Palma de Mallorca has never had nonstop service from Chicago, and that single fact shapes every decision you'll make booking this journey. There is no nonstop business class from Chicago to Palma de Mallorca — every itinerary routes through a European gateway, and the connection you choose matters as much as the airline. Iberia offers the most elegant single-carrier solution, flying its A330 or A350 nonstop from O'Hare to Madrid, where the airline's long-haul business seats provide direct aisle access and a proper flat bed, followed by a quick same-terminal hop to PMI on a domestic-configured Airbus. British Airways routes through London Heathrow, putting you in the Club Suite — its fully enclosed, door-equipped seat on 777 and 787 aircraft — before a short Club Europe segment to Mallorca, where you'll appreciate BA's reliable T5-to-T3 connection flow even though the intra-Europe seat is simply a blocked-middle recliner. Lufthansa runs through Frankfurt or Munich, and depending on your luck with aircraft assignment, you may find yourself in the new Allegris business suite, a meaningful upgrade over the airline's older long-haul product, though the connecting flight into PMI reverts to standard European business class.
Having flown all three routings repeatedly, my strongest recommendation is the Iberia connection through Madrid whenever schedules align — the shorter layover window and single-carrier baggage handling reduce the stress of a transatlantic-to-regional transfer, and Iberia's Madrid hub rarely suffers the security bottlenecks that plague Heathrow during summer peak. One insider tip worth noting: Iberia occasionally assigns the A350 rather than the A330 on the Chicago run during shoulder season, and that aircraft's business cabin is noticeably quieter and better lit for red-eye sleeping — checking your aircraft type at booking, not just at check-in, can meaningfully change your experience.
Mallorca's tourist crush peaks from June through August, driving both fares and airport congestion upward, so April, May, September, and October remain the sweet spot for value and comfortable travel, with mild weather and thinner crowds at PMI's arrivals hall. Because fare availability on these connecting itineraries shifts frequently and without much warning, setting up automated price tracking for this specific routing is the smartest way to catch a business class fare drop before it disappears.
