Austrian Airlines Business Class for 4+ (Fall/Winter)
Hello from Greece!
If you're looking for a fall or winter adventure to Europe, Austrian Airlines has business class award space for 4+ people on several routes out of the US. You'll also find availability on connections to places such as Athens.
Unfortunately, there isn't space on their sole west coast route (LAX). Still, you can connect on United or book a separate positioning flight to Chicago or one of the other options.
Now, let's get into the details!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: EWR/IAD/JFK/ORD/YUL-VIE
Operating airline: Austrian Airlines
Class of service: Business class
Dates: November 2022 - March 2023
Seats available: 4+
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (Boeing 767), 1-2-1/2-2-2 (Boeing 777)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan - 70,000 miles
- ANA Mileage Club - 88,000 miles (round-trip only)
- Asiana Club - 40,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles - 63,000 miles
- LifeMiles bonus: 25% on transfers from Citi
- EVA Infinity MileageLands - 65,000 miles
- Miles & More - 56,000 miles
- Singapore KrisFlyer - 72,000 miles
- Turkish Miles&Smiles - 45,000 miles
- *United MileagePlus - 77,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- One-way: $5.60 (~$53 from YUL)
- Round-trip: ~$66 (~$100 from YUL)
- Surcharges: ~$1,400 round-trip
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Capital One, Marriott
- ANA Mileage Club: Amex, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- LifeMiles: Amex, Brex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA: Capital One, Citi
- Singapore: Amex, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- Turkish: Citi, Capital One, Marriott
- United: Chase, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the COVID-19 situation and the resulting travel restrictions could prevent you from traveling. Additionally, please make sure you understand the cancellation, redeposit, and change fees required before booking with a particular program.
Flight Experience
Austrian Airlines offers a 1-2-1 business class cabin with staggered seating on its Boeing 767. Every seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access which checks the most basic boxes.
On its Boeing 777, you'll see a combo of 1-2-1 and 2-2-2 seating. If your route has the 777, try to get one of the throne seats if you're traveling solo as it will provide the most space and the most privacy.
While it's not Qsuites level, Austrian excels with its DO&CO catering. If you like coffee, make sure you give some of the Viennese coffee options a try. If you want to sleep on your way to Europe, maybe save the coffee for breakfast.
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Available Dates
You can find award space for 4+ people on the following dates.
JFK-VIE
December: 4, 27, 29
January: 3, 10, 12, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29, 31
February: 2, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28
March: 2, 5, 7, 12, 14
VIE-JFK
November: 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29
December: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27
January: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29, 31
February: 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28
March: 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16
ORD-VIE
November: 14, 15, 21, 22, 26
December: 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 25-27, 29
January: 2, 3, 5, 8-10, 12, 15-17, 19, 22-24, 26, 29-31
February: 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 23, 26-28
March: 2, 5-7, 9, 12-14
VIE-ORD
November: 14, 15, 17, 18, 20-22, 24, 25, 28, 29
December: 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 19, 22, 26, 27, 29, 30
January: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15-17, 19, 20, 22-24, 26, 27, 39-31
February: 2, 3, 5-7, 9, 10, 12-14, 16, 17, 19-21, 23, 24, 26-28
March: 2, 3, 5-7, 9, 13, 14, 16
EWR-VIE
November: 14, 16, 21, 23
December: 5, 12, 24, 26, 28, 31
January: 2, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30
February: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27
March: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15
VIE-EWR
November: 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30
December: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 30
January: 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30
February: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27
March: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15
IAD-VIE
November: 21, 23
December: 28
January: 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30
February: 1, 6, 8, 13, 20, 27
March: 13
VIE-IAD
November: 14, 16-18, 21, 24, 27, 28, 30
December: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14-16, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29
January: 5, 6, 9, 11-13, 16, 18-20, 23, 25-27, 30
February: 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15-17, 20, 22-24, 27
March: 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15, 16
YUL-VIE
November: 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30
December: 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28, 31
January: 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30
February: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27
March: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15
VIE-YUL
November: 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30
December: 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31
January: 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30
February: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27
March: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15
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Best Ways To Book
The frustrating part of booking Austrian Airlines is the insane carrier-imposed (or, "fuel") surcharges that exceed $1,400 on a round-trip award ticket. Pass.
Fortunately, there are three Star Alliance programs that won't pass on those surcharges: Aeroplan, LifeMiles, and United.
LifeMiles - Fewest Miles With No Surcharges, No Stopovers
LifeMiles has a small advantage over Aeroplan for non-stop one-way awards at 63,000 miles via 70,000 Aeroplan points. This gives LifeMiles the advantage if you have Amex points and/or Capital One Miles. You can also transfer Brex and Citi points to LifeMiles.
LifeMiles is running a 25% bonus on transfers from Citi until April 30, 2022. While transfers to LifeMiles are typically instant, the bonus miles might not post instantly. With the transfer bonus, you'd only need 51,000 Citi points.
This is the best option if you'll be flying to Vienna or connecting to another city.
Aeroplan - Stopovers On One-Ways But Pricier From The West Coast
If you want to include a stopover in Vienna before continuing elsewhere, Aeroplan will allow you to do so on a one-way for an additional 5,000 points. You can include a second stopover if you book a round-trip ticket.
You can use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's zone-based chart. You can also include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles.
If you have Chase points, this is your best option from the central US or east coast. Just remember that connections could bump the award into the next tier and increase the number of points requited.
If you want to include a stopover, you might choose Aeroplan over LifeMiles.
United - Stopover On Round-Trips, Beats Aeroplan From The West Coast
If you have Chase points, United is your best bet from the west coast at 77,000 miles for a one-way. Singapore KrisFlyer only requires 72,000 miles but they'll crush you with the surcharges so stick with United.
If you need to connect on United from the western US, you will likely exceed the 6,000 flight miles. Thus, the Aeroplan rate will jump to 85,000 one-way. In this case, United wins out and you can include a stopover on a round-trip.
You can also utilize United's Excursionist Perk to include a free one-way ticket within Europe (re. stopover) on a round-trip award ticket.
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How To Book
If you don't know the exact dates you want to fly, keep things simple and use United's calendar search option.
- From United's homepage, select Advanced search
- Choose to show price in miles
- Select Roundtrip or One-way
- Enter the origin & destination
- Select Nonstop only (if you don't need a connection)
- Select the number of passengers
- Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month
- Select Business
- Run the search
- If booking with another Star Alliance partner, confirm space by searching with that program
- Transfer points (if necessary)
- Log into your account
- Run the search again
- Complete the booking
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'll be using to book. As always, I recommend confirming the program you're using sees the award space before you transfer points.
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Bottom Line
Austria is a beautiful country that's definitely worth a visit and Austrian Airlines provides a fun way to get there. If Austria isn't on your list, I'm sure there's another country in Europe that you might enjoy exploring!
Happy booking!
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