Alaska & Hawaii: €688 Oneworld Premium Economy from Amsterdam & Switzerland

Oneworld carriers American Airlines and British Airways team up to bring you a very rare offer – premium economy tickets to Alaska and many Hawaiian islands for prices around €700.

All itineraries include two stops, one in Europe and one in the continental USA. The transatlantic leg is the one in premium economy, while all other flights are economy class. But as two checked bags up to 23 kg each are included in a premium economy, this is still an amazing offer. You can find flight dates between May and October 2021.

Update

The deal is gone.

Info

Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. We strongly recommend gathering detailed information about the travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to your desired origin and destination.

A good start is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website. It provides current updates on a country’s immigration policies. Even better, the Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.

To Honolulu, Hawaii:

From Basel at CHF 749 (~€765)

From Amsterdam at €693

To Anchorage, Alaska:

From Basel CHF 794 (~€811)

From Amsterdam at €743

Using Google Flights allows you to find further destinations on other Hawaiian islands or smaller towns in Alaska for roughly the same price and maybe a third stop. Also, you can also find similar fares with departure from Geneva.

Enroute to Hawaii, we recommend selecting a transatlantic flight with a destination as four southwest as possible (Los Angeles being the best option). This way you maximize your time in a premium economy seat.

Search & Book

The fare rules for this deal do not provide an expiration date, but a minimum stay. You need to spend at least six nights or one night from Saturday to Sunday at your destination. Availability is fairly good from May through October 2021.

You can find suiting flight dates on Google Flights. While online travel agencies my offer cheaper tickets, we strongly suggest booking directly with American Airlines or British Airways.

Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?

More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:

Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.

If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.

This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.

Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.

This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.

Mileage

Long haul premium economy segments are booking class P (American) and T (British Airways). Economy tickets are issued in Economy in B (American) and K (British Airways).

This example gives you the mileage for a Basel to Honolulu roundtrip with American Airlines long haul segments.