Frequently Asked Questions
Who will find value from using 1st-air.net?
Changes to a ticketed itinerary
Delivery
Payment
Refund Policy
Mileage/Certificates Usage

Singapore-Cathay-Qantas Combo Fare To Australia With A380 From $6,700 For Premiere Members
Additional Passengers and Changing Passenger Type
Updating Your Profile
Multi-Segmented Itinerary
Hotels
Frequent Flyer Milage
Statement on U.S. Europe Sale Fares as of 1-8-2010 (originally posted 1-28-2009)
Who will find value from using 1st-air.net?
While 1st-air.net hosts over 6 million fare combinations to destinations worldwide, our core strength is for departures from the U.S. to points in Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America and South Africa. 1st-air.net offers only Business and First class international airfares and Premium Economy fares to our Passport Premiere members. Passport Premiere members also benefit from accessing additional airlines and prices which are available on our website only with a unique User ID and password.
For travelers originating their journey in Europe, Asia or Australia, 1st-air.net aims to be competitive but may not be the most competitive source for premium class travel.
Changes to a ticketed itinerary
Most international itineraries purchased through 1st-air.net can be changed. Changes to the dates of travel without changing the routing, can usually be handled by a change in the reservation without ticket re-issuance (e.g. changing an itinerary for travel between London and New York, already ticketed for travel on Sunday, to travel on Monday.) Certain fares do carry a penalty for changes made, and you should check with 1st-air.net regarding any penalties for changes.
Delivery
As of December 22, 2008 1st-air.net utilizes an electronic document delivery system. All ticket confirmation will be sent to you via e-mail unless special circumstances require the use of paper tickets. Over 99.9% of 1st-air.net transactions are now distributed as electronic tickets.
Payment
1st-air.net accepts Visa, Mastercard, or American Express for payment of all services. A signed credit card authorization form must accompany all credit card orders for transactions over $1,000. This form may be printed from http://www.1stair.net/creditauth.html. The form should be completed and faxed to the number on the top of the form. 1st-air.net only accepts credit cards that have a verifiable U.S. billing address.
Payments may also be remitted by cashiers check, money order or bank transfer. Company and Personal checks may also be remitted but will be held for a minimum of 5 business days for funds clearance before your order will be processed. Checks and Money Order payments should be sent to the address below. You may also be eligible to pay by electronic check. Check with 1st-air.net for details:
1st-air.net
Attn: Payments
500 North Michigan Ave Ste 300
Chicago, IL  60601
 
ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS MAY APPLY FOR BANK TRANSFERS - To pay for services by bank transfer, please contact our offices directly at (585)383-4470 for payment instructions. Additional discounts may apply for payments made by bank transfer.
 
WIRE TRANSFER REQUESTS - For wire transfer requests, please contact our accounting office at 585 383 4470 for routing instructions.
Refund Policy
Any purchase from 1st-air.net that is not completely used and for which a refund is requested should be sent to our offices at 500 N. Michigan Ave, Ste 300, Chicago, IL 60601. Many ticket types which are not used may be eligible for a refund, less a 1st-air.net and airline imposed cancellation penalty. Some deeply discounted ticket types may not be eligible for a refund even if cancelled prior to your scheduled departure. Some carriers and routes do not permit changes to the dates, times or routing for their lowest fare types. As change and cancellation penalties vary by carrier and route, we encourage you to clarify with your 1st-air.net representative the specific penalties involved with your itinerary prior to completing your purchase. Failure to cancel a paid reservation more than 24 hours prior to your schedule departure time may result in forfeiture of your tickets remaining travel and/or refund value.
This policy comes into effect as of December 1, 2003.  Please contact your global travel analyst for an explanation of the penalties that may exist for your specific itinerary.
Additional Passengers and Changing Passenger Type
If you need to add multiple passengers to your travel request, or specify that a child is traveling, you may do so as follows:
Enter your travel request from http://www.1stair.net/quoteform.cfm
Once signed into your portfolio, which will be labeled Step 2 of 3 in the upper right hand corner, select ‘Request Itinerary’ 
Once Step 3 of 3 is displayed, select ‘Modify Trip’
From the Modify Trip page, select ‘Add Passengers’ under ‘Passengers’
Proceed to add as many passengers as are required by entering their first and last names, passenger type and then select ‘Add Passenger to Trip’ to confirm the addition.
Once you have completed all passenger additions, select ‘Request Itineraries’ at the top of the page.
Updating Your Profile
If you wish to update your profile, you may do so at http://www.1stair.net/login.cfm.  Once you have logged into your account, go to ‘Edit Your Profile’. From this section, you may update your:
Name
Address
E-Mail Address Telephone Number
USER ID and Password
Seating Preferences
Frequent Flyer Numbers
Passport Information
Form of Payment
We value your patronage and respect your right to privacy. Because we are committed to protecting your privacy, we employ our highest levels of security to keep your sensitive personal information strictly confidential and protected from unauthorized third parties.
Multi-Segmented Itinerary
Traveling to more than one city? Follow the steps outlined below to enter this request:
For multi-segmented itineraries, enter the city that is farthest from your point of origin and select 'View Pricing' at http://www.1stair.net/quoteform.cfm.
If we have a fare that you would like to see an itinerary for, proceed to sign in and select ‘Add Trip to Your Portfolio’.
Once signed into your portfolio, which will be labeled Step 2 of 3 in the upper right hand corner, select ‘Request Itinerary’.
Once Step 3 of 3 is displayed, select ‘Modify Trip’
You should see your itinerary as you originally entered from your city of origin to your city of destination. Use the ‘Modify Leg ‘ next to the first city pair if you wish to change your first stop to a different destination.
You can then use the ‘Add Leg Before’ button to add additional flight legs until your itinerary is complete.
Once you have added all of the flight legs, select ‘Verify Updates’
To finalize the additional flight legs, select ‘Finalize Updates’
Select ‘Request Itineraries’ at the top of the screen to submit this request for a detailed itinerary.
Hotels
1st-air.net features outstanding value at some of the world’s top hotels and resorts. You can find a partial list by going to http://www.1stair.net/programs/hotels.cfm.
Will I earn frequent flyer mileage on travel purchased through 1stAir.Net?
Almost all fares distributed through 1st-air.net are eligible to earn frequent flyer mileage. Some deeply discounted fares may not be eligible for the same level of mileage credit that would be awarded if you purchased and traveled on a full/published fare ticket. To verify the frequent flyer mileage eligibility, please ask your Global Travel Analyst to verify the exact amount of mileage and bonuses your specific itinerary qualifies for.
Can I use mileage/certificates to upgrade a 1st-air.net purchased business class ticket to First Class?
1st-air.net understands that several of its customers have obtained premium status with various airline loyalty programs, and may have received one class upgrades from business to first class. If you are purchasing a business class fare from 1st-air.net with the intentions of upgrading it to First Class, we strongly recommend that you check with the respective carrier first to verify that the booking class 1st-air.net is using is eligible for one class upgrades.
Statement on U.S. Europe Sale Fares as of 1-8-2010 (originally posted 1-28-2009)
On January 28th, 2009, 1st-Air.Net issued the statement below regarding the abundance of "sale fares" that flooded the U.S. market for international premium class travel. As stated below, business class fares between the U.S. and Europe reached historical lows as carriers introduced more aggressive pricing than ever before to stimulate demand. 1stAir also predicted that fares would rise in the 3rd quarter of 2009. This prediction has come to reality as many of the most deeply discounted sale fares are quickly disappearing. While carriers may continue to offer" sale fares", they are now harder to find due to increased booking restrictions and reductions in operating in schedules. In the beginning of 2009, most of the lowest business class sale fares required as few as 7 days of advance purchase. Today, the best deals now require as many as 50 days advance purchase to trigger the most competitive pricing in the open marketplace. We believe that as international premium class pricing will continue to rise in 2010. As published fares increase, our contract fares will appeal to a broader range of travelers. Again, these changes in rules apply to fares purchased with carriers direct or via mainstream website. For travel between the U.S, and Europe, 1stAir is most competitive when travel is less than 30 days from the booking date.

