SWISS, Lufthansa and Etihad launch UK flight sales – here are the best business class deals

There is a lot of sale activity going on at the moment.  Qatar Airways has launched a sale with some interesting deals from elsewhere in Europe, which I will look at tomorrow.  The British Airways sale which we covered here is also continuing, as is the Virgin Atlantic one.

If you want to fly direct from the UK, here are a couple of other options.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

SWISS

If you enjoyed Anika’s review of SWISS business class last weekend, you might be interested in their deals, all from the UK via Zurich.  Headline fares in business class include:

• Delhi £1,558
• Hong Kong £1,919
• Johannesburg £2,004
• Mumbai £1,597
• Sao Paulo £1,771
• Tel Aviv £758 (check it is a long-haul aircraft!)

You need to book by 22nd September.  You can travel until the end of June 2020, except for Christmas / New Year and between 16th February and 30th April 2020.

SWISS is a member of Star Alliance so any miles you earn will need to go into the Lufthansa / SWISS Miles & More scheme or one of their other partners.

Lufthansa

As you’d expect, Lufthansa – sister airline to SWISS – is having an identical sale with identical dates.  You can book here.

Headline deals from the UK include:

• Hong Kong £1,919
• Bangkok £1,725
• Cairo £1,007
• Mumbai £1,584
• Beirut £787
• Bengaluru £1,619

Etihad

Meanwhile, over at Etihad, you have the following business class deals.  You need to book by 12th September for travel between 15th September 2019 and 30th June 2020.

Headline deals, which will get you travel in the fanastic Business Studio which we reviewed here, include:

• Abu Dhabi £1,500
• Bangkok £1,961
• Singapore £2,254

Tickets include an optional free Abu Dhabi stopover:

“Explore Abu Dhabi with a free two-night stopover. Simply book a multi-city flight via Abu Dhabi. When your flight is booked, tell us which of our premium hotels you’d like to stay at for free and we’ll do the rest for you.”

Prices from Manchester may vary slightly, in a bad way.  You can book on the Etihad site here.  You can learn more about Business Studio on their site here.

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 40,000 Etihad Guest miles.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.