Brussels Airlines Business Class To Europe (Late 2023)
Award space doesn't stick around forever.
A couple of months ago, I sent an Award Alert with a ton of business class award space on Brussels Airlines. Since then, much of that award space has disappeared since then.
However, if you're planning ahead, there's a nice chunk of award space for two people out of New York in November and December.
A quick search showed connecting space to cities such as Munich and Copenhagen as well. Alternatively, you could book a separate positioning flights or take a train to cities such as Paris or Amsterdam.
Might I suggest a trip to see the European Christmas markets in December!
Let's get into the details!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: JFK-BRU
Operating airline: Brussels Airlines
Class of service: Business class
Dates: November - December 2023
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-2-1/2-1-2
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: 60,000 miles
- ANA Mileage Club: 88,000 miles (round-trip only)
- Asiana Club: 40,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 63,000 miles
- *Etihad Guest: 44,000 miles
- EVA Infinity MileageLands: 65,000 miles
- Miles & More: 56,000 miles
- Singapore KrisFlyer: 81,000 miles
- Turkish Miles&Smiles: 45,000 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 75,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- From US: $5.60
- From Brussels: ~$50
- Surcharges: ~$1,700 round-trip
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have partner booking fees.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- ANA Mileage Club: Amex, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- LifeMiles: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- Etihad Guest: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA: Capital One, Citi
- Singapore: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- Turkish: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United: Bilt, Chase, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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Flight Experience
The business class cabin has a combo 1-2-1/2-1-2 cabin layout. All seats are lie-flat but only some seats have direct aisle access. If you're sitting with someone and you both want direct aisle access, choose a middle section.
You can expect a solid meal and an impressive beer selection. The fact that they give you a little box of chocolates at the end of the flight is a nice touch.
The lack of WiFi could be something to consider. Additionally, Brussels Airlines doesn't have a reputation for an impressive selection of movies and TV shows. You might want to download some options to your phone or tablet for this flight.
Throne seats may only be selected a few days prior to departure.
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Available Dates
JFK-BRU
January: 26
February: 2, 14, 28
March: 8, 13-15
April: 18
August: 8
October: 7, 12, 18, 20, 25
November: 4, 11, 13-17, 20, 28-30
December: 1,2, 6-8, 12-18, 20, 22-25, 27, 30, 31
BRU-JFK
March: 29
April: 9
May: 13
June: 6, 15
August: N/A
September: 25
October: 14, 15
November: 7, 8, 12, 15-17, 18, 22, 24, 27
December: 1-5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15-20, 22-31
IAD-BRU
July: 24
August: 14
October: 8, 15, 16, 20, 23, 26
November: 7, 8, 15, 16, 20
BRU-IAD
March: 27
April: 10, 22-24
May: 14, 20, 25
June 1
July: 14
August: 10, 19, 21, 31
September: 14, 15, 29
October: 15, 20-22
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Best Ways To Book
Aeroplan: Great Non-stop Option
At 60,000 Aeroplan points one-way for the non-stop, this is a great option if you have Amex, Bilt, Capital One, or Chase points. If you include a connection within the US and/or Europe, you'll quickly exceed 4,000 flight miles and thus your award will require 70,000 Aeroplan points for a one-way.
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.
LifeMiles: Great Option If You Need A Connection
If you want to include a connection rather than book a positioning flight, LifeMiles has a small advantage over Aeroplan at 63,000 miles one-way as including a connection will quickly bump the Aeroplan rate from 60,000 to 70,000 points.
United: Solid West Coast Option
If you have Bilt or Chase points, United might be your best option from the west coast at 75,000 miles for a one-way. From the west coast, Aeroplan's rate could jump to 90,000 points if your total flight distance exceeds 6,000 flight miles because of connecting flights.
You can also utilize United's Excursionist Perk to include a free one-way ticket within Europe on a round-trip award ticket. This is United's version of a stopover.
Etihad Guest: Great Award Rate, Call To Book
Unless something has changed recently, Etihad Guest doesn't pass on the surcharges on awards operated by Brussels Airlines. At 44,000 Etihad Guest miles, that makes it an excellent way to book if you just want to book a nonstop to/from Brussels.
With Amex, Capital One, and Citi as transfer partners, this is a great option.
ANA is similar in that it can book a round-trip ticket for 88,000 miles but you'll be on the hook for $1,790 in taxes/fees. Pass.
If you call Etihad to book and find that the taxes/fees include the surcharges, please let me know.
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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.
When you search with LifeMiles, I would select "Star Alliance" from the dropdown menu before running your search.
To book with Etihad, pull up the dates you want then call 877-690-0767. Just make sure you're ready to provide the exact flight numbers and dates.
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Bottom Line
If you're interested in exploring Belgium, I recommend checking out Ghent and Bruges. It's an easy train ride from Brussels to either city or other places such as Amsterdam and Paris.
Happy booking!
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