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Award space is still available on several Star Alliance flights to Europe this summer!

Tons of space is bookable with United miles, Lufthansa miles, or miles from any other Star Alliance carrier.

A lot of people are contacting the MileValue Award Booking Service saying they’d love to head to Europe this summer but are resigned to waiting until next summer if there’s no space. Good news! On some routes, there is plenty of space for 2-8 people in economy, business, and first class.

2 people Jun Jul Bos Fra

  • What routes still have premium cabin award space to Europe this summer?
  • What route has award space for eight people to Europe this summer?
  • Is there award space on direct flights from the West Coast to Europe?
  • What’s available this week?

Summer is high season to travel to Europe, so award space in July and August is completely booked on many routes up to 11 months in advance, and some routes never see any Saver award space. However, several less well known routes have wide open award availability. Additionally, a few of these routes have very good premium cabin award space.

Boston to Frankfurt

A couple who wants to fly from Boston to Frankfurt this summer will find that premium cabin awards are available almost every day in July.  Lufthansa operates two flights daily on this route. Most days both flights have availability in economy and business classes.

For this and all calendars: yellow means there are Saver economy seats, blue means there are Saver business or first class seats, and green means there are Saver economy and premium seats. White days have no Saver award space. The number of seats I searched varies and can be seen in the top left of each screen shot.

2 pax BOS FRA Jun Jul

Incredibly, a family of six wishing to fly the same route will find almost equally good award availability, including premium award space (for six!) every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in July.

6 pax Bos Fra Jun Jul

Chicago to Brussels

Perhaps you’ve had your fill of bratwurst and instead want to sample some authentic Belgium waffles. Award space for two from Chicago to Brussels is available almost every day in July and during the first three weeks of August.

2 pax ORD BRU

Business class is available every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in July as well as most Fridays and Saturdays. Additionally, award space for three, four, or even six travelers has good availability on this route through mid-August.

San Francisco to London

What about Shakespeare fans from the West Coast who don’t want to waste valuable time on East Coast layovers?

A couple can get two economy award tickets from San Francisco to London almost any day in July and most Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays in August.

2 pax SFO LHR

United operates a mid-day and an evening flight on this route.  This means that you can choose your departure time based on your sleep cycle and when you want to arrive in England.

Even really big families can fly convenient award flights from the West Coast to Europe–this route has frequent award space for up to eight people!

Newark to Edinburgh

Many of the above routes have wide open availability through mid-August, but later August award availability can be hard to find. Luckily, award space through August 31st is wide open on flights from Newark to Edinburgh for up to six people.

6 pax EWR EDI

The availability for groups smaller than six is the same or better. There is even occasional weekday availability in business class for one or two passengers.

So when can you leave?

As can be seen in the above award calendars, award flights to Europe can be booked leaving as soon as today. Feeling spontaneous? Maybe you should book award flights to Europe for yourself, your spouse, or even your entire family!

What if you don’t live in a city mentioned in this post?

Most people don’t live in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, or Newark. Fortunately, United is the most generous American carrier in terms of releasing award space on its domestic flights. Chances are good that you will be able to find a connecting award flight from your home town or a nearby airport.

If you are short on time or having trouble putting together your dream trip, you can always ask for a helping hand from our award booking service.

How can you book your trip?

All of the flights mentioned in this post are bookable with United miles on united.com. For tips on how to put United flights on hold, see this post.

United miles can be earned with United’s co-branded credit card as well as cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards such as those mentioned in Top Ten Credit Card Offers for Travel, June 2014.

There are five days left to earn 50,000 bonus Lufthansa miles with the Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard®. If you have Lufthansa or other Star Alliance partner miles you will have access to the same flight availability. I have written extensively about earning and redeeming Lufthansa miles here and here. Note that United flights to Europe booked with Lufthansa miles will include fuel surcharges.

Recap

It is not too late to book award travel to Europe this summer. Many Star Alliance routes from America to Europe have wide open availability in both economy and business class this July and August.

These flights can be booked on united.com for departures as soon as today (if you are the spontaneous type.)

The best routes for business class travel to Europe are Boston to Frankfurt and Chicago to Brussels. These routes have business class availability almost every day in July.

The best route for up to eight West Coast travelers hoping to avoid East Coast layovers is San Francisco to London.

The best route for family travel is Newark to Edinburgh, which has availability almost every day in July and August.

Dreaming of a European vacation this summer but don’t want to pay for cash flights? Cash in your Star Alliance miles and enjoy free flights to sunshine, culture, and cuisine in the Old World.