SAS 1 Million Challenge: Flight Costs and Booking Insights (Europe & NA Leg)

After wrapping up our crazy Asia leg, we got back home on 9th November, exhausted but thrilled with how it all turned out. The goal was always clear: complete the SAS 1 Million Challenge by flying 15 SkyTeam airlines. With 8 airlines ticked off during the Asia leg, the next phase was tackling Europe and North America.

Europe & NA Challenge: The Sequel Begins

The plan was to start in December, but of course, there were hurdles. First, we couldn't begin before 2nd December because our Schengen visa was only issued that day. On top of that, the Australian visa delay threw a wrench in the timeline. We had applied for it way back on October 20th, thinking it'd be done quickly, but it only came through on November 18th. An anxious few weeks of waiting.

This leg also brought its own unique twist: Mexico! Since we were heading to North America anyway, we decided to spend some time there. It was our first time in Mexico, so we made sure to carve out time to explore before wrapping up the challenge.

Booking Day: Nov 20

The wait for my Australian visa had stretched endlessly, leaving me in a limbo where planning was rough but finalizing anything was impossible. Every day, flight prices danced unpredictably, adding pressure. Finally, with the visa approved on November 18, I could jump into action and start piecing together this leg of the journey.

Flight No. 14 & 15: Paris, France (Virgin Atlantic + Air France)

One of the great aspects of the SAS EuroBonus challenge was its flexibility. If your itinerary involved one or more participating airlines, all segments counted, as long as they were operated by a SkyTeam member. This opened up creative routing opportunities, especially with partner codeshares.

For this leg, Virgin Atlantic's limited European routes worked in our favor. Since Virgin flies directly to London but not deeper into Europe, their partnership with Air France and KLM allowed me to connect seamlessly. This partnership let me include the Mumbai-London leg on Virgin and continue to Paris with Air France, all within the rules of the challenge. To top it off, I got a sweet one-way revenue fare covering two airlines for the challenge.

• Airline: Virgin Atlantic (VS) & Air France (AF)
• Route: BOM-LHR-CDG
• Travel Date: Dec 2, 2024, 10:35
• Cost: ₹26,180

Flight No. 20: Positioning to Mexico City (Emirates 5th Freedom)

This was one of the most crucial legs of our journey, booking the long-haul flights to and from Mexico. These were absolute no-brainers to secure first, given how high the costs typically run for these routes. Oh yes, just to take one AeroMexico flight of less than 2 hours.

What made it even more exciting was how we managed to score a 13-hour Emirates flight for just 40,000 Amex Points! Talk about maximizing value.

Reason for selecting Barcelona was I had to do Air Europa as one of the SAS Challenge partner airlines, so I had to come to Spain through some way or the other. This was also our third fifth freedom flight during the trip.

• Airline: Emirates (EK)
• Route: BCN-MEX
• Travel Date: Dec 7, 2024, 10:10
• Cost: 20k Emirates Skywards + Taxes (₹6,666)

Flight No. 22 & 23: Positioning to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Turkish Airlines)

This was yet another critical positioning leg, setting the stage for our return journey from Mexico via long-haul flights. However, it didn't come without challenges. Our Istanbul to Jeddah flight was cancelled and rebooked, throwing off our carefully planned itinerary. The change forced us to adjust our final connection to Mumbai, adding some unexpected costs to an already tightly planned trip.

Despite the disruption, we made the most of the situation. The layover in Istanbul turned out to be enjoyable. On the short-haul flight to Jeddah, we were pleasantly surprised by a fantastic amenity kit, which felt like a little luxury on this segment.

It was a reminder that even in the face of unpredictable changes, there's always something positive to take away from the experience.

Another award ticket booking on points. This is great value for money for a 16-hour flight.

• Airline: Turkish Airlines (TK)
• Route: CUN-IST-JED
• Travel Date: Dec 12, 2024, 10:35
• Cost: 44k United Miles + Taxes (₹5,700)

Flight No. 24: Mumbai, India (Saudia - Cancelled)

For what was supposed to be the grand finale of the SkyTeam Challenge, I booked our return flight to Mumbai with Saudia, marking the 15th and final SkyTeam partner on our journey. The flight was planned perfectly to bring this adventure to a close, but not everything went as expected.

Earlier, my Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Jeddah was cancelled and rebooked, completely derailing the timeline. The disruption meant I couldn't make it to this Saudia flight as planned, forcing us to juggle schedules and add unexpected costs.

What was supposed to be the smooth conclusion of an epic journey turned into yet another reminder that flexibility is key when taking on challenges like this. I'm just adding the cancellation cost on this flight as opposed to the actual cost.

• Airline: Saudia (SV)
• Cancellation Fees: ₹6,835

Booking Day: Nov 25

By this point, I was feeling relatively relaxed. Most of the long-haul flights were booked, and only four airlines with short-haul routes remained. However, that brief calm didn't last long. I found out that Turkish Airlines had cancelled their connection from Istanbul to Jeddah, throwing my timeline into chaos. This disruption served as a wake-up call, pushing me to finalize the remaining bookings quickly since my travel dates were approaching fast.

Flight No. 16: Bucharest, Romania (TAROM)

This leg was relatively straightforward, primarily because TAROM, the Romanian national carrier, has a limited network across Europe. Since they're a SkyTeam member, and the challenge required flying a mix of member airlines, this segment was an obvious choice. We booked this from Paris to Bucharest.

• Airline: TAROM (RO)
• Route: CDG-OTP
• Travel Date: Dec 4, 2024, 12:00
• Cost: ₹13,252

Flight No. 21: Cancun, Mexico (AeroMexico)

This was a straightforward and cost-effective booking for a short domestic hop. If you remember, I'd planned my entry into Mexico City and exit from Cancun, leaving flexibility to include AeroMexico. The MEX-CUN route was an easy pick to fulfill the requirement while keeping the journey streamlined.

