Fly to the US from as low as £1,385 return in Business Class.
It’s been a long time since we connected in Dublin to get a discounted Business Class flight. There was a period, maybe ten years ago, when we did it multiple times a year. It was the only way we got flights that were close to £1k each return. Now it is absolutely worth a look, with flights to NYC coming in at just under £1.4k each, and plenty of other US cities well below £2,000.
How to get the low fares
- Book via the British Airways or Aer Lingus websites. I’d recommend the BA website, as the date selector will show you the lowest pricing on that date, making it easy to find the cheapest flights.
- The ultra-low fares start in May 2026 and run through to Mid-August 2026. This is not just the occasional date during that period; at the time of writing, for some cities it is the majority of dates.
- You will need to stay at least one weekend to get the discounted rates. That’s just to keep these offers away from business travellers.
Here are some of the fares that I’ve found (All are return flights, in Business, and priced per person)
- New York: As low as €1,590 (£1,385)
- San Francisco: €1,889 (£1,646).
- Miami: €1,790 (£1,559).
- Washington DC: €1,767.50 (£1,540).
These are just the cities that I was able to find quickly. There will be other US destinations, alongside Toronto and Cancun.
As these flights originate in Dublin, you will pay for the flights in Euros. It’s worth considering which card you use for this to minimise the impact of exchange rates.
What about the cost of connecting in Dublin?
Flights to Dublin (and the return leg to get you back) can be as low as £31 with Ryanair, or £71 with Aer Lingus. If you choose to stay overnight, then add on another £100 to £130 for a hotel room.
That still makes it significantly cheaper than flying from Heathrow.
US flights to the UK are generally overnight. There are only two exceptions with British Airways. That means you will be landing in LHR in the morning (or lunchtime for the West Coast flights) and you’ll then have your connecting flight to Dublin. Then another flight if you need to get back to another US city.
This is going to be painful. You cannot leave the airport in LHR and skip the final Dublin leg, as your luggage will be moved to that flight. Airlines can clamp down on passengers who skip the final leg.
Who will the flights be with?
All of the cheap flights are connecting in LHR, with the Dublin to Heathrow leg in either BA or Aer Lingus, and then the flight to the US with BA. It is highly likely that you’ll be in the newer BA Club Suite, as nearly all of the planes at Heathrow have that.
Choose a flight combination that uses BA for the Dublin to LHR leg. That will get you into T5, making it easier to connect onwards. Aer Lingus fly into T2, and you’ll need to find your way to T5. Flying Aer Lingus will give you a better lounge in DUB, but it is far better to get into T5.
Is this actually cheaper than flying from London?
Yes, significantly.
| Destination | Direct from LHR | Connecting via DUB |
|---|---|---|
| New York (JFK) | £2,148 | £1,385 |
| Miami | £2,295 | £1,559 |
| Washington DC | £2,010 | £1,540 |
De-risking the connection
You’ll need to find your way to Dublin for these flights, and that poses a risk. If your inbound flying to DUB is delayed and you miss your connection to London Heathrow, you will not be moved on to a later flight.
Even if your inbound is with British Airways or Aer Lingus, that flight to Dublin will be on a separate ticket. The airlines will accept no liability if you miss the flight to Heathrow.
De-risking this means giving yourself a big gap between flights or flying the night before and staying over. This will incur more cost, but it should still make the Dublin option cheaper than flying direct from LHR.
Hotels around DUB are cheap. You can stay at the Clayton for £106 in May, or £91 at the Premier Inn. The two closest hotels are the Maldron and the Radisson, which cost £132 and £164 respectively.
We’re flying from Frankfurt to Singapore later this year, so we need to get from MAN to FRA. We’re going to get an early flight that day (meaning that there will be at least one more flight that could get us into Frankfurt before our connecting flight) drop our luggage off in the airport and then head into Frankfurt for a few hours.
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