Star Alliance member SWISS is offering great business class fare from four Spanish airports to São Paulo, Brazil. With a stop in Zurich, you can fly across the South Atlantic Ocean for less than €800. Since availabilities are fairly good until June 2022 (except during Christmas), those who are daring can score a great price at the supposed tail-end of the pandemic.
The only downside of this deal is Swiss’ rebooking policy. The airline offers no refunds for this fare. While the rebooking fee may be waived, you still have to pay the price difference if you change travel dates.
Our calendar shows all available dates for trips of 7 – 28 days. Once you’ve selected your preferred route and travel dates, we’ll redirect you to Swiss’ booking site.
Here are some of the cheap prices that we were able to find:
- Palma de Mallorca: €797
- Valencia: €797
- Gran Canaria: €803
- Malaga: €804
- Bilbao: €807
- Barcelona: €808
- Madrid: €809
Flights to Bilbao are only available on Lufthansa’s website.
Inner-European flights are operated by Swiss’ short-haul Airbus fleet (A220 or A320 family aircraft). A Boeing 777-300ER takes you from Zurich to São Paulo and back.
With SWISS, it very much depends on the specific seat, as SWISS has a throne seat in every row. While the double seats share a platform in the middle, the throne seat has its own platform on each side, which you won’t have to share with anyone. Those seats thus offer privacy and comfort to an extent that the other seats cannot compete with. Therefore, you may be disappointed if you don’t get one of the throne seats, even if the other seats obviously also have a very high standard. In the future, SWISS will have a new business class, called “Swiss Senses”, which is basically Lufthansa’s Allegris cabin, but in red.
Search & Book
Sadly, we have not been able to locate fare rules for these flights. We have found availability from November 2021 through June 2022.
Google Flights is your reliable friend when it comes to looking for availabilities, as is our calendar above. We strongly recommend booking directly on swiss.com.
For just €220 more, you can select the Business Flex fare, which makes your ticket fully refundable!
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
Swiss tickets all flights in booking class P. A round trip starting and ending in Madrid earns you the following mileage:
- 16,856 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 16,856 Miles on ITA Volare
- 13,542 Miles on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 13,484 Award Miles + 2,696 PQP on United MileagePlus
- 13,484 Miles on Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 13,484 Miles on Asiana Club
- 13,484 Award Miles + 6,744 Tier Miles on Avianca LifeMiles
- 13,484 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 13,484 Miles on Ethiopian ShebaMiles
- 13,484 Miles on EVA Infinity MileageLands
- 13,484 Award Miles on LATAM Pass
- 13,484 Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 13,484 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 13,484 Miles on Egyptair Plus
- 12,714 Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 12,714 Points + 2,542 SQC on Air Canada Aeroplan 2026
- 9,440 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 3,008 Award Miles + 480 Points on Miles&More
- Customize Calculation
While flights from/to Gran Canaria cover a larger distance, they are partly operated by Edelweiss. That leaves you without any mileage for the trips between Las Palmas and Zurich.
United MileagePlus is probably the best option to credit these flights, even if Thai Royal Orchid Plus would directly give you the (rather worthless) Star Alliance Silver status.
Information & Tips for São Paulo
São Paulo is Brazil’s largest city, known for its vibrant cultural scene, including the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), Ibirapuera Park, and the historic downtown area. The currency is the Brazilian real (BRL), and credit cards are widely accepted. The price level can be high, especially in tourist areas, but there are budget-friendly options for food and accommodation. The weather is tropical, with warm, humid summers and mild winters. The best time to visit is typically during the dry season, from May to September, when temperatures are more moderate.
We’ve compared various esim providers, such as Airalo and Maya Mobile. 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 Brazil 🇧🇷 Compared
→ All Dealz for São Paulo