• Airline: AeroMexico (AM)
• Route: NLU-CUN
• Travel Date: Dec 10, 2024, 13:40
• Cost: ₹3,191

Flight No. 24 (Rebooked): Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Saudia)

The original plan to take a Saudia flight directly back to Mumbai fell apart with the Turkish Airlines cancellation. Rebooking the same Saudia flight the following day was prohibitively expensive, so I pivoted. Instead, I secured a flight from Jeddah to Riyadh with Saudia, ensuring another segment with the SkyTeam partner while keeping costs manageable.

Thankfully we didn't have to process a Saudi visa since they had Visa on Arrival with specific conditions. We still had to pay a handsome amount.

• Airline: Saudia (SV)
• Route: JED-RUH
• Travel Date: Dec 14, 2024, 07:00
• Cost: ₹7,127

Flight No. 25: Mumbai, India (Flynas)

To return home, I booked this positioning flight with Flynas (Saudia's low-cost carrier), bridging the gap left by the reworked itinerary. Although this was the final flight of my SAS 1 Million Challenge, it wasn't the last booking I had to make. The challenge wasn't over yet, as a few remaining pieces needed to be sorted.

• Airline: Flynas (XY)
• Route: RUH-BOM
• Travel Date: Dec 14, 2024, 12:00
• Cost: ₹10,500

Note: Remember, these flights are listed by booking date, not travel date. The timeline may seem a bit out of sync, but that's the reality of planning such a complex itinerary.

Booking Day: Nov 26

By now, most of the itinerary was locked, leaving just two flights to finalize. The goal was straightforward: reach Barcelona from Bucharest while covering Air Europa and SAS. But when you're planning something this intricate, it's never simple.

Every possible route seemed to have multiple permutations: train rides, bus rides, positioning flights, and everything in between. I remember chugging coffee nonstop, with Google Flights and FlightConnections constantly open, almost like my personal screensavers.

Flight No. 19: Barcelona, Spain (Air Europa)

Connecting Bucharest to Barcelona via Air Europa and SAS posed some tricky challenges. I had the option of a better Air Europa flight, but it was operated by Air Europa Express (UX's subsidiary). With no clear confirmation on whether UX Express would count toward the challenge, I couldn't risk losing 1 million points just to save a few thousand rupees.

So, I played it safe and booked a flight from Madrid to Barcelona, knowing that I had to book just one more airline: SAS, who announced this marathon in the first place.

• Airline: Air Europa (UX)
• Route: MAD-BCN
• Travel Date: Dec 6, 2024, 15:10
• Cost: ₹3,248

Flight No. 18: Malaga, Spain (SAS)

SAS prices were soaring for flights from Copenhagen, Oslo, or Stockholm to Madrid. I explored other options: taking one SAS flight and then another positioning leg to Madrid via another airline or bus. None of these worked out well.

Finally, I booked a flight from Copenhagen to Malaga and planned to figure out the Malaga-to-Madrid leg later. Being in Spain, I knew I could always rely on a quick bus or train ride to cover the last stretch to Madrid.

Didn't plan this, but it so happened that this was the last of 15 SkyTeam airlines that I booked. Well, they were the whole reason we were doing this SAS 1 Million Challenge.

• Airline: Scandinavian Airlines (SK)
• Route: CPH-AGP
• Travel Date: Dec 5, 2024, 06:15
• Cost: ₹7,779

Flight No. 17: Positioning to Copenhagen, Denmark (Wizz Air)

Having locked in the SAS flight from Copenhagen to Malaga, my next task was to reach Copenhagen from Bucharest. I found a low-cost flight with Wizz Air that fit the plan perfectly.

Low-cost carriers like Wizz Air are on another level. The fare was dirt cheap if I carried just a single laptop bag, around ₹2,000. But since we had one cabin bag, the cost of adding the bag ended up being ₹5,000 more. Imagine paying 2.5 times more for your bag than your own ticket. I hope you read that right: it was a cabin bag, not a check-in bag. Yes, we did the entire challenge on one cabin bag only. Otherwise, how could we run? :)

And they don't mess around. At Bucharest airport, I witnessed multiple heated arguments at the gate over cabin baggage allowances. Thankfully, I'd pre-paid for ours, avoiding any last-minute chaos.

• Airline: Wizz Air (W4)
• Route: OTP-CPH
• Travel Date: Dec 4, 2024, 19:35
• Cost: ₹7,602

Total Cost for Europe & North America

All in all, the total cost for the Europe and North America leg came to ₹98,000 per person. Not to forget that we also spent 44k United Miles and 20k Emirates Skywards to book long-haul flights with points. This wasn't just about booking flights. It was about maximizing value while navigating the complexities of visas, flight cancellations, and sometimes last-minute reroutes. But the strategy paid off, especially when considering the miles we were racking up with every flight.

The Million Miles: An Investment

So, after all the planning, booking, and rerouting, we ended up spending a total of ₹2.72 lakh across both legs of this journey: ₹1.74 lakh for Asia and ₹98,000 for Europe and North America. It was a hefty investment, but one that came with a monumental reward. This was just the flight cost; I'll write another post about other expenses like hotels and travel by bus.

By the end of this extraordinary adventure, we earned one million miles. They represent the next four years of free travel (or maybe even less?) to destinations all over the globe. All the hurdles, visa delays, cancelled flights, every bit of it was worth it.

So yes, while it might have cost us ₹2.72 lakh, we're now sitting on a mountain of miles that'll take us places we've only dreamed of, completely free. And that's a win in our books. The journey was long, the planning meticulous, but the reward? Absolutely priceless.