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Exclusive HfP competition: Win two flights to New York – and YOU pick the airline

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We are running a competition on Head for Points this week to win two economy class flights between London and New York.

This is, however, a competition with a twist.

YOU get to decide which airline you fly with if you are the lucky winner!

The winner will receive two economy tickets between London Heathrow or London Gatwick to either New York JFK or Newark Liberty.  The prize can be taken at any point up to 30th June 2018, subject to availability.  If you win you must be one of the two travellers.

What is going on here?

Let me explain.

We are working with a major airline on a piece of research.  It wants to know what airline you would select for a flight if price was not an issue and airline miles or elite status benefits were not an issue.

We want to know your genuine preference.  The best way to achieve this is to not make it a hypothetical question, but a real question, with real consequences!

On the entry form, you will be asked to select between American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Norwegian, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic or someone else as your preferred carrier for an economy flight to New York.

You and a friend can be flying to New York in economy on the carrier you select.

Please note that:

  • You will not earn any airline miles on your tickets
  • You will not receive any status benefits
  • You will not receive lounge access even if you have status with that airline

Do not consider any airline status you have or any miles you currently collect when selecting your airline.  Your flights will not qualify for status, mileage or lounge benefits because the tickets will be issued using restrictive travel trade policies.

If you fly Norwegian, your prize will include pre-paid food and luggage so the prize is equivalent to a standard economy ticket on one of the full service airlines listed.  If you select ‘other’ you will be randomly booked onto one of the six named airlines.

Interesting, yes?  All you need to do is pick an airline and tick the main factor that influenced your decision from a list of:

  • Brand reputation
  • Crew and service
  • Food & Beverage
  • In-flight entertainment
  • On-board wifi
  • Previous experience
  • Seat comfort

How to enter

We are running this competition slightly differently because of the information we need from you.  We are using Google Forms.  Click the button below (or click here) and you will be taken to the form you need to complete.

It is only two questions long (and multiple choice), so don’t worry!  It will take less than 30 seconds to complete.

The competition will run for a week, closing at midnight on Wednesday 10th January.  The winner must travel if they win – you cannot gift the prize to anyone else.

Good luck!  Please feel free to share on social media using the buttons under the article.

Here are the rules:  You must be over 18 years, a UK resident and not an employee of any of the airlines listed on the entry form to enter. Strictly one entry per person. The winner MUST be one of the travellers. The competition will close at midnight on Wednesday 10th January. One entrant will be selected at random and will have 48 hours to confirm their details. If they do not respond, another winner will be drawn.

The prize is economy return flights for two people from a London airport to New York Newark or JFK on the airline you chose on the entry form. Flights are subject to availability and all travel must be completed by 30th June 2018. The competition is promoted by Head for Points, contact details on request. The name of the winner will be made available on request.

Your email address remains confidential and will not be passed to the sponsoring airline or used by Head for Points for any other purposes.  Your airline preference, and the reason for your decision, will be aggregated with other respondents and given to the competition sponsor.

Comments (153)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    I assume AA wouldn’t include Main Cabin Extra?

  • Simon says:

    The existing airlines (apart from maybe Norwegian) are a cartel, and I’d maybe like to fly 5th freedom with someone like Singapore Air, or a low cost operator from Luton which is nearer my end of London than Gatwick

  • startupflyer says:

    Rob, happy to provide an answer but zero interest in entering the competition – are you okay with people filling in the form and declining the prize if they are drawn so you can pass it on to someone else?

  • John says:

    I’m not entering as I’m not interested in economy flights without being able to use status benefits, and I’m not interested in going to the USA either. That said, on a 6-hour flight I don’t mind sitting in Y, and I am 6 feet tall. I’m happy to do 12-hour flights in Y too, but I won’t be able to go to work the next day.

    This market research seems a bit off because it’s deliberately setting up an artificial choice which doesn’t exist in reality. They will never be selling tickets at the same price and status benefits are an integral part of flying with many airlines (including easyJet). Meanwhile, Norwegian has a reputation for being cheap but not cheapskate, and it has single-leg pricing.

    It’s like asking, which would be your preferred option to commute to work: driving, train, bus, cycling or walking. But please imagine that you live 1 minute from a train station with trains every 5 minutes, a direct bus that stops right outside your front door and right outside your office, it never rains and the temperature is 15°C all year round, etc.

  • Prins Polo says:

    I think results would be very different if business class were offered, where there is a genuine difference between airlines.

    If we’re talking about economy without any benefits (extra legroom seats, fast track, lounge) then I don’t see much difference between BA, DL, VS etc.

    • Rob says:

      Which is why we’re doing this …. the exercise is actually less useful for Business Class because there is a relatively stable body of opinion about which is best – or at least which is worst.

  • Scott says:

    To be fair, this is exactly what many leisure travellers do all the time. Most don’t fly in premium classes and most don’t have any form of status with a FFP. If fares are all equivalent, what makes them choose one over the other? Just perceptions over quality based on what others have told them, advertising and any past experience.

  • Mike says:

    Interesting that my top two reasons for choice are not included in the survey by the team that put it together. Surely many people will choose by Schedule / timings and Access to EU261 on the return leg).

    • Andrew says:

      I’m a light sleeper, so find overnight flights quite exhausting – no matter what the class.

      So, my choice from NYC to LHR is based on the narrower choice airlines that will offer me a daytime flight.

  • Lumma says:

    With no status benefits (and no priority pass/lounge club at the moment) I’d prefer an airline that flies from LHR T3 or maybe Gatwick all else being equal as Number 1 lounges can be accessed at a reasonable cost and seem decent value compared to the T2 and T5 options.

    With BA silver I’d probably choose American over BA for the better lounges in T3 and to try something different (for all the BA criticism, they always seem to be the cheapest for economy travel to the states)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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