Star Alliance airlines Lufthansa, Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, and United are currently selling cheap flights from Athens to New York. If you need to travel with luggage, it’s not that cheap, but otherwise, this is a great price. For frequent travelers, who at some airlines will still be allowed to bring luggage, this deal is even better.
In New York, you’d land at La Guardia airport. Layovers could be in many different cities, such as Montreal, Washington DC, Toronto, Frankfurt, or Vienna.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, this deal can be booked until September 15, 2019, but we doubt that this is actually true. You should definitely not wait that long. The flights are to be flown between September 3rd and October 26th, with a minimum stay of 3 days (or a Sunday) and a maximum stay of 3 months.
You can use Google Flights to look for available dates, and then use Skyscanner to find the cheapest fare. If you prefer booking directly on the airline’s website (which, if you’re going to travel with luggage, you probably should), you can book at united.com. They will, however, charge more than Skyscanner.
To facilitate your search for available dates, we’ve put together an availability calendar for trips of 4-11 days, which will redirect you to Skyscanner once you’ve selected your dates:
Miles
All flights are issued in class K. For a roundtrip via Toronto and Montreal with Air Canada, as shown in the image above, you’d get the following amount of miles:
- 5,397 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 5,397 Miles on Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 5,237 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 5,237 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 5,237 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 5,237 Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 2,949 Award Miles + 160 Points on Miles&More
- 2,699 Miles on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 2,699 Miles on Asiana Club
- 2,699 Miles on EVA Infinity MileageLands
- 2,619 Award Miles + 524 PQP on United MileagePlus
- 2,619 Miles on Avianca LifeMiles
- 2,619 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 2,619 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 2,619 Award Miles on Azul TodoAzul
- 2,619 CV Points on Vistara Club Vistara
- 2,619 Award Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 2,619 Award Miles on Etihad Guest
- 2,619 Miles on Egyptair Plus
Light Fare in Star Alliance
This is a Star Alliance fare that does not include check-in luggage. Additionally, some other disadvantages may apply, especially when flying with United:
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian
Lufthansa Group airlines call this fare Economy Light. You can select your seats during the check-in process. While these airlines still allow Star-Alliance-Gold customers to bring one 23kg bag, it is said that this benefit will soon be eliminated without much warning.
United Airlines
The long-haul United Basic Economy allows Star-Alliance-Gold customers to fly with 2 x 23 kg luggage, or even 3 x 32 kg if you’re a MileagePlus frequent flyer. Nevertheless, there are other restrictions:
- You cannot reserve your seats. Even at the time of check-in, you’ll be automatically assigned a seat, which you cannot change.
- You’ll be the last one to board the plane (except if you’re a frequent flyer).
- Additionally, if you’re a MileagePlus-customer:
- No free Economy-Plus upgrades
- Only 50% PQM instead of 100%, and only 0.5 PQS per flight
- No modifications (e.g. Same Day-Changes) possible
- Upgrades are not permitted
Air Canada
On flights with Air Canada, there is also a Basic Economy, but it is not quite as restrictive as United’s. If you have a Star-Alliance-Gold-Status, you can give up a 23 kg luggage, and Air-Canada-Altitude status holders can even be allowed up to 3 x 32 kg.
Other restrictions include:
- You can reserve seats, but at a higher price than usual for Economy.
- For Air Canada Altitude customers:
- 25% miles for transatlantic flights, none for domestic.
- Upgrades are not permitted.
- From Prestige 25K onwards you can select your seats.
If you feel that these restrictions are unbearable, you should book over the airline’s website, such as Lufthansa.com, and select the rate that includes luggage for roughly €100 more.
Information & Tips for New York
It is THE dream destination in the USA. The 5 districts of New York City offer more than any other metropolis in the world. And due to the high number of flights to New York, it is usually the cheapest way to get to the USA.
The Best Time to Travel
The best travel time with moderate temperatures is from April to June and from September to November. Summers can bring heat waves with high humidity. Winters are often snowy and very cold.
From the airport to the city
New York City is served by three commercial airports: John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport in Queens (probably the most famous), Newark Intl. Airport in Newark, New Jersey (which is not located in NYC, but serves the metropolitan area just like the others) and LaGuardia Airport also in Queens (which is closest to the city).
John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport
Public transport: From Manhattan by subway or LIRR to Jamaica (price varies from $2.75 – $10.00), continue with AirTrain to JFK ($8). Travel time 45 – 60 minutes.
Taxi: To Manhattan $62.50 (+ $5.50 toll), 45 – 90 minutes depending on traffic.
Newark Intl. Airport
Public transport: Almost $20 with a combination of AirTrain Newark and NJ Transit to Penn Station. Almost 45 minutes drive.
Taxi: To Manhattan $50 – $70 (+ $8 toll), journey time 35 – 60 minutes depending on traffic.
LaGuardia Airport
Public transport: LaGuardia is only served by buses, these are slow and don’t have much space to store luggage, but with $2,75 they are very cheap.
Taxi: To Manhattan $20 – $30, journey time 15 – 30 minutes depending on traffic.
→ All Dealz for New York