Star Alliance airlines United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, and SAS are all offering cheap flights from Amsterdam to New York (Newark). The price is much higher if you wish to travel with luggage, but if you’re willing to fly without luggage, this is a great deal.
Depending on the airline that you select, there is a huge variety of ways to get to New York. United offers direct flights, Lufthansa flies via Frankfurt, Swiss takes you to Zurich, SAS to Oslo, Austrian to Vienna, and with Air Canada, you’ll have a layover in Montreal. The absolute cheapest flight even has you flying via Frankfurt and Montreal. Usually, the price difference between the airlines lies under €10, so select whatever suits you best.
Search & Book
This deal expires today (June 16, 2019)! Your stay length has to be between 3 days (or a Sunday) to 3 months long. According to the fare rules, you can book the flights for all dates between August 20th, 2019 – March 28th, 2020. Of course, the amount of seats is limited, so some dates will not be available at this price.
You can look for available dates on Google Flights. Once you’ve found your preferred dates, you can find the cheapest price on Skyscanner. If, however, you want to take luggage with you on this trip, then you should probably use the airlines’ websites (e.g. lufthansa.com). Please read our section below that describes what you get and don’t get with this “light” fare on the different airlines and consider those points when selecting the airline for this flight.
To facilitate your search for available dates, we’ve created an availability calendar for trip lengths of 4-11 days:
This is a Star Alliance fare that does not include check-in luggage. Additionally, some other disadvantages may apply, especially when flying with United:
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian
Lufthansa Group airlines call this fare Economy Light. You can select your seats during the check-in process. While these airlines still allow Star-Alliance-Gold customers to bring one 23kg bag, it is said that this benefit will soon be eliminated without much warning.
United Airlines
The long-haul United Basic Economy allows Star-Alliance-Gold customers to fly with 2 x 23 kg luggage, or even 3 x 32 kg if you’re a MileagePlus frequent flyer. Nevertheless, there are other restrictions:
- You cannot reserve your seats. Even at the time of check-in, you’ll be automatically assigned a seat, which you cannot change.
- You’ll be the last one to board the plane (except if you’re a frequent flyer).
- Additionally, if you’re a MileagePlus-customer:
- No free Economy-Plus upgrades
- Only 50% PQM instead of 100%, and only 0.5 PQS per flight
- No modifications (e.g. Same Day-Changes) possible
- Upgrades are not permitted
Air Canada
On flights with Air Canada, there is also a Basic Economy, but it is not quite as restrictive as United’s. If you have a Star-Alliance-Gold-Status, you can give up a 23 kg luggage, and Air-Canada-Altitude status holders can even be allowed up to 3 x 32 kg.
Other restrictions include:
- You can reserve seats, but at a higher price than usual for Economy.
- For Air Canada Altitude customers:
- 25% miles for transatlantic flights, none for domestic.
- Upgrades are not permitted.
- From Prestige 25K onwards you can select your seats.
If you feel that these restrictions are unbearable, you should book over the airline’s website, such as Lufthansa.com, and select the rate that includes luggage for roughly €100 more.
Information & Tips for New York
It is THE dream destination in the USA. The 5 districts of New York City offer more than any other metropolis in the world. And due to the high number of flights to New York, it is usually the cheapest way to get to the USA.
The Best Time to Travel
The best travel time with moderate temperatures is from April to June and from September to November. Summers can bring heat waves with high humidity. Winters are often snowy and very cold.
From the airport to the city
New York City is served by three commercial airports: John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport in Queens (probably the most famous), Newark Intl. Airport in Newark, New Jersey (which is not located in NYC, but serves the metropolitan area just like the others) and LaGuardia Airport also in Queens (which is closest to the city).
John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport
Public transport: From Manhattan by subway or LIRR to Jamaica (price varies from $2.75 – $10.00), continue with AirTrain to JFK ($8). Travel time 45 – 60 minutes.
Taxi: To Manhattan $62.50 (+ $5.50 toll), 45 – 90 minutes depending on traffic.
Newark Intl. Airport
Public transport: Almost $20 with a combination of AirTrain Newark and NJ Transit to Penn Station. Almost 45 minutes drive.
Taxi: To Manhattan $50 – $70 (+ $8 toll), journey time 35 – 60 minutes depending on traffic.
LaGuardia Airport
Public transport: LaGuardia is only served by buses, these are slow and don’t have much space to store luggage, but with $2,75 they are very cheap.
Taxi: To Manhattan $20 – $30, journey time 15 – 30 minutes depending on traffic.
→ All Dealz for New York