One step closer to the pointy end

Each year I need to do two round-the-world (RTW) flights to visit our UK and US regional offices (near London and Washington respectively). The company policy dictates Economy Class travel. While very annoying, the policy is understandable since a typical RTW on oneworld alliance airlines (Qantas, British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, etc.) costs $3200 plus taxes in Economy, but $9600 plus taxes in Business. That's makes Business Class three times the price of Economy! Well actually not quite - the taxes on a typical RTW would be around $1000 to $1200 regardless of class, so the percentages change a bit. If the policy were applied equally I probably wouldn't be so concerned, but there seem to be a number of people who have been granted exemption from the rule and get to travel in the good seats.

In recent years the company has paid the surcharges to allow me to upgrade to the British Airways World Traveller Plus seats (premium Economy) where possible, which has helped. It's still very much Economy, but significantly better seats. The surcharge on an RTW is $1500 if all upgradeable legs are upgraded, which brings the ticket price from $3239 up to $4739.

Now, I've mentioned that a Business Class RTW is $9600. The thing is, that's the price you pay if you start your journey (or purchase your ticket) in Australia. But as it turns out, anomolies exist. Due to the way that the RTWs are priced, by purchasing a RTW ticket outside of Australia the cost can change significantly. For example, by beginning the journey in Sri Lanka a Business Class ticket will cost $6696, before miscellaneous taxes and fuel surcharges. This means that for only $1957 more than my usual fare I could travel in Business Class.

Another benefit of ticketing outside of Australia is that it includes up to four sectors within Australia. While the exact value of this is hard to determine, a very conservative estimate would be $1000. In other words, the actual price differential is now down to $957.

I actually think this proposal is a cost-neutral solution for the company, since by careful routing of flights (and taking into consideration reduced downtime while overseas) I am able to reduce my hotel stays by three nights on a typical trip. But in recognition of the fact that a conservative view would indicate that there is a shortfall of approximately $1000, I offered to split the difference with the company and pay $500 toward the fare.

Somewhat to my surprise, the offer was accepted!