Star Alliance member SAS is selling cheap flights from eight European airports to Tokyo. The lowest prices are available from Gdańsk, with tickets as cheap as €310 (~PLN 1,313) for a roundtrip to the Japanese capital. Adding luggage to your booking, however, would increase the price by €60 (~PLN 254) – or even more from other departure cities.
If you’re going to fly without luggage, you can even save another roughly €30 by booking through an OTA.
Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. We strongly recommend gathering detailed information about the travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to your desired origin and destination.
A good start is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website. It provides current updates on a country’s immigration policies. Even better, the Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.
SAS waives the rebooking fee for these tickets, but you’d still have to pay the price difference if you want to change flight dates. They are not refundable.
You may buy these tickets with departure from the following airports:
- Gdańsk at €310
- Warsaw at €318
- Milan at €327
- Barcelona at €328
- Brussels at €335
- Nice at €336
- Amsterdam at €342
- Paris at €342
Our availability calendar shows you all available flight dates for €350 or less, from September 2022 onwards. While singular earlier flight are available at this low price, it is highly doubtful that touristic travel to Japan is possible by then.
You would first fly to Copenhagen, from where SAS would fly you to Tokyo on an Airbus A350, with a 3-3-3 seating in economy class. The long-haul flight is roughly 11 hours long.
Search & Book
This fare can be booked until January 16, 2022 for flights without a specific travel period. The minimum stay requirement is of 6 days (or a Sunday). Stopovers are not permitted. The travel period ends on November 2, 2022. This day marks the latest possible arrival in Europe.
Google Flights displays all available dates, as does our own calendar above, which will then either redirect you to SAS’ booking site, or to our Travel-Dealz flight search so that you can look for the cheapest OTA price.
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
These tickets are issued in booking class T. Flying from Gdansk, you can expect to receive the following number of miles:
- 5,658 Award Miles on Etihad Guest
- 5,658 RDM + 1,132 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
- 4,828 Award Miles + 34 XP on Flying Blue
- 4,524 Award Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 2,830 Miles on Aerolíneas Argentinas AerolíneasPlus
- 1,132 Award Miles + 70 Tier Points on Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 1,132 Miles on Korean Air Skypass
- 1,132 Miles on Saudia Alfursan
- 1,132 Miles on Air Europa Suma
- 680 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- Customize Calculation
United MileagePlus is probably the best option to credit your flights, though the number of miles isn’t exactly ground-breaking.
Information & Tips for Tokyo
Tokyo is known for its blend of traditional and modern attractions, including the historic Senso-ji Temple, the bustling Shibuya Crossing, and the futuristic Odaiba district. The currency used is the Japanese yen (JPY), and credit cards are widely accepted in many places. Tokyo can be expensive, especially for accommodation and dining in tourist areas, but budget options are available. The weather varies: summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold but generally dry. The best times to visit are in spring (for cherry blossoms) and autumn (for mild temperatures).
We’ve compared various esim providers, such as YohoMobile and Nomad. To see which plan is best for your travel needs and which network offers the best coverage, feel free to read our detailed guide:
The Best eSIM Plans for Japan 🇯🇵 Compared
→ All Dealz for Tokyo
Cover Picture: Photo by ALEXANDRE LALLEMAND on Unsplash