Japan: €1,730 LOT Business Class; €1,904 w/ Other Star Alliance Members from Amsterdam

Star Alliance members Lufthansa, Swiss, and All Nippon Airways are currently joining forces to bring you cheap business class flights from Amsterdam to Japanese destinations Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, Nagoya and Osaka.

The lowest fare is offered by LOT Polish Airlines at €1,730 for an Amsterdam to Narita roundtrip. All other destinations cost slightly more than €1,900. Most connections feature a single layover in a European Star Alliance hub.

All itineraries start with a European short-haul trip to either Warsaw, Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich. Onward flights feature LOT business class (from Warsaw), Lufthansa business class (from Frankfurt or Munich), SWISS business class (from Zurich) or ANA business class from each of these airports.

While most destinations are served nonstop from Europe, trips to Nagoya include a Japanese domestic flight in economy class.

Search & Book

According to fare rules, the joint Star Alliance fares are only available for trips lasting longer than six days, but not exceeding a month. Further, you must buy your ticket at least 60 days prior to departure. Stopovers are not permitted.

LOT’s fare rules are a bit less restrictive, with a shorter minimum stay of five days or at least one night from Saturday to Sunday. The maximum stay is longer as well. Stays up to one year are possible.

These fares show great availability from April onward. You can check suiting flight dates through Google Flights (instructions). Score the cheapest fare by entering your dates in our flight search. You can, of course, also buy the tickets directly at LOT‘s or Lufthansa‘s website. This will increase the price, though.

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.

There is no expiration date for these offers, they are most likely based on availability.

Mileage

LOT Polish Airlines issues tickets in booking class F. In this booking class, you can expect at least 100% of your travel distance to be credited in most Star Alliance frequent flyer programs:

If you’re flying SWISS, tickets are issued in booking class P. This booking class is very similiar to your earnings when flying LOT. The main difference is Miles&More – members will get 5,000 miles less than with LOT:

If your long haul segment features an ANA flight, booking class is P as well, but earnigs will be quite different. While you can maximize and Eurobonus, Miles+Bonus and MileagePlus on this ticket, KrisFlyer or Miles&More costumers are better off with LOT or SWISS:

You can check possible earnings for your own routing by using wheretocredit.com.

Information & Tips for Japan

Japan, the ‘land of the rising sun’, is located in the east of Asia and is one of the most popular travel destinations on the continent. Big cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto convince urban fans while ski fans get their money’s worth in Hokkaido and Tohoku.
Flights to Japan are usually a little more expensive than comparable offers to other destinations in Asia, but there are exceptions, and you can sometimes find bargains.

Best travel time

Since the country consists of many climatic zones it is hard to name a perfect time for travelling to Japan. However, summer should usually be avoided, as June is dominated by the rainy season and July and August offer sweltering temperatures with high humidity.

Visa

Most European citizens do not need a visa to enter Japan for a stay of up to 180 days if they do not want to work, study or train. Travelers that arrive under these conditions without a visa will be granted a residence permit as a “Temporary Visitor” for an initial period of 90 days upon entering the country at the airport.

Finding the Best eSIM Plan

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 Japan

Cover Picture: © LOT