The global recession has created a new breed of business class sale fares offered by carriers directly. Since 2003, most U.S. and European carriers have offered deeply discounted business class fares for travelers meeting the following requirements:
 

  • 42-50 day's advance purchase
  • Minimum 7 day stay
  • Non Refundable (sometime non changeable) ticket type
 
The global recession has caused carriers to make short term deviations from their traditional pricing structures in order to stimulate demand. Traditionally, the highest fare types have been purchased by large institutional travelers that required complete flexibility. These travelers were typically price insensitive and would purchase with little or no advance notice. However, as carriers have seen a decline in full fare ticket purchases they are trying new methods to recreate the lost revenue. To stimulate demand, most U.S. and European carriers have drastically reduced the rules required to qualify for their lowest business class fares. In several markets, you may find business class fares starting at under $2,000 that are refundable, changeable and without the standard 42 day + advance purchase requirements. In the short term, you may find lower fares via other sources than what is offered through 1st-air.net for travel to Europe. Our business class pricing to Europe is best suited for travel planned less than 14 days from the booking date with top tier carriers, and when travel is to more than one country. Most fares offered on the 1st-air.net website to Europe are flexible in that they do permit changes and the ability to refund less a penalty. It is 1st-air.net's belief that the special sale fares being offered for purchase in January/February 2009 to Europe are a short term 'shot gun' solution for carriers to stimulate demand rather than a long term revision to pricing. The recent failures of the all-business-class carriers has taught us all that trans Atlantic business class fares consistently under $3,000 is not a sustainable business model. It is expected that as seat allotments for lower priced business class sale fares begins to fill flights through the winter and spring, pricing will once again return to its previous levels by the third quarter of 2009.
 
1st-air.net pricing solutions between North American and Asia, Africa, Australia, South America as well as our specialized Around the World and Circle Pacific solutions remain unaffected by these short term sale fares. If you have specific questions regarding pricing you have received from 1st-air.net in relation to other offers which may be available in the market, we encourage you to discuss your quote with your 1st-air.net analyst to see what other options may exist. However, as our revenue model is based on savings if your specific itinerary does not qualify for additional savings through 1st-air.net we may opt to decline the transaction.
Singapore-Cathay-Qantas Combo Fare To Australia With A380 From $6,700 For Premiere Members
Special opportunities for members of our Premiere program to fly to Asia on Singapore Airlines in business class, continue on to Australia with Qantas or Cathay Pacific in business class, and then return to North America on the Airbus A380 aircraft with Qantas. Prices start at $5,500 + taxes. This special fare also includes a bonus ticket back to Asia for use on your next trip.
 
It is also possible to for as little as $1500 more to turn your trip to Asia into an around-the-world trip. This allows travelers include stops in Africa and Europe in business class before returning to North America. Pricing for first class travel is nominally more. To qualify for this special offer, you must be a member of Passport Premiere. Registration can be completed by going to www.passportpremiere.com. This special fare is valid through July 31, 2009.








































First Class Air Travel