If you’ve been following the widespread deals to Europe lately, there’s a way to make your trip even better, or perhaps a chance for 2 great experiences instead. Rowyourboat on Flyertalk has posted an excellent find: business class from Milan to New York from as low as $1430 round trip from the Lufthansa family of airlines. With a little digging, I found Toronto deals from $1378 round trip on Air Italy as well. This seems to have rapidly turned into a small fare war, as Alitalia, American Airlines, British Airways, and others have started matching pricing on some of Lufthansa’s dates. The specifics:
- Milan to New York round trip on Lufthansa/Swiss/Austrian, United Airlines, or Air Canada for $1430 from late March through May, then November through mid-December.
- Milan to Toronto for $1380 on Air Italy from May through mid-October
For US-based flyers these fares can be used to build 2 discounted trips to Europe. If you have a $400 round trip in economy, fly to Europe in the main cabin, then return to the US in a lie-flat seat. Later, return to Milan in the front of the plane, and then come home again on your cheap fare. Or if you purchased a cheap 1-way to Europe, you can potentially just return to America in a bed in the sky, after a few hours of relaxation in the Lufthansa business class lounge and decide whether to return to Italy later.
Air Canada, American and Iberia all fly “1-2-1” across business class on these flights, while Swiss alternate “throne” seats with pairs for 1-2-2″. United’s 767s are 1-1-1 with Polaris seating. Air Italy is flying planes leased from Qatar Air with their older 2-2-2 alignment; I’ve experienced this seat on a different aircraft and they are very spacious, though window seats do not have direct aisle access. Lufthansa also flies a 2-2-2 on their A350s, with window seats slightly staggered for better aisle access, though you still need to step around the person next to you. BA flies a more full version of business class, which many consider less-desirable than the others (though far better than economy, of course). All flights will include priority boarding and check-in, free checked luggage, and lounge access.
For those of you interested in collecting miles, be aware that the Lufthansa family fares are in fare class P, which does not earn miles with all partner airlines (and generally 100% with no bonus with those it does). Tickets purchased through United will earn UA award miles based on the fare price. Air Italy has no alliance, but does earn Avios with its flights, and the Toronto fares book at 150% for a total of about 14,750 miles. Please see WheretoCredit.com and your individual frequent flyer programs for more details.
In some cases these fares may be accidental; New York was showing $1000 round trips yesterday. I would make no plans that rely on these fares that I could not cancel for free until at least a few days from now. But whether they are mistakes are not, I do expect these fares to disappear very quickly, so if you’re interested you should act now.
Sample Route
- Departure: MXP
- Stops: ZRH
- Arrival: EWR
How to Book
- Follow link for sample dates or search your favorite OTA / Google Flights for departure and destination. Online travel agencies may show higher prices on Google Flights, but click through to the website and fare prices will generally match lowest available rates.
(SEE ALSO: 6 tips why Google Flight is the Best Search Engine)
Travel Dates
- March – December, 2019. Specific availability differs by route and airline
- Stay requirement varies by airline and route, but generally 6 – 9 days
Where to Stay in Milan
Things to Do in Milan
Good luck and happy flying!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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