SkyTeam carrier Air France offers decently priced business class trips from Amsterdam to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, starting at €1,243. These tickets include lounge access, priority access and lie-flat seats on the long haul segments along with more room, better food and service. All flights require a stop in Paris or Panama City each way.
At KLM & Air France, all tickets can still be rebooked without a change fee, but you will unfortunately now have to pay the price difference. You can also exchange the flights for a non-refundable voucher, valid for 1 year. Unfortunately, the option to have the value of the voucher paid out to your bank account no longer exists since March 1st. You can read the rules here.
Our calendar shows you all possible round trips below €1,400 for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to KLM.com to benefit from the SkyTeam carrier’s refund policy that makes all tickets before June 30, 2022, fully refundable.
KLM sends a Boeing 777-300ER from Amsterdam to Panama City. Onwards, Panama’s national carrier and Star Alliance member Copa Airlines takes you from Panama City to Santo Domingo. There are also connections with a stop in Paris, which might be more appealing for SkyTeam frequent flyers.
By now, modern seats have also become the norm at KLM. Its business class is definitely not a bad choice, also thanks to the good service. Like many other airlines, the Boeing 787 always has the newest business class seats installed.
Search & Book
This deal expires on February 10, 2022. It is valid for flights before October 31, 2022. You need to respect a minimum stay requirement of six days (or a Sunday). Available is pretty good overall, strongest during the Summer Holidays and fizzles out in October.
Google Flights will show you additional flight dates. We recommend booking via Air France or KLM’s website to benefit from their refund policies, among other 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 two main reasons for that:
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 information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, 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 and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. 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.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
The airlines issue long haul segments in booking class O. You can earn the following mileage on the long haul flights alone, without accounting for the additional Copa Airlines segment:
- 10,952 Miles on Aerolíneas Argentinas AerolíneasPlus
- 10,952 Award Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 10,952 Miles on MEA Cedar Miles
- 10,952 Miles on CSA OK Plus
- 10,952 Miles on Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
- 10,952 Points on Malaysia Airlines Enrich
- 10,952 Miles on Korean Air Skypass
- 10,952 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 10,952 RDM + 2,190 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
- 10,952 Award Miles on Etihad Guest
- 4,400 Award Miles + 72 XP on Flying Blue
Cover Picture: Photo by Alessandro Gober on Unsplash