Fly to Europe Business Class From $2296

I’m a massive fan of the cheap premium airfares available out of Jakarta – CGK (Indonesia) for the simple reason that they are so affordable! This year I’ve flown Qatar Airways Business Class Qsuites from Jakarta to Amsterdam and Oman Air Business Class to Paris.

Considering business class tickets from Australia to Europe range from $5,000 to $10,000+, there’s an easy value proposition for those willing to position themselves to Jakarta.

Deal 1: Oman Air Business Class To Frankfurt

A few months ago, I flew Oman Air for the first time and was really impressed with the overall experience. You can read my Oman Air review here, and I highly recommend planning a stopover in Muscat, it’s a great place to explore!

The Oman Air deal is back, and this time you can score flights to Frankfurt for as low as AU$2296 return from Jakarta.

Keep in mind that the Frankfurt flight is operated on the older but still very lovely A330 which doesn’t have the Apex Suites found on the 787.

The easiest way is to research availability with Google Flights since they have a handy calendar view allowing you to find the cheapest dates.

How About The Points?

The best place to credit your Oman Air flights is without a doubt Etihad Guest, this program is extremely useful for Australian travellers and you will earn a nice stash of Etihad Guest Miles.

Deal 2: Etihad Business Class

While you can get great deals all year round from Jakarta, Etihad is now offering fares starting from $2,800 return in business class via Abu Dhabi.

There seems to be good availability right up until June 2020 and tickets are changeable with a US$200 fee.

How To Get It Cheaper?

As you may or may not know, American Express Card Members get a 10% discount on Etihad Flights. This promotion has been going on for some time now, and even if you don’t have an Amex (let’s change that!), you can get the discount simply by entering the last 4 digits of an Amex card on the dedicated booking page. The number “3760” will do the trick.

To book Etihad Flights with 10% off, you need to visit this page and enter either your own four last digits of your card or enter “3760”.

From there, the lowest price I was able to find was AU$2,622, which is a great deal for business class with Etihad.

How About The Points?

Etihad Airways has it’s own frequent flyer program which is excellent for redeeming business class flights with Virgin Australia. For example, 21,800 Etihad Guest miles are enough for a one-way flight with Virgin Australia between Perth and Melbourne in business.

This flight alone will earn you 16,818 Etihad guest miles which I would value at around $200 give or take.

How to get to Jakarta?

Jakarta Airport (CGK) is pretty large, and while the main terminal is modern, it’s rather boring. Lounges are average, and there’s not much else to do so I would plan the minimum amount required to transit.

Getting there is straightforward, from Sydney you can catch a direct flight with Qantas and from other cities, you can either get a cheap Skoot ticket or use your frequent flyer points to get there in style.

I always redeem Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer miles for the Perth to Jakarta flight via Singapore because it’s the same price as flying Perth to Singapore. The same is true for other cities around Australia, so when it comes to points, KrisFlyer will get you most value.

H/T: LL