The 13 Best Ways to Fly Business Class to Europe on Points

Amongst North American Miles & Points enthusiasts, flying in business class to Europe remains one of the most popular travel objectives. After all, Europe is always a great destination to visit year-round, since it offers so much diversity in a relatively small geographical area.

In this article, we’ll outline the best airlines for redeeming points for a luxurious flight across the Atlantic. For each airline, we’ll look at ideal points currency to use, which credit cards can help you get there, the best routes to search for, and the general availability patterns.

What ranks a transatlantic airline among the “best”? Well, all of the airlines listed alphabetically here allow you to fly from North America across the Atlantic in a lie-flat seat, in such a way that provides a good value for points that you can easily collect.

1. Air Canada

Air Canada offers the most options for flights from Canada to Europe, with non-stop flights from hubs in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, as well as a single flight to London from Calgary.

If you’re travelling from the United States, it’ll be an easy connection to one of the Canadian hubs before heading onwards.

Most of the long-haul routes offer lie-flat pods in Air Canada Signature Class, meaning that you’ll be entirely comfortable for the ride across the Atlantic.

The easiest way to earn and redeem points for flights with Air Canada is with Aeroplan points.

Aeroplan points may be earned by transferring on a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, or through one of many co-branded credit cards, such as the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card.

Flights to Europe are priced in four distance-based bands on Aeroplan’s “Between North America and Atlantic zones” chart.

When redeeming Aeroplan points for Air Canada business class flights with Aeroplan, you’ll need to consider both the actual distance flown and the dynamic pricing structure.

Many flights to Europe from Toronto or Montreal fall within the first distance band of 0–4,000 miles. Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon all clock in at fewer than 4,000 miles, too.

With dynamic pricing, you may be able to book any of these routes for as few as 60,000 Aeroplan points in Air Canada business class; however, you may also see the cost rise to 160,000 Aeroplan points or more.

For travellers based in Western Canada, non-stop flights to Europe fall within the second distance band, meaning that the price starts at 70,000 Aeroplan points in business class. Again, the cost may rise to well above that price, depending on demand.

As we’ve covered in detail, one way for anyone with Aeroplan Elite Status to reduce the cost of flying in business class with Air Canada is to book an Economy (Latitude) or Premium Economy (Flexible) fare and then use eUpgrades to confirm a seat in business class, based on eUpgrade availability.

Lately, eUpgrade availability for transatlantic flights has been lower than in previous years, which means that you’ll likely be waitlisted for an eUpgrade.

Fortunately, Aeroplan redemptions aren’t subject to carrier-imposed surcharges, so you won’t have to break the bank to fly with Air Canada. Depending on your airport of origin, you can expect to pay around $100 in taxes and fees.

If the price of the flight you’d like falls on the more expensive end of the dynamic spectrum, it may be worthwhile to consider other options on this list that will both save you points while still affording you a comfortable flight.

Your best chance of finding Air Canada business class flights near the “Starting at” figures is by booking far in advance or close to the date of departure.

2. Air France KLM

SkyTeam airlines Air France and KLM operate flights between their hubs in Paris and Amsterdam to a host of North American destinations.

Air France flies to Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City, while KLM flies to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. Both airlines have extensive networks in Europe, offering easy single-stop connections for travellers from these cities.

The airlines also fly to a host of destinations across the United States.

Redeeming miles for flights on Air France and KLM is best achieved with Air France KLM Flying Blue miles.

The easiest way for Canadians to earn these is by transferring American Express Membership Rewards at a 1:0.75 ratio, and directly through the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard.

You can also transfer from Marriot Bonvoy in optimal increments of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to 25,000 Flying Blue miles.

You can expect to pay as little as 60,000 miles for a one-way flight from Canada or the United States to Europe in business class with either airline. Factoring in the 1:0.75 transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, this would result in a cost of at least 80,000 MR points.

Keep in mind that Flying Blue redemptions are also priced dynamically. So while you can expect to pay as few as 60,000 miles, you’d have to pay more if the lower fares are no longer available.

As opposed to many other airlines on this list, you will incur fuel surcharges on redemptions with Air France or KLM. While they aren’t as heavy as redeeming with, say, British Airways, you can expect to pay around $300–$400 (CAD) for a business class flight.

