Check http://www.varigbrasil.com/english/ for a great combo package for Los Angeles / Buenos Aires / Rio /Los Angeles. If you do it in off season, you can do both BA and Rio for $650. Form Miami you can do it for $550. For high season it is $850 from LAX.

You have to check their Internet specials. You go to BA, and can stop over in Rio on the way back.

DL has just posted a 25,000 miles bonus for certain class of tix ex: ATL to most Latin American cities that DL flies. 50,000 if you fly B/E

I paid < $600 with that internet special to fly to Rio from LAX but then paid nearly $300 to check out BA on a whim. $650 for both is an excellent deal.

Also, I would highly recommend the order you described if you've never been to either. I found BA a little bit of a letdown after my whirlwind run of Rio, but I still had a great time in BA.

I haven't been on that many different airlines, but I was very satisfied with Varig's service.

Canonperdido et al - I went to that site, but couldn't find the LAX > BA > Rio > LAX deal. How do you find that deal? Thanks!

MrBill (para Canonperdido), log on Varig website, go into Internet Special. Varig allows you one stop over at a different location, i.e. if you fly to BA, you can stop over to Rio or SP. You need to send them your it with exact stop and depart dates.

I bought my r/t tix LAX-GIG(Rio) from Priceline for $400 + $100taxes&fees in August. If I was you, I would throw in a $250-$300 bid, a great chance they would take it. The flight to Rio was 1/2 full so did the flight to BA in May. Glucks.

Just as Sakebomb says.

Thanks, fellas. $650 for BA -and- Rio may be too good to pass up (then I won't have to decide). Sakaebomb, I tried $300 bids on Priceline a bunch of times a couple months ago but didn't get any bites. I'll try again.

AIR FARE SALE...Delta is dropping prices dramatically as it prepares to exit the Buenos Aires market....rt from ATLANTA to EZE....$513 including tax....yup, including tax...This fare is available on Travelocity. I could not find the same fare on the Delta web sit. Hurry!!!

PS Sorry, no stop in Brazil permitted....

will Varig take United miles for the upgrade? I think they're code share partner...how do their amenities compare to United? On a flight that long, I like to travel business, and I've got the miles, so I wanna use them...thx...

For the last two years at around this time, the airlines reduced the ff mileage for SA to 35K r/t, and some even less. Hope they will do it again soon.

Just paid $453 on hotwire,using Delta from Newark to BA,6 days before trip. Drlewan

Just for the hell of it, I found flights on hotwire.com from LAX to Rio or BsAs for about $530. That's all taxes included and only one stop (probably Miami?). Hmmmm....

Mr. Bill....try the www.carbone-travel.com site and you can probably get the same or lower rate and have it include air miles, which you won't get from Hotwire....come on down....to whichever site...you will enjoy yourself

$299 R/T from Miami!! (+ Taxes)... wish I lived in Miami. I'm "this close", Ezy...

Sheez... I'm ready to quit my job and go...

There is a current $300 round trip on United to BA. Came to $387 with taxes. Traded my airline mile free ticket for to use this one. This one is an absolute bargin.

MrBill - Right now AA has tickets from Tucson to Rio for $494 and Sao Paulo for $439. You can travel now till end of March 2003. In addition, you get miles as well. Really good deal.

Just skip a few trips to Nogo and you'll save enough money for a trip to Rio! You don't need tons of money to enjoy Rio.

Got an e-mail from Varig Friday that they would issue my ticket today...then an email today saying that no tickets were available for those dates. Just an FYI, obviously it's a pretty good deal and worth the trouble...but I can see possible problems if you pass up another fare.

Hopefully I'll be able to try again later in
Jan. otherwise I'll just hit Rio and try for BA another time.

LOL...just got an E-ticket from Varig. Certainly worked out well but I can see some serious potential for problems.

I was an idiot and missed the $616 American Airlines sale from Tucson to BA that ended February 28th. So I went over to priceline.com today and bid $500 for Tucson to BA.

Got an answer in 5 minutes and it was accepted.
The journey has three legs, Tucson -> Denver Denver -> Miami and Miami -> BA on United. Same route in reverse on the way back for April 8th through the 22nd.

With tax and everything else the final price was $592. I just joined United Mileage Plus program. Hopefully when I checkin I can get the miles for this trip. Guess we'll see.

Way to go, Xenono! Can't wait to read this report... Are you going to try to get pics?

Hey MrBill,

I know you have wanted to go to BA for a while. Can I talk into meeting me there during those dates?

And or course I will be getting pics. I will also be posting a trip report in the usual boring and overly detailed manner.

Hey Xen. I would probably go to Rio before BA, but BA is a close second on my list of destinations to visit. I'm not sure I'll even get to Rio anytime soon. But I'll keep the idea in the back of my mind - maybe a real good deal with pop up. Thanks for asking, though.

Anyone got any suggestions nowadays on good airfare to BA from LA for October?

Also is the Etoile Hotel still a good place to stay as far as cleanliness and price and location to the action?