1 May 2023
If visiting Europe has been on your mind lately, now couldn’t be a better time to book a flight.
Multiple Star Alliance members are offering marked-down business-class flights to various European cities, starting for as low as $2,494. With these deals, you can fly to Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Paris.
Copenhagen. ALEXANDER SPATARI/GETTY IMAGES
Business-class seats to Europe can typically sell for upward of $5,000, but these fares are slashed by almost 50%.
If you’ve been hesitating to book a flight because fares have been notoriously high for the summer travel season, these deals have a wide range of travel dates. You can either book that late-summer flight or visit Europe during the colder months when its cities aren’t as packed with tourists.
Deal basics
Airlines: Air Canada, Condor, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss and United Airlines.
Routes: From Austin, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, New York and Seattle.
How to book: Search through Google Flights to find your ideal dates and then book directly with the airline of your choice.
Travel dates: Generally from August 2023 through March 2024.
Book by: Within the next two days.
Major kudos to Going for scouting these deals. For $49 a year, the site’s Premium membership offers discounts of up to 90% and comes with a 14-day free trial. The Elite membership also finds premium economy, business-class and first-class deals.
Sample flights
Given the flexible travel dates, you can use these deals to book a late-summer trip or get ahead on your 2024 travel plans.
These were the flights that stood out to us:
Air Canada: LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), starting at $2,494 (includes a layover in Montreal).
JetBlue: Denver International Airport (DEN) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), starting at $2,580 (includes a layover in New York City).
Air Canada and Lufthansa: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Copenhagen Airport (CPH), starting at $2,618 (the Air Canada flight has a layover in Toronto, and the Lufthansa flight has a layover in Frankfurt).
Lufthansa and Condor: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), starting at $2,650 (includes a layover in Frankfurt).
Lufthansa and Condor: LAX to AMS, starting at $2,650 (includes a layover in Frankfurt).
Lufthansa and Condor: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Copenhagen Airport (CPH), starting at $2,670.
We recommend using Google Flights to determine your travel dates and then booking your flights directly on the airline’s website since airlines are more reliable in the event your flight is canceled, delayed or experiences a booking change.
For a flight from Denver to Amsterdam, JetBlue’s business-class offer is one of the cheapest options on Google Flights. The New York-based carrier recently announced that Amsterdam will be its third European destination, and the carrier has been offering discounted flights across all classes to the Dutch capital.
GOOGLE.COM/FLIGHTS
These flights are in JetBlue’s Mint class, so you’ll also receive a variety of perks. JetBlue’s Mint class allows passengers to bring a free carry-on and two checked bags. Also, the Mint seats are more spacious compared to economy-class seats.
GOOGLE.COM/FLIGHTS
Mint also features enclosed suites with sliding doors, giving passengers more privacy.
JETBLUE
Maximize your purchase
Use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel).
Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
If you happen to live in one of the few U.S. cities where Star Alliance members are offering these deals to Europe, we highly recommend you book as soon as possible.
Flights to Europe — especially in business class — are pricey. However, these deals provide the chance to fly to Europe in comfort without paying the exorbitant fares that are typically associated with business class.