If you’re looking for a deal, keep an eye out for Flying Blue Promo Rewards, which offer reduced award pricing on specific routes each month. Canadian routes have previously been featured with one-way fares as low as 45,000 miles in business class to Europe, so if flying with either Air France or KLM interests you, be sure keep an eye out for our monthly updates.

3. Austrian Airlines

Vienna-based Austrian Airlines flies to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York (JFK), Newark, and Washington Dulles.

The best ways to book flights with Austrian Airlines is with Aeroplan or avianca lifemiles, though earning miles with the latter is much more difficult.

With Aeroplan, since all of these flights are over 4,000 miles, adding a connecting flight to or from most locations in Eastern North America will still total less than 6,001 miles, keeping you within the second distance band of Aeroplan’s “Between North America and Atlantic zones” chart.

As Aeroplan redemptions with partner airlines come at a fixed price, you can expect to pay 70,000 points for a one-way flight in business class from one of Austrian Airlines’s North American hubs to Vienna, with a modest amount of taxes and fees.

If you’d like to continue to another destination in Europe, the fixed-price of 70,000 Aeroplan points remains the same, as long as the total distance flown doesn’t cross into the next distance band.

While the business class hard and soft products may not be the best on the market, you will still have a lie-flat seat and Do & Co catering. The airline also tends to release ample award space, meaning that it should be relatively easy to find availability, including multiple seats.

One way that Star Alliance partner airlines can be particularly useful on Aeroplan redemptions is to get to popular destinations that are subject to dynamic pricing with Air Canada.

For example, Air Canada operates a non-stop flight to Rome from Toronto and Montreal. Because Italy is a popular destination, finding a seat at the “Starting at” end of the dynamic pricing for Air Canada may be quite difficult, even when booking far in advance.

However, if you can find award availability with a partner airline like Austrian Airlines, you can get to your destination for much fewer points in many cases.

So, while it’s always optimal to be on a non-stop flight, making a single connection via Vienna could save you a significant number of points.

4. British Airways

British Airways is another reliable option when it comes to redeeming points for transatlantic business class flights.

The London-based carrier offers non-stop flights to Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, as well as a number of cities in the United States.

On the earning front, British Airways Avios can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio from both American Express Membership Rewards and RBC Avion. You can also earn Avios directly through the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite†.

There are also relatively frequent transfer bonuses to British Airways Executive Club, which would further reduce the cost of redemptions if you can take advantage of one.

If you’d like to redeem Avios for a flight with British Airways, you’ll likely have a number of options available to choose from. That’s because British Airways guarantees that it releases at least four business class award seats on every single flight, which makes it both a predictable and reliable choice for when you’re planning a trip. This can be especially useful for families, for whom finding multiple business class award seats can be tricky.

Aside from Avios being relatively easy to earn and having ample availability, the downside is that British Airways levies hefty carrier-imposed surcharges on award bookings. It’s not uncommon to see taxes and fees totalling close to $1,000 (CAD) on a booking made through Avios or another partner, such as Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

However, British Airways Executive Club also features Reward Flight Saver pricing, which lets you pay more in Avios and less in cash for long-haul flights with the carrier.

For example, an off-peak business class flight from Toronto to London costs 80,000 Avios and $350 (CAD) in taxes and fees as a Reward Flight Saver. Note the other pricing options that are also available, which let you pay less in points and more in cash, should you be so inclined.

Similarly, an off-peak flight from Vancouver to London prices out at 90,000 Avios plus $450 (CAD) in taxes and fees.

If you’re flying westbound from London to North America, you’ll want to be mindful of the Air Passenger Duty (APD), which can’t be avoided for direct flights departing from the UK. Rather, you may want to consider connecting through a different European hub to save some money along the way.

Alternatively, if you happen to have access to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, you can book the same British Airways business class flights for much less. 

For example, a one-way flight from Vancouver to London in British Airways business class costs 63,000 Asia Miles and around $350 (CAD) in taxes and fees. 

5. Iberia

Another oneworld carrier on this list is Madrid-based Iberia. The Spanish carrier doesn’t have as wide of a network as other airlines, but there are some compelling sweet spots to be aware of for flights across the Atlantic.

Earning Iberia Plus Avios may appear to be daunting at first, especially in Canada, since there aren’t any direct transfer partners to the program.

However, keep in mind that you can move British Airways Avios and Iberia Avios freely between your accounts. This means that as long as you can earn British Airways Avios (through any of the credit cards listed in the British Airways section above), you can also earn Iberia Avios.

