- I book "positioning" flights instead of direct ones to save money on flying when I can.
- I do this by flying to an intermediary airport and then starting my journey to my final destination.
- Doing this has helped me find cheaper business-class flights, but it doesn't save me time.
I've flown over 1.5 million miles, and one of my favorite ways to save money on airfare (and get into business class on a budget) is with "positioning" flights.
In this context, a positioning flight is when you buy a flight to an intermediary airport and, from there, you actually begin your journey to your final destination.
When choosing an intermediary airport, I look for ones known for offering significantly better deals on flights, whether in economy or business class. Naturally, spending too much money on the positioning flight would defeat the purpose.
Unlike standard connecting flights, your entire trip isn't grouped together on one ticket. If your flight to your intermediary airport gets delayed and you miss your second to your final destination, you could be in a difficult position.
And unlike skiplagging — that is, buying a cheaper ticket that takes you through your desired destination — it's not against the rules.
For years, I've use positioning to take advantage of lower business-class fares from places like Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, and the Philippines. I've found these countries often have plenty of daily flights but low business-class demand.
Here's how these flights work — and why they may not be for every type of traveler.
Booking these flights can take quite a bit of research
Searching through so many flight combinations can be taxing, and there's not always a deal to be found.
Ultimately, you have to do some experimenting to see if a positioning flight (plus the roundtrip from the intermediary stop) will be worth your time and money.
For example, let's say I'm looking to go from London to Jakarta for a 10-day trip in early January.
At the time of writing, the lowest roundtrip business-class fares for a 10-day trip from London to Jakarta I found were between $2,600 and $3,500.
Upon seeing that, I started plugging in nearby cities. What if instead of London, I flew out of Paris, which is just a short, low-cost carrier flight or train ride away? Nope — then, my flight would cost more than $3,500 roundtrip.
So, I started thinking about what other places I could position to, prioritizing cities with numerous flights to and from London and locations with convenient connections to my final destination.
What if I flew out of somewhere like Tunis and started my business-class experience to Indonesia from there? I was able to find a business-class seat from Tunis to Jakarta for about $1,230 roundtrip.
But when positioning flights, you have to check how much it will cost to get to your intermediary airport. So, next, I checked the cost of a positioning flight from London to Tunis. I found roundtrip flights available for under $220.
If I add up the $1,230 business-class roundtrip between Tunis and Jakarta and a $220 roundtrip between London and Tunis, I'm still saving over $1,000 compared to the original flights I found from London to Jakarta.
I would not be saving time, but I would be saving money.
Positioning flights are not for everyone — but they can pay off if you have time to spare
As I've often had a flexible work schedule, positioning flights have helped me amass heaps of miles and explore places that I may have never expected to.
On that note, travelers looking to book a positioning flight should remember that more flights mean more chances for hiccups, such as delays or cancellations. When adding more countries to the mix, you might also want to double-check visa requirements and have a screenshot of your onward ticket available to show immigration at your intermediary airport.
Lastly, if you lack sufficient time and/or feel more risk-averse when it comes to travel, you may want to just stick with more convenient routings.