Deal alert: Fly business class to Europe from $2,120 round-trip

If you’ve been trying to book a summer vacation to Europe, you’ve probably noticed that prices for many of the most popular cities across the Atlantic are quite expensive.

Events like the Summer Olympics in Paris and Taylor Swift’s sold-out tour are playing a role in the high cost of airline tickets to Europe, as demand is through the roof. This also applies to business-class seats. So when there is a good deal to be had for overseas travel, you better jump on it.

We have one for you now: Air Serbia has a big sale on round-trip business-class seats to a slew of European destinations from Chicago and New York City. Those cities have nonstop flights to Belgrade, the Serbian capital and location of Air Serbia’s hub. The other destinations involve layovers, but considering you’re getting lie-flat seats for a trip to Europe, we think it’s worth it.

The travel window for this deal is from April to December of this year, giving you a wide window to find the best price for your trip. We did find some good prices for summer travel, but some of the best prices for certain destinations were in late spring or the fall.

A river cruise ship sailing on the Danube River — SILVERJOHN/ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

Deal basics

Airline: Air Serbia

Routes: From Chicago and New York City to Amsterdam, Belgrade, Budapest, Istanbul, Prague, Rome, Vienna and other European cities

Travel dates: The sale applies to flights between April and December

How to book: Browse Google Flights, then book directly with the airline

Book by: As soon as possible

Sample flights

European destinations include:

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)
Athens International Airport (ATH)
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG)
Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
Istanbul Airport (IST)
Prague Airport (PRG)
Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO)
Thessaloniki Airport (SKG)
Vienna Airport (VIE)

Let’s start with the nonstop options. You can book a nonstop, round-trip, business-class seat from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) in late April for just $2,120. That’s a huge discount from normal prices for that route.

June is another month where we saw substantial markdowns on this route, although it’s about $150 more per ticket than in April. Still if you want to visit Belgrade as part of your summer vacation, this is an excellent price to travel in style.

If you live in Chicago, the best availability we saw for nonstops to Belgrade was in the fall. You can fly out of O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in October for $2,314 round-trip. There are plenty of options at that price in September and October out of the Windy City.

chicago to belgrade flight — GOOGLE FLIGHTS

We found a fantastic fare price for a New York-to-Greece route in the summer. You can fly to Athens International Airport (ATH) in July for $2,278. That’s almost a thousand dollars less than a business-class seat typically costs for this itinerary.

If you want to visit Vienna, July looks to be the best month. We found lots of flights out of New York City to Vienna Airport (VIE) for around $2,300.

New York City to Turkey is a great deal in midsummer. You can fly from JFK to IST for less than $2,300 — a major reduction from normal prices. We do want to note there is a nearly nine-hour layover in Belgrade with this itinerary.

Maximize your purchase

When you book this deal or any flights, be sure to use a credit card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, such as:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 2 points per dollar spent on travel
American Express® Gold Card: 3 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through amextravel.com
The Platinum Card® from American Express: 5 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees): 3 points per dollar spent on airfare
Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 3 points per dollar spent on travel

Bottom line

The best prices we found in this sale are for nonstop flights to Belgrade, which isn’t surprising since that’s Air Serbia’s hub. However, if you dig around, you can find several other great deals in the summer and the fall to some of the most desired cities in Europe.

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