One of many world’s most distant airports is now extra accessible due to one of many best factors and miles currencies to earn.
St. Helena Airport (HLE), positioned 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa within the British abroad territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, receives just one weekly departure and one weekly arrival year-round. The service is supplied by South African regional service Airlink, which relies in Johannesburg.
Beforehand, vacationers might solely redeem United MileagePlus miles on Airlink, and on the time of publication, no award seats to or from St. Helena have been accessible by United Airways.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club members can now redeem Avios to ebook Airlink flights, together with this distinctive route, following Qatar Airways’ buy of a 25% stake in Airlink.
This service originates at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo Worldwide Airport (JNB) as soon as weekly and stops at Namibia’s Walvis Bay Worldwide Airport (WVB). The return journey from St. Helena to Johannesburg is nonstop.
Airlink additionally operates a restricted seasonal nonstop service from Cape City Worldwide Airport (CPT) to HLE on a handful of Christmas and New 12 months’s dates.
With solely weekly service accessible for many of the yr, passengers needs to be ready for a 60-minute or one-week go to to this distant island.
Spherical-trip money fares in financial system class are often round $1,000 per particular person. You can additionally redeem 36,000 Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Avios plus 4,383.75 South African rand (about $237) in charges, taxes and surcharges. Not like United’s MileagePlus program, Privilege Membership exhibits financial system award seats accessible on this route.
Redeeming Qatar Avios to St. Helena would offer you a redemption worth of virtually 2.1 cents every, far increased than our February 2025 valuation of 1.4 cents every.
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Avios are one of many best currencies to earn, with more transfer partners than United MileagePlus. You may earn Qatar Avios by transferring Citi ThankYou Rewards factors to Qatar Airways Privilege Membership. Factors switch to Qatar at a 1:1 ratio.
Alternatively, you possibly can switch Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards factors, American Express Membership Rewards factors, Bilt Rewards Factors and Wells Fargo Rewards factors to British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 charge. Hyperlink your British Airways account to your Qatar Airways account, and the mixed Avios steadiness will present in each, permitting you to ebook Airlink by way of Privilege Membership.
Associated: 5 versions of Avios: When to use Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Qatar Airways
Backside line
Visiting the distant St. Helena Airport is really a once-in-a-lifetime AvGeek expertise. Money fares have historically been excessive at $1,000 round-trip in financial system, and award availability is presently unavailable when redeeming United miles.
The brand new partnership with Qatar Airways Privilege Membership means anybody with Avios can ebook flights to and from St. Helena. Because of the variety of applications which have adopted Avios (and the mechanism to move Avios from program to program), this foreign money is straightforward to earn and redeem.
