Star Alliance member Lufthansa currently offers attractive business class tickets from Budapest, selling roundtrips to Seoul for as low as HUF 504,900 (~€1,315). These flights include a layover in Munich or Frankfurt. There’s good availability December 2023 and January 2024.
For just HUF 80,700 (~€210) more, you can add a couple of days in Tokyo to your itinerary. We provide more information about that in the Search & Book section.
Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to Lufthansa or Swiss with your selected flight dates.
Flights between Budapest to Germany are European business class services. An Airbus A350-900 takes you from Munich to Seoul. When changing planes in Frankfurt, Lufthansa’s 747-fleet will do the job.
If you don’t like surprises, you’ll be on the safe side with Lufthansa in one aspect: all planes have the exact same seats. That, however, will no longer be the case when Lufthansa receives its first Boeing 777 planes with the new business class. Many of our readers may have already experienced the current business class. Generally, Travel-Dealz writers and readers are not big fans of the Lufthansa business class, even though it is definitely not bad. One reason for that is that the service is too inconsistent: From extremely friendly and quick to unfriendly and slow – everything is possible with Lufthansa, even in business class.
Search & Book
The fare rules don’t give a sales period for this fare, but a minimum stay of six days or one night from Saturday to Sunday. You can find availabilities during the 2023/2024 Winter.
Google Flights will help you find additional flight dates. We recommend booking premium tickets directly on the airline’s website for several reasons.
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 three main reasons for that:
- The Covid-19 Pandemic
During the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, planning international travel got more and more risky because of ever-changing restrictions. In contrast to many online travel agencies, most airlines modified their terms & conditions to become more customer friendly. Rebooking conditions are eased, change fees are waived and cancellations are much easier when there is no third party involved.
Further, by adding an OTA to your plans, you increase the risk of one service provider involved going bankrupt. Now, the airline and the online travel agency involved could vanish along with your money. - 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 you information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. 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 Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are more and more common. 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.
Adding a Tokyo-Stopover
Since you are already in the region, adding a stopover in Tokyo to itinerary makes sense. Especially since the closure of Siberian airspace made tickets to East Asia more costly in both time and money. Prices including a Tokyo stopover start at HUF 584,700 (~€1,523).
Sadly, finding these flights is a bit of a hassle. You can use either our Go2 tool above, Google Flights‘ or Lufthansa’s multistop search tool – but in all cases you are limited to a trial-and-error method of searching.
Mileage
Lufthansa issues tickets in booking class P, a rather unattractive booking class when it comes to premium tickets. A roundtrip via Frankfurt yields the following mileage:
- 18,758 Kilometers on Air China PhoenixMiles
- 14,570 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 12,118 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 11,656 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 11,656 Miles on LATAM Pass
- 11,656 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 11,652 Award Miles + 2,332 PQP on United MileagePlus
- 11,134 Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 8,158 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 4,800 Award Miles + 12,116 Tier Miles on Miles&More
- 4,800 Award Miles + 480 Points on Miles&More 2024
- 1,036 Award Miles + 1,038 Tier Miles on Asia Miles
Adding a stopover in Tokyo makes the flights a little longer and adds a segment in Asiana booking class Z or All Nippon Airways booking class P.
If you are lucky, you are able to get more than one segment on either ANA or Swiss metal to your itinerary, increasing your earnings drastically with some programs like Aegean Miles+Bonus.
Destination
Hotel prices in Seoul usually start at roughly €30, depending on the hotel category. Whichever category and hotel you opt for, make sure to get the best price! Our recommendation is to search on booking.com, or even on our own Travel-Dealz hotel search:
Information & Tips for South Korea
South Korea, officially Republic of Korea, is a country located on the Southern part of the Korean peninsula. It is one of Asia’s fastest developing countries and features stand alone traits such as language, culture and cuisine. Especially Korean food (Teriyaki) and music (K-Pop) get more and more popular in Europe and North America.
Visa & Immigration
Citizens of the European Union, Canada, America and Australia get 90 days of visa free stay upon arrival. If you’re not from one of these countries or planning on a longer stay, this official website for foreigners travelling to Korea might be of help.
Currency
Korea’s currency is the Korean Won (KRW). €1 equals roughly KRW 1,300. You can exchange currency in cash or withdraw it by using your credit card at various ATMs. The most used banknotes are KRW 1,000; 5,000; 10,000 & 50,000. Paying with credit card is possible is many hotels, stores and restaurants, not unlike in Europe.
→ All Dealz for South Korea
Information & Tips for Seoul
Seoul is the capital of South Korea and with 11.8 million inhabitants and a metropolitan region of around 25.6 million also the largest. The city is an important cultural and economic center in the Asian region.
Flights to Seoul
Flights to Korea are unfortunately not as cheap as to China or Southeast Asia, but there are – especially if you are flexible – some bargains that are definitely worth it.
For flights to Seoul, one should usually be prepared to pay between 400€ and 500€ for a good deal. Often there are also bargains in Business Class, especially from LOT.
You should avoid the school holidays, especially the summer holidays. During this period, airfares quickly rise to more than 700€ and partly reach heights of up to 1.000€ for a direct flight in economy. Good deals are not to be expected during this period.
Best Time to Travel
The best time to visit Seoul is from March to May or from September to November. Thanks to comparatively mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine, these months are best suited for tourism.
From the Airport to the City Center
International long-haul flights usually arrive at Seoul-Incheon Airport. The express train to the city centre departs every 30 minutes and takes 40-45 minutes and costs approx. 6,50€. For a taxi you pay between 47€ and 70€.
→ All Dealz for Seoul