Why is this FIRST CLASS FLIGHT so cheap?

 Yesterday I was looking through Google Flights to see how much a Swiss Air flight to Hong Kong costs in first class, as I had seen a video about one. I noticed that it brought up a return British Airways First Class flight from Zurich via Heathrow for £3109. That was weird, because at the moment, a British Airways flight from Heathrow costs £3680. I thought that I'd see if there was anything cheaper, and found that a first class flight from Paris CDG to Hong Kong  cost £2886. That's about a thousand US dollars cheaper than a flight that is the same, except there is an extra flight before it. I know, you actually need to get to Paris, but £800 can certainly pay for a return train from London to Paris.

Why is this? Well, I have two simple reasons.

1) Tax - flying out of the UK is extremely expensive, as it has one of the highest taxes on flights in the world. If you fly from CDG or Zurich, I don't know for sure, but I think it avoids paying as much tax, as you don't actually enter the country.

2) Business Class - Before writing this article, I realised that most airlines don't have first class on European flights, so I checked, and, sure enough, the leg from CDG to LHR was in business class. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason the flights are so cheap is because you get a discount for flying partially in Business Class. By the way, if you thought you'd use the first class lounge at Heathrow, the layover is usually over four hours, so you'd definitely have time.

Of course, £2886 isn't cheap, but it's still way, way cheaper than an Etihad or Emirates Suite with more stops, probably because part of the journey is in Business Class, so you get a discount on First Class.

Even if you fly from Heathrow, £3680 is still cheap for First Class. The other company that does nonstop flights to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, charge £9449 for a first class ticket. British Airways First Class is cheap but good if you're going on a long haul flight.