This is the third installment of my series on calculating the cost of various Star Alliance awards using Aeroplan miles. Aeroplan is the frequent flyer program of Air Canada, a member of Star Alliance, so you can use Aeroplan miles to book on any of the 27 Star Alliance carriers. The program is also a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards – which you earn on cards like the Premier Rewards Gold and the Platinum Card – as well Starwood Preferred Guest, for which you get a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring points in increments of 20,000.
Overall, Aeroplan has some very flexible routing rules so you can build in stopovers and take advantage of some very well-priced awards. Its engine for searching for Star Alliance availability is also very useful. However, in some cases, Aeroplan levies some very high fuel surcharges on certain Star Alliance carriers and destinations including its own Air Canada flights so I wanted to take a closer look at these and give you estimates of what you can expect to pay on partner awards and when it might be a good idea to splurge with miles on a premium award if you’re paying the same taxes and fees as in economy.
In Part 1 of my series, I priced out awards on Air Canada, United, Lufthansa, Brussels Air, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, ANA and South African Airways. In Part 2, I looked at some other popular Star Alliance carriers including: Air China, Asiana, EgyptAir, LOT Polish Airlines, SAS, Swiss, TAM, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and US Airways (for now).
In this section, I’ll examine the rest of the 27 Star Alliance partners including: Adria Airways, Aegean, Austrian, Avianca/Taca, Copa Croatia, Shenzhen and TAP.
ADRIA AIRWAYS
INTRA-EUROPEAN
Route: Ljubljana – Vienna
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $144.80 USD
Adria Airways Ljubljana-Vienna Economy Award
Route: Ljubljana – Vienna
Class: Business
Miles Required: 45,000
Taxes and Fees: $144.80 USD
Adria Airways Ljubljana- Vienna Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: Ljubljana – Moscow
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $150.54 USD
Adria Airways Ljubljana-Moscow Economy Award
Route: Ljubljana – Moscow
Class: Business
Miles Required: 45,000
Taxes and Fees: $150.54 USD
Adria Airways Ljubljana-Moscow Business Award
AEGEAN AIRLINES
DOMESTIC
Route: Athens – Thessaloniki
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $55.70 USD
Aegean Airlines Athens-Thessaloniki Economy Award
Route: Athens – Thessaloniki
Class: Business
Miles Required: 45,000
Taxes and Fees: $55.70 USD
Aegean Airlines Athens-Thessaloniki Business Award
INTRA-EUROPEAN
Route: Athens – Madrid
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $68.60 USD
Aegean Airlines Athens-Madrid Economy Award
Route: Athens – Madrid
Class: Business
Miles Required: 45,000
Taxes and Fees: $68.60 USD
Aegean Airlines Athens-Madrid Business Award
AUSTRIAN AIRLINES
DOMESTIC
Route: Vienna – Graz
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 20,000
Taxes and Fees: $90.70 USD
Austrian Airlines Vienna-Graz Economy Award
Route: Vienna – Graz
Class: Business
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $90.70 USD
Austrian Airlines Vienna-Graz Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: Vienna – New York, JFK
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 60,000
Taxes and Fees: $472.50 USD
Austrian Airlines Vienna-New York Economy Award
Route: Vienna – New York, JFK
Class: Business
Miles Required: 90,000
Taxes and Fees: $472.50 USD
Austrian Airlines Vienna-New York Business Award
AVIANCA AIRLINES
DOMESTIC
Route: Bogota – Medellin
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 25,000
Taxes and Fees: $14.00 USD
Avianca Airlines Bogota-Medellin Economy Award
Route: Bogota – Medellin
Class: Business
Miles Required: 35,000
Taxes and Fees: $14.00 USD
Avianca Airlines Bogota-Medellin Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: Bogota – Orlando
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 50,000
Taxes and Fees: $133.90 USD
Avianca Airlines Bogota-Orlando Economy Award
Route: Bogota – Orlando
Class: Business
Miles Required: 75,000
Taxes and Fees: $133.90 USD
Avianca Airlines Bogota-Orlando Business Award
COPA AIRLINES
REGIONAL
Route: Panama City – Lima
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 50,000
Taxes and Fees: $90 USD
Copa Airlines Panama City- Lima Economy Award
Route: Panama City – Lima
Class: Business
Miles Required: 80,000
Taxes and Fees: $90 USD
Copa Airlines Panama City- Lima Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: New York – Panama City
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 40,000
Taxes and Fees: $104 USD
Copa Airlines New York (JFK)- Panama City Economy Award
Route: New York – Panama City
Class: Business
Miles Required: 60,000
Taxes and Fees: $104 USD
Copa Airlines New York (JFK)- Panama City Business Award
CROATIA AIRLINES
INTRA-EUROPEAN
Route: Zagreb – Amsterdam
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $60 USD
Croatia Airlines Zagreb-Amsterdam Economy Award
Route: Zagreb – Amsterdam
Class: Business
Miles Required: 45,000
Taxes and Fees: $60 USD
Croatia Airlines Zagreb-Amsterdam Business Award
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
REGIONAL
Route: Addis Ababa – Dire Dawa
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 40,000
Taxes and Fees: $2 USD
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa-Dire Dawa Economy Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: Addis Ababa – Washington (Dulles)
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 100,000
Taxes and Fees: $85 USD
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa-Washington (Dulles) Economy Award
Route: Addis Ababa – Washington (Dulles)
Class: Business
Miles Required: 150,000
Taxes and Fees: $85 USD
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa-Washington (Dulles) Business Award
SHENZHEN AIRLINES
DOMESTIC
Route: Guangzhou – Chengdu
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 20,000
Taxes and Fees: $16 USD
Shenzhen Airlines Guangzhou-Chengdu Economy Award
Route: Guangzhou – Chengdu
Class: First
Miles Required: 50,000
Taxes and Fees: $16 USD
Shenzhen Airlines Guangzhou-Chengdu First Award
TACA AIRLINES
REGIONAL
Route: San Salvador – Guatemala City
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 40,000
Taxes and Fees: $69.73 USD
Taca Airlines San Salvador- Guatemala City Economy Award
Route: San Salvador – Guatemala City
Class: Business
Miles Required: 60,000
Taxes and Fees: $69.73 USD
Taca Airlines San Salvador- Guatemala City Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: San Salvador – Los Angeles
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 40,000
Taxes and Fees: $96.03 USD
Taca Airlines San Salvador- Los Angeles Economy Award
Route: San Salvador – Los Angeles
Class: Business
Miles Required: 60,000
Taxes and Fees: $96.03 USD
Taca Airlines San Salvador- Los Angeles Business Award
TAP PORTUGAL
INTRA-EUROPEAN
Route: Lisbon – Madrid
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 20,000
Taxes and Fees: $110 USD
TAP Portugal Lisbon-Madrid Economy Award
Route: Lisbon – Madrid
Class: Business
Miles Required: 30,000
Taxes and Fees: $110 USD
TAP Portugal Lisbon-Madrid Business Award
INTERNATIONAL
Route: Lisbon – Newark
Class: Economy
Miles Required: 60,000
Taxes and Fees: $532 USD
TAP Portugal Lisbon-Newark Economy Award
Route: Lisbon – Newark
Class: Business
Miles Required: 90,000
Taxes and Fees: $532 USD
TAP Portugal Lisbon-Newark Business Award
In the next and final installment of the series, I’ll put all these numbers together for you in one place in a handy guide that will help you estimate what the award you want will end up costing you.