York – JFK
    • Mauritius – MRU
  • London Heathrow
    • Abuja – ABV
    • Accra – ACC
    • Amman – AMM
    • Atlanta – ATL
    • Austin – AUS
    • Bahrain – BAH
    • Baltimore – BWI
    • Bangalore – BLR
    • Beijing – PEK
    • Beirut – BEI
    • Boston – BOS
    • Buenos Aires – EZE
    • Cairo – CAI
    • Calgary – YYC
    • Cape Town – CPT
    • Chicago – ORD
    • Dallas – DFW
    • Denver – DEN
    • Dubai – DXB
    • Durban – DUR
    • Houston – IAH
    • Jeddah – JED
    • Johannesburg – JNB
    • Kuala Lumpur – KUL
    • Kuwait – KWI
    • Lagos – LOS
    • Las Vegas – LAS
    • Los Angeles – LAX
    • Mexico City – MEX
    • Miami – MIA
    • Montreal – YUL
    • Moscow – DME
    • Nairobi – NBO
    • Nashville – BNA
    • New Orleans – MSY
    • New York – JFK
    • New York – EWR
    • Philadelphia – PHL
    • Phoenix – PHX
    • Rio de Janeiro – GIG
    • Riyadh – RUH
    • San Diego – SAN
    • San Francisco – SFO
    • San Jose (California) – SJC
    • Santiago – SCL
    • Sao Paulo – GRU
    • Seattle – SEA
    • Seoul – ICN
    • Seychelles – SEY
    • Shanghai – PVG
    • Singapore – SIN
    • Tel Aviv – TLV
    • Tokyo -NRT
    • Toronto – YYZ
    • Vancouver – YVR
    • Washington – IAD

I took a look at space using AA.com (my preferred tool to search for British Airways space) and there have indeed been many longhaul business class seats released, even on tougher routes like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

But The Fuel Surcharges!

Do not kid yourselves, these are hardly “free” tickets. British Airways recently increased fuel surcharges, so expect to pay (at a minimum) over $1,000 per ticket in “carrier surcharges” plus government taxes. Book two one-ways instead of a round trip if your travel originates in North America in order to cut down on these fees.

Even British Airways does not sugarcoat these fees, with Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience stating:

It’s exciting to be able to make more than 50,000 extra reward seats available, giving more members a chance to travel paying just taxes, fees and carrier charges, or upgrade their cabin.

“Just” taxes, fees, and carrier charges…the understatement of the century.

CONCLUSION

As much as I love to pile upon British Airways for their outlandish fees, sometimes award space with fees still represents a tremendous option over paying sticker price for business class. Before your redeem your miles for an outright award, check and see if upgrading makes more sense (you can search both on the British Airways Executive Club website). It is nice to at least have this additional option on British Airways.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Hilarious: How A Flight Attendant Mocked An Unreasonable Passenger
Next Article United Announces 787-10 International Routes

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Air Canada Business Class 777-300ER

    Flying From Canada Uniquely Advantageous, Cost Effective

    April 6, 2025
  • Aer Lingus business class seat

    Review: Aer Lingus Dublin-New York A330-300 Business Class

    January 12, 2025
  • Air Canada Business Class 777-300ER

    Review: Air Canada Business Class 777-300ER Toronto-Rome

    September 15, 2024

5 Comments

  1. Sonny Reply
    November 15, 2018 at 8:30 am

    Hi!
    Nice to have more award seats available… But paying 1000 euros of fees in nonsense.
    So… After all it’s still a bad news

    • Christian Reply
      November 15, 2018 at 2:56 pm

      +1

  2. Justin Reply
    November 15, 2018 at 9:23 am

    The same inventory is available for upgrades. There are pros and cons to booking an economy flight and upgrading versus booking outright with points, but some of the advantages are that, for marginally more money at times, you can still earn award miles and miles towards elite status with your airline of choice depending on their terms. With Alaska, for example, if you play your cards right you still get the business class 100% bonus.

  3. Derek Reply
    November 15, 2018 at 10:17 am

    Matthew, don’t forget that BA charges incremental fuel surcharges for the higher cabin when upgrading using Avios. For roundtrip PE-J upgrades departing the US, these incremental surcharges can amount to anywhere between $300 and $700 in my experience, and can alter the value proposition for some.

  4. Arthur Reply
    November 15, 2018 at 11:36 am

    Note the dates. I have a business trip the last week of March, and was hesitant to connect through LHR due to Brexit. Not expecting things to go badly for BA, but just being cautious. I wonder if others have had the same thought.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a woman walking in an airplane with a luggage
    United Airlines Eliminates Instant Upgrades, Excursionist Perk, MileagePlus Upgrade Award Chart May 22, 2025
  • Flight Coffee Allergy
    Passenger Claims She’s Allergic To Coffee Smell, Demands Airline Ban It May 22, 2025
  • Trump Qatar 747-8
    Gift Or Grift? Trump Bets On Qatari 747-8 For Air Force One May 22, 2025
  • United Airlines Domestic Check-In Cutoff
    United Airlines Adjusts Check-In Window For Domestic Flights May 22, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • a room with a table and benches
    Where To Smoke At Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) April 26, 2025
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.