Article: Strategies for Cheap Business Class Flights to Europe

[SYD]

Thankyou SYD! Great news as I do have status - Platinum. Are there any tricks when booking to get the free seat selection or is it all pretty straight forward when you insert your Q FF number? Hoping you don't have to ring.

No tricks, so long as your QFF# is in during booking (if it has a leading zero, best to include that), you should get the free seats.

If it’s a “Lite” fare, you get access to the same lounge in CGK as everyone else and the “Platinum” lounge in DOH. In AMS, the OW lounge - ignore any attempt to direct you to the contract lounge next door.

If it’s a “Classic” fare, then that should include QF J lounge access in DOH.

Business Classic has lounge included. but charges for seat selection (around $120 per leg)

That must be new? Although I probably wouldn’t have noticed as QF WP…

I was assuming OP was referring to “Lite” fares.

Business Lite is the one that has no lounge access.

Yep, and no seat either but still good value with status if you’re not flying out of an outstation with a nice QR lounge (eg SIN, LHR, CDG etc).

 

[hwy]

With minor tweaks, this business class could be one of the world’s best

The food and entertainment options could be better but this Chinese carrier, which is about to expand its Australian presence, is not far off the world’s best.

www.watoday.com.au

Still seems to me that China Eastern via Shanghai keeps popping up as cheap flights to Europe, but I am hoping China Southern may join in soon.....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

With minor tweaks, this business class could be one of the world’s best

The food and entertainment options could be better but this Chinese carrier, which is about to expand its Australian presence, is not far off the world’s best.

www.watoday.com.au

Still seems to me that China Eastern via Shanghai keeps popping up as cheap flights to Europe, but I am hoping China Southern may join in soon.....

Writer travelled as a guest of the airline

 

[k_sheep]

I finally paid the $100USD or so for a pointsyeah subscription and have had plenty of fun looking at the opportunities that for example Canadian miles provides to allow some excellent fares costing 45,000 miles one way (say $575USD if buying) to get to Asia. but if you add another 5000 miles you can take a stopover eg SYD/BNE-DPS-SIN-SAI , to go to siem reap for example.

Alas I am in Auckland but Alaska allows 10/15k miles for PE/J to BNE and SYD which I did in September. I know if you are in Australia then Qantas makes sense as there are so many opportunities to earn them but the miles and taxes are getting too unreasonable.

If you have the inclination to book short hops on the way to Europe you can do something like below all in Business Class, which is way I swapped lots of Amex points for Hawaiian miles while the exchange to Alaska still worked.

SYD/BNE - BKK 45,000 Canadian
BKK-CMB - 15,000 Alaska - visit Sri Lanka
CMB-BOM 15,000 Alaska - visit India
BOM-MCT/DHB/AUH/DOH 15,000 Alaska - Alaska will allow a stopover in MCT with Oman airways
DOH-AMM/CAI 15,000 Alaska (regional first class)
AMM/CAI- IST/ATH 15,000 on either Alaska or air Canada

so for way less than a Qantas or Singapore air ticket you can either take a month to get there or a month to get back.

once you learn the mile distances for the various award to get a sweet spot I use Great circle mapper to see where I can get to for the miles
GPS Visualizer: Calculators: Great Circle Distance Maps, Airport Routes, & Degrees/Minutes/Seconds

That is super creative, I love it!

I'll have to check it out - I have a chunk of Air Canada miles.

 

[hwy]

Writer travelled as a guest of the airline

Ahhh- that darn fine print that I never read.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Ahhh- that darn fine print that I never read.

Reading a little further most of the reviews by the well known bloggers seem very impressed with China Southern!

But the watoday review was just plain weird… improve by ditching the slippers? odd!

 

[Melburnian1]

WY (Oman Air), a carrier I've used twice from MNL to LHR and return 'open jaw' from cities such as MXP (Milan Malpensa), is excellent in J despite being 2+2+2 as every seat has direct aisle access. Food is great and so far, touch wood, flights have been punctual.

It has a sale in J and Y until 30 November 2025.

From MNL, for an April departure to Europe I found a return J fare (includes lounge access) for US$2120 that when converted is about A$3250 at current exchange rates.

Excellent value: I suggest travelling on PR to get to MNL although its current J fares are high. PR operates A333s from MEL and SYD and A321s (lie flat in J) from BNE and PER to MNL.

 

[OZDUCK]

WY (Oman Air), a carrier I've used twice from MNL to LHR and return 'open jaw' from cities such as MXP (Milan Malpensa), is excellent in J despite being 2+2+2 as every seat has direct aisle access. Food is great and so far, touch wood, flights have been punctual.

It has a sale in J and Y until 30 November 2025.

From MNL, for an April departure to Europe I found a return J fare (includes lounge access) for US$2120 that when converted is about A$3250 at current exchange rates.

Excellent value: I suggest travelling on PR to get to MNL although its current J fares are high. PR operates A333s from MEL and SYD and A321s (lie flat in J) from BNE and PER to MNL.

I had thought about doing this route from PER next year but when I look at the PR fares in J for 2 pax I get prices around $6,700 return and that is certainly not going to encourage me to use Manila. I had a quick look at Sydney in August/September 2026 and the fare is about $200 cheaper to fly in a A333.

QF in J to SIN at the same time is only about $400 dearer.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I had thought about doing this route from PER next year but when I look at the PR fares in J for 2 pax I get prices around $6,700 return and that is certainly not going to encourage me to use Manila. I had a quick look at Sydney in August/September 2026 and the fare is about $200 cheaper to fly in a A333.

QF in J to SIN at the same time is only about $400 dearer.

I think it was in this thread… I used Manila Last month, overnight transit in and out of T3, arriving QF and departing CX.

with the pre-arrival digital card i and no checked baggage I was out the plane and in the hotel in 15 minutes! Maybe it’s the QF arrival time? But I’d sign myself up for MNL transfers in a flash! who would have thought!