On the first search, it only saved £900 per person…
You’re probably here because you love a good travel trick, love Qatar Airways business class, or have heard great things and want to fall in love. You’re in the right place. But first, let’s start with what travel is really about: a dream destination, like Bali. Here’s a picture of an island off of Bali, to get the juices flowing. Now, after seeing the lovely picture above, when you go to search business class flights to Bali, especially from a place like London, you’re likely to be utterly disappointed. That’s because the airlines know it’s amazing, and no one is really going there for “work”, so they jack the prices up and hardly ever offer “sales”.
You may already know that booking package deals, where you combine hotel and airfare or car rental and airfare can be one of the best ways to save on travel, and if you didn’t already know, now you do. For years, British Airways holiday packages have only included destinations where the airline flies, but a recent development got us all kinds of excited. Qatar Airways award winning business class now shows up in British Airways Holiday Packages, and the list of destinations being served is widening, thanks to Qatar’s larger route network in Asia. And yes, as the big headline thing said, it’s the new way to score amazing deals on Qatar Airways business class.
Bold claims, indeed, and now we’ll back them up. On the very first search comparing the Qatar Airways website and British Airways Holidays, we found savings of £900 per passenger, and for roughly £100 more per passenger (still a savings of £800), you could lock in six nights of four star hotel too. Don’t believe? We were actually kinda hoping so. Here’s two people in business class, from January 29th thru February 4th.
On Qatar Airways site…
We know this is a world of alternative facts – but can we all agree, using the two screens shared above, that Qatar is looking for a minimum of £5k round trip for two, and on these dates, £6178? Amen. Thank you. That’s a lot of money, especially just for flights, so you may be well and truly delighted to see the next screen…
And On British Airways Holidays…
Yes.
Yes.
OMG yes! Not only are you locking in the exact same flights, for £900 less per person, or better, you’ve managed 6 nights at a four star hotel too. £4054 for flights and hotels, or £6000+ for flights, you be the judge. And the kicker? Wait for it… one more second, you can secure the entire trip with a downpayment of just £450, and pay off as much or as little as you like, using different cards to spread the costs. You need to be fully paid up about six weeks before the trip, but this allows you to lighten the burden, and split costs between two people. You could probably book this with a stranger!
The exciting thing here is that Bali was not an option on British Airways Holidays as of weeks ago. It is now, and with the increased partnership between Qatar and British Airways, we fully expect to see more destinations served by Qatar Airways added in, like Pattaya and Hua Hin in Thailand, which already are – by the way. This is easily one of the best ways to save on Qatar Airways business class, which is just what we told you at the start of the article.
OMG they have improved the search engine! I had a really hard time dealing with their portal. Now they allow you to change the origin country without having to go to the specific BA local market website. Phew!
This is a really excellent piece of advice – thanks a lot for drawing my attention to it. I’ve actually used BA holidays for my Med holiday this year and save a good deal but the ability to use it to Asia with QR is excellent news. Just for the sake of it – Bali was THE most disappointing place I’ve ever been (CX Business helped a bit). Would happily use this trick for Thailand or maybe Vietnam?
Brilliant and no need to deal with BAs version of service but insurance essential as not bonded travel agent
I’m flying to Sydney with ba holidays in a few weeks and have an atol certificate for the trip; not that im expecting them to go out of business.
No plans to use the hotel I booked for 2 nights but it took £1.5k off the plane ticket (for one person.) Car hire reportedly has the same benefit; you can also get cash back on ba holidays from topcash/quidco which is another slight saving.
great post. always wanted to fly QR and with the damn deals nowhere in sight (had 3 last yr!) I think this maybe a good bet.