Air France sells LAX-London nonstops
Bonjour, London!
Air France began selling seats Tuesday on its 2008 nonstop flights between LAX and Heathrow, heating up competition on a route once dominated by British Airways.
You can thank the “open skies” pact between the U.S. and the European Union for giving LAX fliers more choices. But will it give us lower London fares? So far, the answer seems to be: not much lower. Here are some matchups (all fares quotes include taxes and fees):
Spring fares: When I checked Air France’s website for its cheapest round trip, leaving LAX on March 30, when it starts the new daily route, and returning April 8 from London, I came up with $716. That was just $30 less than United’s lowest fare, the next cheapest nonstop I could find on Kayak.com, and $60 less than on British Airways. When I shifted the departure date to March 31, I did a little better, $686, with Air France, but it still wasn’t a big discount.
Summer fares: No bargains here. Air France’s lowest LAX-Heathrow round trip for July 14 to 21 was $1,191, compared with $1,230 on American Airlines, the next cheapest nonstop displayed on Kayak.com.
The Delta factor: Delta Air Lines, which is code-sharing on the new Air France flights, may or may not charge different fares than the French carrier does. But Delta hasn’t yet put the seats on sale, so we don’t know what they are. Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton told me she expects the fares to be loaded into the reservation system by Friday. Watch Delta’s website for the prices.
Class distinctions: Air France is using a three-cabin Boeing 777 for the new route, spokeswoman Natalie Grabczak said. First class, dubbed Espace Premiere, has just four seats; business (Espace Affaires) has 48; and economy (Tempo) has 211.
The fare outlook: Who knows? With open skies, carriers adding transatlantic flights and fewer Americans going to Britain, fares should fall. But with Brits heading across the pond for dollar deals, and rising oil prices pushing fuel surcharges past $150, there’s plenty of pressure in the other direction too. My suspicion: Airlines may be forced to discount those $1,000-plus summer fares as they close in on departure dates.
What’s the cheapest flight you’ve found to London?
L.A. Times photo gallery: Heathrow Airport
—Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Assistant Travel Editor
[Image: Air France]
2 Comments on “Air France sells LAX-London nonstops”
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December 21st, 2007 at 8:11 am
Obviously price comes into the equation, but when choosing a carrier for any of my frequent trips to the USA from UK, I always go for quality first, and will happily pay £100 ($200) more for my perception of a quality airline. Saying that, the prices are often cheaper with the quality airlines (Air France as an example). I suppose that even though I’m traveling economy class, I want it to be a dignified experience. None of this; paying separately for alcoholic beverages, not having access to snacks throughout the flight, and not being offered wine with dinner. I know that I’m not alone on this among my friends, but I’d be interested to find out other’s views.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Air France is one of the worst companies I ever dealt with. I got stuck in Paris during the last strike in October. I had to take the train to London, spend the night and buy a Delta ticket the next day to get back to LA. They reimbursed me $37.00 of almost $2,000 that I spent. THAT’S HOW YOU SPELL CUSTOMER SERVICE AIR FRANCE STYLE!!!