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Blog posts about good Business Class sales between Europe and Asia usually center around Qatar Airways and, occasionally, Finnair….but this time neither of those airlines is involved. Surprisingly, at least to me, SkyTeam is currently offering a selection of excellent Business Class fares between Warsaw and various cities in Asia.
The Business Class fares on offer start at around $1,060 for roundtrip travel although, as I limited my searches to one-stop (maximum) itineraries, you may find slightly lower fares if you’re happy to stopover more than once.
Note: InsideFlyer Germany gets the credit for spotting most these fares first (although I’m going to take a little credit for adding Thailand and India into the mix 🙂 )
The Fare Rules
All the fares I’ve seen appear to follow the same (or similar) rules:
- Travel between now and 10 December 2018
- Tickets must be issued by 19 January 2018
- Stopovers are permitted in Amsterdam and Paris at a cost of €75 each
- A Saturday night stay is required
- Maximum stay permitted is 1 month
Example Fares
I have found great fares to all the destinations I’m about to list throughout the bookable period (i.e between now and 10 December 2018) so what I’m listing out below is just a taster of what you can book.
Warsaw To….
Beijing prices up at around $1,683:
Shanghai prices up at around $1,646:
Hong Kong prices up at around $1,712:
Xiamen prices up at around $1,169 (one of the best fares available):
Chengdu prices up at around $1,063 ** the star fare **:
Seoul prices up at around $1,627:
Bangkok prices up at around $1,713:
Delhi prices up at around $1,679:
Mumbai prices up at around $1,827:
The Airlines & A Warning
The long-haul sectors are operated by a mixture of Air France, KLM, China Southern and Xiamen and a few of these trips will give you the opportunity to fly the Air France 777-300ER Business Class cabin (reviewed here)…..
Air France 777-300ER Reverse Herringbone Business Class seat
…..and the new KLM 787 Dreamliner Business Class cabin.
But while that’s all very good news you should be aware that there is a pitfall that you should try to avoid if at all possible.
On certain routes the best fare is only available if you book through China Southern (as this Google Flights screenshot shows)….
….and this can create an issue if you’re looking to maximise the number of miles you earn with an airline like Delta (for example)
If you book through China Southern the Business Class fares will book into the “I” fare code and, as wheretocredit.com will show you, these Business Class fares will earn you a lot fewer points than had you booked through the likes of Air France or KLM.
In a number of cases that I’ve seen you simply can’t avoid booking through China Southern but, in others, a little flexibility with your dates will allow you to book the trips through airlines that will earn you more miles.
Bottom Line
Sub-$1,110 roundtrip Business Class fares between Asia and Europe aren’t all that common so this could be a very good opportunity to visit the Pandas in Chengdu and to take in some of the beautiful scenery the region has to offer. The other fares that the SkyTeam carriers are offering aren’t all that rare except that when we do see them they’re usually for travel on Qatar Airways…and that can sometimes mean a trip of significant length thanks to the routing through Doha.
For flyers like me that isn’t all that much of an issue as the service and seats you normally get on Qatar Airways are great but, if you’re looking to minimise your travel time to China (for example), there are some good options for you in this sale.
Before this sale appeared I thought that I had most of my long-haul trips for 2018 figured out….but I have to admit that I’m sorely tempted by the Chengdu fare – anyone else thinking of booking one of these?
Is that google flights?…..sure doesn’t look like mine. How do you get the monthly calendar?
Not Google Flights – it’s the ITA Matrix search (http://matrix.itasoftware.com/).
If you need more info on how to use it these two blog posts may be useful:
1. http://www.travelingformiles.com/ita-matrix-airfare-search-the-basic-search
2. http://www.travelingformiles.com/ita-matrix-airfare-search-advanced-options
Thanks for that.