Aside from getting US-issued credit cards with direct access to Iberia Plus, there’s always the option of transferring Marriott Bonvoy points at the ideal ratio of 60,000 points = 25,000 miles.

Once you have Avios in your Iberia account, you’ll want to keep an eye out for a direct flight from any of its US destinations, which include Boston, New York (JFK), Washington Dulles, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Iberia uses peak and off-peak pricing, with very reasonable prices for direct flights to Europe. In fact, flying Iberia business class using Iberia Plus Avios is one of the best transatlantic sweet spots!

From Boston, Chicago, New York (JFK), and Washington Dulles, you’ll pay just 34,000 Avios for a one-way flight in business class on off-peak dates, or 50,000 Avios for the same flight during peak dates.

From any of the other cities, you’ll pay 42,500 Avios for off-peak dates in business class, and 62,500 Avios on peak dates.

Better yet, you won’t encounter significant taxes and fees on these flights. Expect to pay around €110–150 ($160–215 CAD) per person per direction, which isn’t unreasonable whatsoever.

While Iberia might not have the flashiest product out there, it’s still good to have as a backup option if nothing else is available, or if you’d like to save as many Avios as possible.

6. LOT Polish Airlines

Poland’s national airline, LOT, has added several North American routes in recent years, and is quite a popular choice for Canadians flying to Eastern Europe.

The flagship Canadian route is Toronto–Warsaw, which is served by the airline’s relatively new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In addition to Warsaw, LOT also maintains hubs in other Polish cities, such as Kraków and Rzeszów.

Within Europe, LOT has excellent coverage of the Baltic region and Eastern Europe, so they’d be a first-choice carrier for planning a trip there. If you’re travelling to Western Europe, on the other hand, you may find it a bit of a detour to go through Poland on the way, and doing so may bump you up to the next distance band on Aeroplan.

The program of choice for booking LOT business class is Aeroplan, and you’ll pay 70,000 Aeroplan points for a flight from most of LOT’s North American destinations to Warsaw.

Business class space on LOT Polish Airlines is relatively easy to find if you’re searching far enough in advance. In particular, LOT is one of the easiest European awards to find departing straight out of Toronto.

The seats on LOT’s 787 Dreamliner aren’t the most advanced, but they’re perfectly fine for couples travelling together. You’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by the food and service, the latter of which can be described as very polished.

Keep an eye out for LOT’s new business class in the coming years, which will (finally) introduce a 1-2-1 configuration with all seats having aisle access.

7. Lufthansa

The German carrier Lufthansa has an extensive worldwide network. It operates direct flights to Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver from both Frankfurt and Munich, as well as numerous destinations in the United States.

Business class award space can be hit or miss with Lufthansa, and your best bet is to book far in advance or closer to the date of departure.

Unlike many airlines that have moved to pod-style seating in business class cabins, Lufthansa has been slow to follow. Therefore, you can expect to be seated next to a friendly neighbour on most routes, as the seats are arranged in 2-2 formations.

Lufthansa is slowly rolling out its new Allegris business class, which has been seen in the past on Canadian routes. It’s a much better product, and it’s worth considering routing through the US if you can find award availability.

When it comes to booking, your best bet is once again through Aeroplan, which can be accessed easily through co-branded credit cards and through transfers from American Express Membership Rewards.

With Aeroplan, flights from Montreal to Frankfurt or Munich, as well as flights from Toronto to Frankfurt or flights from the US East Coast, are under 4,000 miles, placing them in the first distance band at 60,000 Aeroplan points for a business class seat.

Meanwhile, flying from Toronto to Munich, or from most of Central and Western North America, will cost you 70,000 Aeroplan points in business class.

As one of Europe’s largest carriers, Lufthansa offers many convenient connections to other popular destinations in Western Europe.

8. Qatar Airways

While Qatar Airways is based in Doha, which most certainly is not in Europe, there’s a very good reason to fly to Europe by way of Doha. That’s because Qatar Airways offers what’s widely considered the world’s best business class with Qatar Airways Qsuites, and it has an excellent network.

In Canada, Qatar Airways flies to Toronto and Montreal, and award availability to or from both cities is much more ample than it is to most destinations in the United States.

