I am working on a short business trip to EU later this year, starting to think about how to get there without undue misery since it is a long trip from west coast and I will be working long hours while there. My employer will *technically* pay for a biz fare, but the culture of my local group is to purchase economy only. So I am looking at it from that angle, and if I stumble upon a <$3000 P fare between now and when I book, I may buy that instead. Right now P is seling for >$4000.
So, right now my options are:
1) Waitlist a GPU on a high economy fare (B, M, or E) to/from one of my preferred destinations (AMS or MAD -- I have to visit both cities on the trip)
2) Confirm at booking a GPU to/from LHR which is currently the only city I can find with R open on my preferred travel dates
2a) Adjust my travel dates to be able to confirm at booking GPU to/from AMS, at the cost of leaving my new bride home alone for a couple extra days
3) Buy a B fare to AMS and buy up to P out of pocket for a personal spend of ~$1700
4) Scrap UA altogether and fly NZ from LAX-LHR in premium economy and bookend it with cheapies on each end to get to and from origin/destination, all of which would be paid for by employer
To me, option 2>4>1>2a>3, but I was hoping to get some additional opinions or find out if I am missing something obvious... I would rate option 3 higher if I could find a way to pay the fare difference with an e-cert...unfortunately I have to book the ticket on concur then upfare it after ticketing.
So, right now my options are:
1) Waitlist a GPU on a high economy fare (B, M, or E) to/from one of my preferred destinations (AMS or MAD -- I have to visit both cities on the trip)
2) Confirm at booking a GPU to/from LHR which is currently the only city I can find with R open on my preferred travel dates
2a) Adjust my travel dates to be able to confirm at booking GPU to/from AMS, at the cost of leaving my new bride home alone for a couple extra days
3) Buy a B fare to AMS and buy up to P out of pocket for a personal spend of ~$1700
4) Scrap UA altogether and fly NZ from LAX-LHR in premium economy and bookend it with cheapies on each end to get to and from origin/destination, all of which would be paid for by employer
To me, option 2>4>1>2a>3, but I was hoping to get some additional opinions or find out if I am missing something obvious... I would rate option 3 higher if I could find a way to pay the fare difference with an e-cert...unfortunately I have to book the ticket on concur then upfare it after ticketing.