Discounted business international flight providers

[mtgmentsch]

 

Has anybody used Skylux Travel or any other discounted provider for international business class air fare? If so, please share your experiences and whether this is a good option and if you would do this again.  The rates seem amazing, but wondering if it is a reputable option.  Thank you in advance for your insights.

 

 

[6rugrats]

There are no discounted international business class fares.  This company does not have a secret source for cheap business fare flights.  Most of these ticket brokers purchase frequent flyer miles (which is against the terms of every airline's frequent flyer program) and use them to sell tickets.  

Their address shows several other businesses in the same suite number; Delaware Corporate Services, Inkit, RBC DE2, LLC, SABBIA PD PROPERTIES, BRK Holdings, etc.

 

Airlines have become very good at canceling this tickets booked with stolen or purchased miles.  You could arrive at the airport and find your ticket canceled.  

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

Seconding the words of 6rugrats.  Stay away unless you have a very high tolerance for being scammed or stolen from.

 

As for discounted business class tickets:  There are some business class fare buckets that offer a bit of a discount, but they are usually offered on only some of an airline's routes.  There is no "master list" of what these are.  But they tend to have some or all of these characteristics:

 

Only offered on highly competitive routes

Only offered on low-yield routes without heavy business travel

Highly capacity controlled

Have long advance purchase requirements (often 60 to 90 days minimum before travel)

Have longer minimum stay requirements

Have highly restrictive fare rules, especially about refunds or re-ticketing

Often seasonal in nature, being offered for low-demand periods

Offered on connecting itineraries in competition with other carrier's non-stops

Short-lived marketing opportunities rather than a constant feature

 

And even then, the discounting is nowhere in the 60-80% range you see promoted by the agencies reselling FF tickets.

 

How do you find these? Trial and error.  Constant research on your desired routing.  Luck.

 

 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

One other thing.  Those are published fares offered for sale by the airline itself, and available from them directly.  Not some "broker" or "discounter".

[Gardyloo]

A few years ago someone hacked my American Airlines frequent flyer account and stole over 300,000 miles, which they sold to Skylux.  Skylux then used the miles to "sell" several premium class tickets to dupes who thought they were getting a bargain.  (Specifically, they sold business class seats on Cathay Pacific from Toronto to Hong Kong and v.v. and one for Cathay Pacific one way from Hong Kong to LAX.)  

 

When I reported the theft to American Airlines, they voided the tickets that had been "sold" by Skylux.  Apparently one of the tickets (Toronto to Hong Kong) had been used, but the return was voided.  The AA agent told me (breaking the rules by doing so, but thanks) that the Hong Kong > LAX passenger learned the ticket had been canceled upon checking in at HKG for the flight, literally the last minute.

 

I eventually had my miles restored.  Whether the people who'd "bought" them - for thousands of dollars - from Skylux ever got their money back, who knows?  

 

Just FYI, but a good place to look for legitimate "cheap" premium fares is the "Premium Fare Deals" board on Flyertalk - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals-740/ .  The wonks at FT are very good at sleuthing out good prices for the pointy end.  Brush up on your airline and airport codes before diving in.  

Edited March 28, 2023 by Gardyloo