Generally speaking, the best options to book award flights with Qatar Airways are with Qatar Airways Privilege Club and American Airlines AAdvantage. However, when it comes to flying to Europe via Doha with Qatar Airways, you’ll want to book via Qatar Airways Privilege Club, as we’ll explain below.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club also uses Avios as its currency, which means that as long as you can access The British Airways Club (from RBC Avion or American Express Membership Rewards), you can instantly move Avios into your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account from within.

If you can find award availability, flying from a North American city to a European city via Doha will cost 85,000–90,000 Avios, plus a few hundred dollars in taxes and fees. Depending on the route, you may even enjoy Qsuites on both segments.

However, you can ramp this up a notch and fly from North America to Doha in Qsuites, and then from Doha to, say, Istanbul, in Qatar Airways First Class for the same price of 85,000 Avios.

During your layover in Doha, if you have a leg in First Class, you’ll have access to the world-class Al Safwa First Class Lounge, which is absolutely worth the detour to visit.

If you keep an eye on availability, and as long as you don’t mind taking the long way to Europe, you’ll be treated to an excellent experience from start to finish.

9. Singapore Airlines

You may be surprised to see Singapore Airlines on this list, since its hub in Singapore is located far away from Europe.

However, recall that Singapore Airlines offers one fifth freedom route between North America and Europe, and you can try out one of the best business class products in the world while getting across the Atlantic.

Your best bet for booking Singapore Airlines business class flights is with Aeroplan or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Singapore Airlines flies between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt, and the best part is that this flight costs only 60,000 Aeroplan points in business class.

If you happen to have some KrisFlyer miles that need to be used, you can also book this route for 81,000 miles on Saver pricing, or 56,700 KrisFlyer miles, as long as it’s available during the monthly Spontaneous Escapes deals.

10. Swiss

Flying with Swiss is by far one of the most straightforward ways for Canadians to fly to Europe, and to sweeten the deal, Swiss releases a healthy amount of business class seats to Aeroplan.

Plus, you also have the option of flying with Edelweiss Air, a Swiss sister airline, from a number of other destinations.

In Canada, Swiss flies to Toronto and Montreal, and Edelweiss Air operates routes to Halifax, Calgary, and Vancouver. Plus there are a number of routes to destinations in the United States.

As is often the case with transatlantic flights, Swiss tends to release more space on the East Coast routes than the West Coast ones. Flights to Boston, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, and New York are generally readily available if you search well in advance, whereas the Los Angeles and San Francisco flights can be much tougher to find.

The non-stop flight from Montreal to Zurich costs 60,000 Aeroplan points in business class. Adding a connection to most destinations in Europe will bump up the cost to 70,000 Aeroplan points.

From any of the Western North American cities, expect to pay 70,000 points in business class, including with its sister company Edelweiss Air from either Calgary or Vancouver to Zurich.

In addition, Swiss is also a very reliable airline for opening up last-minute award space, putting out a significant number of business class seats within two weeks of departure – even on the tougher-to-find West Coast routes.

The Airbus A330s are used on the Montreal route, although some travellers find the seat to be too cramped. The best seats on these aircraft are the throne seats, which offer an ample amount of space in the cabin.

Switzerland is located smack dab in the middle of Europe, and Zurich Airport is an absolute dream for transiting passengers, with tight connections easily doable. Throw in the very reasonable $100 or so in taxes and fees, and you can’t go wrong flying Swiss across the Atlantic.

11. TAP Air Portugal

The Portuguese flag carrier TAP-danced its way onto this list with flights to a number of destinations in North America and easy connections in Europe and North Africa.

In Canada, TAP operates non-stop flights to Toronto and Montreal, and it also flies to a number of destinations in the United States.

Once again, we look to Aeroplan as the program of choice for booking premium-cabin award flights with Star Alliance carriers.

Non-stop flights from Toronto or Montreal to Lisbon cost 60,000 Aeroplan points and around $100 in taxes and fees.

Although both Toronto and Montreal are fewer than 4,000 miles from Lisbon, most European destinations beyond Spain will result in bumping up to the next distance band with Aeroplan. This would add another 10,000 points to the cost, which could still be a worthwhile option to consider, especially if you can book a stopover.

Geographically speaking, it’s not much of a detour to route through Portugal on the way to virtually anywhere in Europe, and Lisbon and Porto make for excellent 24-hour layovers as well. However, with Portugal being on the westernmost extremity of continental Europe, the downside here is that the flight times from North America are not very long, so it may be tough to get proper rest onboard.

