Many of us dream of travelling in style with a business class seat, but the price is a limiting factor, as these can cost five to ten times more than flying economy.
That’s why our ears pricked up when we spotted a viral hack to get business tickets for the same price as – or even less than – the standard fare.
In a Facebook post, British photojournalist and camera operator Cameron Stewart explained how he used a VPN and changed his internet browser’s language settings (from English to Spanish) when booking a flight from Santiago in Chile to Easter Island.
He claims the simple tweak tricked the airline’s site into thinking he was already in Chile. And while he had to use Google Translate to buy his ticket in Spanish, Cameron ended up with business class bed seats for less than what he was quoted for economy.
Although been years since he first shared the tip, it continues to do the rounds online as a moneysaving success story.
Unfortunately, however, we have to be the bearers of bad news, as it turns out the result Cameron had was probably just a fluke – and trying it out in 2024 will only waste your time.
Nicky Kelvin, editor at large at travel advice website The Points Guy, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘Unfortunately, “hacks” like this really don’t have an impact in any significant or consistent way. Airline prices are constantly fluctuating, so similar tricks like browsing with your VPN or clearing your cookies is unlikely to impact price.’
Airlines cottoned on to most of the glitches savvy travellers have made the most of over the years, and although flight prices do fluctuate, that’s largely determined by market factors.
‘You’re more likely to save money depending on when your flights are and whether they are at times of more or less demand both in terms of day, time and season,’ says Nicky.
He recommends travelling outside of peak seasons (Tuesday or Wednesday have the lowest demand) and turning on notifications for your route on a flight search engine like Google Flights, ‘so that you can jump on any price drop or good deal – they go quick!’
How to get cheap business class flights
Despite this hack being a dud, when it comes to business class flights in particular, there are a few ways to cut the cost.
Alongside using up points or miles you have stashed away to help cover the additional spend, Nicky recommends looking at flying from other European airports rather than London.
He says: ‘If you’re flying to New York, for example, sometimes you can find incredibly cheap business-class flights from cities like Dublin, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam – easy cities to get to from London.’
Nicky also advises taking advantage of airline shopping portals to earn points for flights, explaining: ‘British Airways and Virgin both have shopping portals… all online retailers are on there, and you just click through to your retailer then make your purchase as usual.
‘It tracks in the background and you get paid lots of points on your purchase – the multiple is huge, especially combined with the points you might earn by paying for your purchase on a rewards credit card.’
This should help you rack up enough for a cheaper business class seat faster… even if it’s not quite as fast as Cameron’s method.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
MORE : British Airways flight declares emergency before returning to Heathrow
MORE : RAF jet used to transport royals ‘narrowly missed smashing into drone at 200mph’
MORE : Travel expert reveals why you should always choose the worst seat on a plane
Get need-to-know travel news, inspiration and advice from Metro every week.
Sign up here…
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.