As much as I love redeeming miles for premium fares, its been fantastic to see how affordable some revenue fares in business class have become in the last few years, as well as how improved so many premium products flying trans Atlantic have become.
What’s even better than an excellent premium fare deal on a specific carrier alliance, is when other carriers or alliances match that fare, so you can choose between the carriers, scheduled and products that suit you best.
Right now there are excellent fares between either Zurich or Geneva, Switzerland and the U.S. when two people are traveling together, on a range of SkyTeam and Oneworld carriers. Ben has reviewed each of the long haul products I’ve listed below, so I’ve linked to the review where I mention each carrier so you can understand exactly what to expect.
There are a range of routes and options, with availability well into next summer, so here are some of the best:
- Zurich to New York for $1,357 per person return with direct flights on Delta
- Or for just $50 more there’s flights via Madrid on Iberia one direction, and British Airways the other
- Geneva to New York for $1,419.41 per person return on Delta (via Amsterdam one way and Paris the other)
- Geneva to Seattle for $1,549 per person return on British Airways, via London Heathrow
- Zurich to Los Angeles for $1,679 per person return, flying Finnair via Helsinki in one direction, and American via London Heathrow the other direction
I’ve tried some other major US cities like Chicago, Boston, Miami and San Francisco but they are not showing fares as low as New York, Seattle and Los Angeles.
Bottom line
Considering the base fare is about 50% of the total fare (meaning if you redeem miles for these routes instead you would be paying 50% in fuel surcharges and fees and taxes depending on the carrier and redemption program), these are excellent fares on some excellent products. I love that you can choose between multiple destinations, as well as various carriers and products.
The big caveat is that they are only available for two passengers traveling together, so if you were ever looking for a great deal to travel with someone else from Europe and the USA, I would jump on these fares. You can use Google Flights to search, or check Momondo for potentially lower fares. Many of these are also available through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and the Amex Platinum portal — the latter could be a particularly good option for those with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
The fact that both SkyTeam and oneworld are showing similar prices leads me to believe these are not mistake fares, but I also doubt they will last long!
What is the best price you have paid for business class fares between Europe and North America?