Award availability to cities in Eastern North America tends to be pretty good throughout the schedule, though anecdotally, it’s not quite as ample as it used to be. 

The exception, again, is the San Francisco and Los Angeles flights. While TAP does make a few seats available on these routes, it’s still much more limited compared to other cities.

Consider searching for flights using the calendar search feature on the United MileagePlus website, or speed up your search even faster with an award search tool like Roame or Seats.Aero.

12. Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines flies to more countries than any other airline in the world, and naturally that includes a good handful of routes that benefit North American travellers. Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver are served in Canada, in addition to a number of cities in the US.

There doesn’t appear to be much consistency with how Turkish Airlines releases award space. They seem to add and remove business class availability at will, and it’s not uncommon to see entire months’ worth of space appear, then disappear, and then reappear a bit later on.

If you see available seats that you like, book them as soon as possible, because they might be gone the very next day.

 

The only downside to flying with Turkish Airlines is that it’s a pretty significant detour if you’re travelling anywhere in Western Europe, similar to Qatar Airways.

While all three Canadian cities are less than 6,000 miles from Istanbul, placing them in the second distance band on the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart at 70,000 Aeroplan points, adding connections to Western Europe would bump up the cost to 90,000 Aeroplan points.

The upside to this is that Turkish Airlines has an excellent flagship lounge in Istanbul, and it’s a great place to spend time on a layover.

If you’ve managed to snag a seat on the flight from Vancouver to Istanbul, then adding any connections will bump you up to the third distance band, as the distance of the route itself clocks in at 5,973 miles.

When searching for flights, be mindful that Turkish Airlines operates up to four aircraft to Canada: the Boeing 777, the Airbus A330,the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the Airbus A350.

If at all possible, you’ll want to fly on the Dreamliner or the A350, as they have an updated hard product to accompany Turkish Airlines’s excellent soft product, with particularly notable dining.

13. United Airlines

United Airlines offers its flagship Polaris business class on many routes between North America and Europe. It’s easy to catch a positioning flight from many cities in Canada, too.

United maintains primary and secondary hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles. From these airports, and also from other major US cities, the airline operates a number of non-stop flights to Europe.

As a Star Alliance member, United can be booked with many different loyalty programs, though once again the easiest program to access United Airlines award flights through credit cards is Aeroplan.

Generally speaking, you can find good Aeroplan award availability for United business class flights to Europe from its major East Coast hubs, including Chicago, Newark, and Washington Dulles. If you’re able to take a positioning flight to one of these airports, you should have a good chance at scoring a seat.

Plus, United is very reliable for last-minute award availability throughout its network.

Keep in mind that at United hubs airports, you’ll enjoy an excellent ground experience in the airline’s flagship United Polaris lounges. Prior to your flight, you can sip on delicious cocktails, dine à la carte, and freshen up with a shower before heading to board your flight.

Flights from Chicago to destinations in Ireland and the United Kingdom fall under the first distance band with Aeroplan, as they all measure less than 4,000 miles.

While technically United Airlines flights now use dynamic pricing when booked with Aeroplan points, a non-stop business class flight in the first and second distance band seems to price out consistently at 80,000 Aeroplan points, plus a modest amount of taxes and fees.

It’s not unusual to find upwards of nine business class award seats on a United route, which can be a great option for families or groups. You’ll want to keep an eye on some of the less popular routes, perhaps from Brussels to Washington Dulles, and you’re more likely to spot these on off-peak dates rather than during the summer months.

In terms of the onboard experience, United isn’t necessarily known for having the most cutting-edge hard or soft products, but it’s still an entirely comfortable way to fly. You’ll enjoy a lie-flat seat on United’s different aircraft, as well as decent catering, including ice cream.

When you’re planning a trip to Europe, be sure to look at United for a combination of an excellent ground experience and a restful way to get across the Atlantic.

Conclusion

People often ask about the best way to use miles to fly to Europe in business class, and this article is designed to comprehensively answer that question. Between the above 13 airlines, you should certainly be able to find some way of redeeming points or miles to cross the Atlantic that works for you.

Nine of the 13 airlines can be booked with Aeroplan points, while British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways can be booked with various flavours of Avios, and Air France & KLM flights can be booked with Flying Blue miles.

If you have your eyes set on a premium cabin flight across the Atlantic, it shouldn’t take too much effort to earn the points for any of the above flights and then redeem them on a route that works for you.