Saipan: Qatar + Asiana Business Class Starting at €1,738 From All Over Europe

Saipan, located on the Northern Mariana Islands, is a destination that’s quite expensive to fly to, as it is incredibly far away. Oneworld member Qatar Airways and (still) Star Alliance member Asiana, however, have now teamed up to offer discounted business class flights! There’s basically daily availability from April onward. This deal may be particularly interesting for members of the British Airways Executive Club, as this deal alone would almost get you the Oneworld Sapphire status.

We’ve found discounted flights from the following cities:

• Budapest: HUF 619,400 (~€1,571)
• Madrid: €1,744
• Stockholm: SEK 18,305 (~€1,581)
• Belgrade: €1,880
• Oslo: NOK 20,310 (~€1,745)
• Zagreb: HRK 16,960 (~€2,251)

You would first fly with Qatar Airways to Doha, from where you’d continue to Seoul on a Boeing 777. From there, Asiana will fly you to Saipan with an Airbus A321. Sadly, Qatar’s business class flights no longer include lounge access (except if you’re flying from Budapest, for some reason).

Search & Book

While the fare rules do not state an expiration date for this deal, they do offer some other restrictions. Your trip has to be at least 5 days long and may not exceed a duration of one month. Additionally, you cannot depart on Fridays or Saturdays, and the flight back home cannot start on a weekend. Not respecting those last two restrictions, however, will only result in a price hike of roughly €25, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

You can search for the exact prices on Google Flights, but as there’s basically daily availability, you can simply head directly to Qatar’s website and book the flights there.

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.

Qatar Airways Business Class

Not only is Qatar Airways an airline with a five-star Skytrax-rating, but it is also considered to offer one of the best business class experiences worldwide.

Most flights have seats, that can be converted into flat beds. In the Boeing 787-Dreamliner, they are even in a 1-2-1 alignment. Airplanes that have the QSuites even offer small, private suites that are usually only available in First Class:

Mileage

This part is a bit tricky as Qatar Airways and Asiana are in two different alliances (Oneworld and Star Alliance, respectively). The Qatar flights are issued in booking class R. The flights from e.g. Madrid to Seoul via Doha (and back) should roughly get you:

The two segments between Seoul and Saipan are issued in Asiana’s booking class C, meaning that they are worth:

If you’re a member of the British Airways Executive Club, the Qatar flights will get you 560 Tier Points! Simply add 4 British Airways segments, and you’ve got the Oneworld Sapphire status!

Cover Picture: © Qatar Airways