How to Save Up to 69% on New First and Business Class Seats to Asia with Star Alliance Carriers

And Where to Find Them

All Nippon Airways (ANA), a Star Alliance member (as are Air Canada, Continental, United and US Airways) is introducing its new First and Business Class seats on two more routes from the U.S. to Tokyo, a jumping-off point for travel throughout Asia. The new seats, already on B777-300ERs from New York to Narita, will be in service from San Francisco on Dec. 6 and from Los Angeles on Jan. 21, 2012. (Note these routes when making a connection, and that the new seats may not be on all flights until the roll-out is completed.)

First Class offers All Nippon’s semi-enclosed suite, which offers a 78-inch long bed, a 32.9-inch wide seat, 23-inch LCD monitor, and jacket and shoe storage. Business Class seats, which recline to flat (current seat goes to 170 degrees), and are configured to offer each passenger access to an aisle. The seat is 19.4 inches wide and has 44 degrees of pitch.

Cheapest Way to Fly the New Seats: Using Miles

Because ANA is a Star Alliance member, there are numerous options. Rates stated below are to Tokyo; other destinations in Asia are a bit more, depending on the mileage program.

1. Lowest First Class Redemption: 110,000 miles round-trip from LAX and SFO, and 120,000 from NYC. Miles can be transferred to ANA Mileage Club from Amex Rewards or Starwood. You can buy the miles from Amex Rewards for $2,750, as opposed to the published fare of $9,000.
2. Other First Class Options Using Partner Airline Miles: US Airways requires 120,000 miles for First Class. You can buy them for $4,200 (3.5¢ per mile), a savings of about $5,000 over the published fare of $9,000. With Continental or United, the cost is 135,000 miles and with Air Canada 175,000 miles.
3. Lowest Business Class Redemption: 80,000 miles in regular season and 90,000 in peak season from SFO and LAX. (From NYC it is 5,000 more.) Points can be transferred from Amex Rewards or Starwood. The cost of buying the points needed from Amex Rewards starts at about $2,000, far less than the published fare of $4,000 to $5,000.
4. Other Business Class Options Using Partner Airline Miles: US Airways requires 90,000 miles, which cost $3,150 to buy—that’s $2,000 less than the published fare. With Continental or United you need 120,000 miles and with Air Canada 125,000 miles.

Cheapest Way to Fly the New Seats: Purchasing the Ticket

Currently the route with the new seat and the lowest published Business Class fare is SFO-Manila at $2,530 (plus taxes of about $470). Ticketing deadline is Nov. 9; departure window is: Dec. 13 through Dec. 31.