Air Belgium Business Class To Europe For 2
LOT recently contracted Air Belgium to operate a flight between JFK and Warsaw. This means you can fly to Poland in a better business class seat.
Given this opportunity and the fact that there are plenty of dates with award space for 2 people, including during Christmas market season, next spring/summer, I wanted to flag this for you.
Please note that the Air Belgium is only showing as operating through the end of March, but it's expected to continue after that.
Now, let's get into the details!
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Air Belgium Business Class - Image courtesy of Air Belgium
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: JFK-WAW
Operating airline: LOT operated by Air Belgium
Class of service: Business class
Dates: November 2023 - August 2024
Seats available: 2-3
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (Air Belgium)
Book with (per person, one-way):
All dates were showing with Aeroplan.
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: 70,000 points
At least some of the dates were available via ANA and LifeMiles.
- ANA Mileage Club: 88,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 63,000 miles
None of the dates were showing when I searched with United.
- *United MileagePlus: 88,000 miles
Other options are TBD. I'll flag that Turkish would require a call to check as the online search is terrible for Star Alliance partner bookings.
- Asiana Club: 40,000 miles
- EVA Infinity MileageLands: 65,000 miles
- Lufthansa Miles & More: 56,000 miles
- Singapore KrisFlyer: 81,000 miles
- Turkish Miles&Smiles: 45,000 miles
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- From JFK: $5.60
- From Warsaw: ~$60
- Round-trip with ANA: ~$207
Surcharges are showing on ITA Matrix as $950 per one-way. While ANA isn't passing on all these surcharges, it's TBD on how Turkish will handle this if they can see the award space.
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have a small partner booking fee. Some partners don't pass on all of the surcharges.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada Aeroplan: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- ANA Mileage Club: Amex, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- Avianca LifeMiles: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA Infinity MileageLands: Citi, Capital One
- Singapore KrisFlyer: Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
- Turkish Miles&Smiles: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United MileagePlus: Bilt, Chase, Marriott
Current Airline Transfer Bonuses
Let me know if you book!
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LOT Business Class - Image courtesy of Live And Let's Fly
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Flight Experience
Air Belgium's staggered 1-2-1 business class cabin layout is an improvement on LOT's 2-2-2 cabin layout as all seats have direct aisle access in addition to being lie-flat seats.
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Available Dates
Dates from April to August 2024 are currently listed as being operated by LOT but are expected to be operated by Air Belgium.
JFK-WAW
November: 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 19-21, 23, 24, 26, 28
December: 6, 28, 30, 31
January: 1, 5, 9, 11, 14-17, 19-23, 26-30
February: 1-3, 5, 6, 8, 11-15, 19-23, 25, 26, 28, 29
March: 1-5, 8-20, 24-26, 28, 29
April: 1, 6, 8, 9, 11, 4, 16, 21-23, 25, 27, 29
May: 7, 9, 14, 28
June: N/A
July: 14, 15, 21-31
August: 3-20
WAW-JFK
November: 13, 14, 19-24, 28
December: 1, 2, 4, 5, 11-14, 17, 19, 21-23, 25
January: 9, 11-13, 16-31
February: 1-21, 23, 24, 27, 29
March: 1-5, 7, 9-11, 13-15, 17, 19, 21-29
April: 2-6, 8, 9, 11-13, 15-18, 21-30
May: 2-5, 7, 8, 10, 12-25, 30
June: 1-28, 30
July: 1-3, 4, 6-25, 27, 30, 31
August: 1-3, 5-7, 9, 10, 12-19
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Best Ways To Book
ANA Mileage Club: Best Round-Trip Option
If you have Amex points, 88,000 ANA miles round-trip + ~$207 taxes/fees is a great way to book. Just keep in mind the 2-3 days transfers can take as award space could disappear while you wait.
Aeroplan: Solid Rate, No Surcharges
Aeroplan's rate of 70,000 points is solid but the advantage is that you'll have access to more award space. You can transfer points from Amex, Capital One, and Chase so it's easy to earn the points.
If your total flight distance exceeds 6,000 flight miles because of connections, you'll need 90,000 points one-way.
You can use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's zone-based chart. You can include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles on a one-way award.
Turkish Miles&Smiles: Great One-Way Rate If Surcharges Aren't Crazy
At 45,000 miles one-way, Turkish provides an excellent option with reasonable surcharges. If you have Bilt, Capital One, or Citi points, I'd be inclined to utilize this option. You'll need to call after finding space on Aeroplan to see if Turkish sees the space. You can put space on hold over the phone.
If you call to book, make sure you confirm the total taxes/fees. If they pass on all $950 in surcharges, the taxes/fees will ruin this option.
LifeMiles: Great One-Way Option, No Surcharges
If LifeMiles sees the award space, it's a great option at 63,000 miles one-way if you have Amex, Capital One, or Citi points and want to avoid surcharges.
United MileagePlus: Useful From West Coast With Chase Points
From out west or if you're connecting in Europe, United's 88,000-mile one-way rate will be a better option than 90,000 Aeroplan points if you are going to transfer Bilt or Chase points. However, United isn't seeing the award space right now.
If you book a round-trip award ticket, you can use United's Excursionist Perk (a free one-way flight within a single region) to see another city in Europe. Practically speaking, this is United's stopover program.
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Air Belgium A330neo - Image courtesy of Air Belgium
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How To Book
Search with Air Canada:
- Select One-way or Round-trip
- Select Book with points
- Enter origin/destination
- Select travel date(s)
- Select number of passengers
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'd like to use. As always, I recommend confirming the program you want to use sees the award space before transferring points.
If you want to use Turkish miles, you can call 800-874-8875 to put space on hold then pay the taxes/fees.
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Final Thoughts
While western Europe gets more attention, Poland is definitely worth a visit. While you're there, I recommend making time for a tour of both Auschwitz and Birkenau. It's a tough but valuable experience.
Happy Booking!
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