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If you’re an avgeek, it doesn’t get much better than this. Right now, Virgin Atlantic has wide open business class space from October through the end of schedule (August 2021). Let’s take a look at the details…
THE BREAKDOWN
We’ve spoken several times about the sweet spot of redeeming Virgin Flying Club miles to fly on Delta planes, but we haven’t spoken much about using the other sweet spot….redeeming Delta SkyMiles to fly on Virgin Atlantic planes.
Though the Delta SkyMiles program is known for many things (the good, bad, and the ugly), this deal falls squarely in the good category as we’re seeing a ton of award availability from several US cities to London.
If you’re lucky enough, your flight from across the pond will be on the A350-1000 plane which features the new Business class suite.
Here is a list of US Departure Cities:
- Atlanta (ATL)** Today – Oct 24, (787), Oct 25 – Mar 27 (A350), Mar 27 -end of schedule (787)
- Boston (BOS)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)*
- Miami (MIA)
- New York (JFK)*
- Orlando (MCO)
- San Francisco (SFO)*
- Seattle (SEA)
- Washington D.C. (IAD)
* = Route features A350
HOW DO I SEARCH AND BOOK IT?
STEP 1: Go to Delta.com
STEP 2: Enter your Origin, Destination, dates (I would select one-way), check the “shop with miles” box, check the “my dates are flexible” box, select Delta One (aka business class), and search.
STEP 3: Select the Price Calendar to see a 30-day view.
STEP 4: Book it!
FAQ’s
I know you have some questions so let’s just jump into it…
Q. How much will the award from the US to London cost me?
A. 86,000 SkyMiles (and if you click on “details,” it will show you the plane type).
Q. How much will the award cost me if I depart the US, connect in London, and continue on to, say, Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV)?
A. 85,000 SkyMiles (Yes, it cost less miles to continue to another city. Interestingly, this specific itinerary has a 12-hour layover in London; 2 cities for the price of 1!)
Q. What happens if I need to cancel my ticket?
A. If your schedule doesn’t quite work out the way you had planned, simply cancel and get your miles and taxes back for free. Partner airline awards booked with SkyMiles are fully refundable as long as you book by December 31, 2020.
Q. Let’s say that I do continue on to Tel Aviv, will I have the chance to fly the A350 twice?
A. Unfortunately, no. Virgin operates a 787 Dreamliner (with the old business class configuration) on the LHR-TLV segment. The silver lining is, you’ll will have the opportunity to experience both products and you can tell me which one is better as I haven’t had the chance to review either yet.
FINAL STAMP
I’ve heard the new business class seats are really good and the fact that you’ll have access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is icing on the cake (read: it has complimentary spa treatments).
It’s worth noting that at the moment Israel has banned foreign travelers (unless you complete a 14-day quarantine), but if you are able to book towards the end of schedule, I trust (and sincerely hope) that will have changed by then.
Are you planning to book this flight? Have you been to Israel before? What was your experience?
HT: Thrifty Traveler
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