Greece’s Sparkling Island Jewels Shine Bright With Special Business Class Fares

Don’t Be Set in Your Vacational Ways: Santorini, Greece (and/or other Greek Islands like Lefkada, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, and Skiathos), for the Price of Hawaii

If you thought Greece peaked early, say around 500BC, you’d be wrong. It’s still a fantastic destination, particularly its famed islands. Oh, and you don’t have to worry about pesky Persians or Peloponnesians attacking from the sea.

Volcanic Matchup: Hawaii vs. Santorini

This is a story of default thinking and unexpected opportunity. Many Americans default to Hawaii because, well, it’s Hawaii. But what if there was a destination so relaxing, and now so cost-comparable, that you could put Hawaii back a while and grab this opportunity while it’s there?

Santorini is a stunning volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, and one of the world’s most Instagram-friendly places. Some originally thought it was the lost city of Atlantis, the one that sank into the sea. If so, happily it’s resurfaced and ready for you to relax on. That’s because Business Class fares are currently low and comparable to Hawaii. 

What’s more, hotels of similar quality are often more affordable on Santorini than Hawaii, so the overall cost of your Socratic sojourn in the sun might even be cheaper.

And then there’s the impress factor. You’re at the water cooler and Joe from accounts says, “So what are you doing for your next vacation?” And you say, “Oh, you know, Hawaii again.” And Joe nods politely, “Nice.” However, if your answer is “Santorini and Naxos,” Joe goes, “Wow!”

Simply put, this is a chance to experience amazing.

A Closer Look at the Fares

Let’s say New York-Maui Business Class fares with American, Delta, and United range from $1,697 to $2,415 in August. Contrast that with fares from New York-Santorini in Business Class with United starting at $2,015 (almost half the usual price), or British Airways, starting at just $2,159 in August (compare that to Lufthansa’s fare of $3,707, a savings of $1,548 / 42%).

More specifically, traveling August 15 to 24 from New York to Santorini for an eight-day stay, the Business Class fare on British Airways is $2,159, whereas the fare to Maui is $2,165 on American—very comparable.

Now, add in the 10% discount for the British Airways Visa Card (current promo code, CHASEBA10) and the fare drops to $1,943. With the Chase discount this is lower than American’s fares to Maui.

These types of lower and comparable airfares in Business Class to Santorini are available from many U.S. cities. For example, San Francisco to Santorini goes for $2,364 on United. See here for other Greek Island Business Class fare deals, such as Los Angeles to Mykonos for $2,059. Also see fare chart below.

Want to Hit Other Countries in the Region?

Most people fly point-to-point (A-B-A) and back. An Open-Jaw itinerary, on the other hand, means flying to one city and returning from another (Depart City A, arrive City B, return to City A from City C). Let’s look at a few examples of an open-jaw itinerary.

Open-Jaw Athens: A flight to Athens on Olympic Airways only takes 45 minutes (and costs just $46 to $56) from Santorini. So you could fly from New York to Santorini with United (the flights are operated as code-share flights with Lufthansa and/or SWISS, meaning you fly Lufthansa and / or SWISS, but buy your ticket through United), and then return from Athens “open-jaw style” (you don’t have to return to Santorini). The cost is $2,031, which is about the same as just flying to Santorini round-trip ($2,015).

Open-Jaw Istanbul: You could also fly Santorini to Istanbul, as another example, and then return from Istanbul to New York. The cost is a little more, $2,318, instead of the round-trip fare to Santorini at $2,015.

BA’s Stopover Loophole Strategy In London

In this issue we looked at the SLS with a British Airways bent. It opens up a whole range of destinations all over the globe, made more desirable by the fact you can throw in a stopover in London for an unbelievably small amount, giving you two European destinations in one. This works for stunning Santorini as well.

Let’s say you want to travel from New York to Santorini and the lowest Business Class fare is $2,159 round-trip with BA. Now, for just $41 more, or $2,200, you can fly New York to Santorini and stop in London for a few days. So you still get to Santorini, PLUS you get London. Not bad.

Stunning Santorini’s Spectacular Sights

There are lots of reasons to visit Santorini, but the sunsets may be all you need. They’re mesmerizing, bathing the whitewashed walls of homes precariously perched on steep hills in a rich orange hue.

Those hills are part of a spectacular caldera, a volcanic crater lagoon, created 3,600 years ago by one of history’s largest eruptions.

Santorini is something to experience, but one many Americans never get to do. Now’s your chance. It’s the bucket-list tick you may not even know you needed.

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So Many Glorious Islands To Go…

The great thing about this part of the world is how many beautiful options are just a hop, skip and souvlaki away. You can spend all your time in Santorini and completely relax, or you can also explore spectacular nearby islands, Lefkada, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, and Skiathos, to name a few, or even visit Athens or Istanbul.