Airline & Travel Agency info for South America

Hey Milky, you gettin' the SA bug or somethin? If so, join the club...

Orininally Posted by El_Gato on July 21, 2001 - 12:21 pm

Can you easily purchase tickets to other South American countries from a different one? Let's say I went to Rio and wanted to visit Ecuador, could I easily purchase a ticket in Rio? If so, any idea of the costs? Any other good "adventuring" destinations in SA where I could do this?

Reply Posted by Gator on July 21, 2001 - 19:34 pm

No problem in buying a ticket unless it's the cost. You might have to book far in advance if it is the high season. If I was you I would look into something like the Mercosur Airpass—Valid on national airlines of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, all members of a customs union called Mercosur. You must fly from outside into a Mercosur country on a participating airline and visit at least two countries on the pass, staying in the area from seven to 30 days. You can stop over twice in each country. Fares are based on distance traveled, at an average rate of eight to 10 miles per U.S. dollar. Pass maximum: eight coupons, four per country. Participating airlines: Aerolineas Argentinas, Cielos del Sur of Argentina, Lan Chile, LAPA of Argentina, Primeras Lineas Uruguayas and the Brazilian carriers TAM, TransBrasil and Varig and VASP. It is a little hard to understand the pricing but is goes hor round-trip mileage of 1200 to 1900 miles, you pay only $225 ; fromn 1901 to 2500 miles it's $285; and then there are five more increments up to 7200 miles, topping out at $755. Best bet is to check with the airline. He is a bunch of SA airlins with the addresses. You will might be better off calling on the telephone, number is on the web site. Best bargin I have seen is Avianica's Discover Colombia/
Most of the time these passes need to be bought BEFORE you leave the USA.

Aces (Colombia) www.acescolombia.com
AeroContinente (Peru) www.aerocontinente.com.pe
Aeropostal (Venezuela) www.aeropostal.com
Avensa (Venezula) www.avensa.com.ve
American Airlines (USA) www.aa.com
Avianca (Colombia) www.avianca.com.co
Aviateca (Guatemala) www.flylatinamerica.com
BWIA (Caribbean) www.bwee.com
Continental (USA) www.continental.com
COPA (Panama) www.flylatinamerica.com
Delta (USA) www.delta.com
LACSA (Costa Rica) www.flylatinamerica.com
Lan Chile (Chile) www.lanchile.com
LAB-Lloyd Aereo Boliviano www.labairlines.bo.net
NICA (Nicaragua) www.flylatinamerica.com
Suriname Airways (Suriname) No website
TACA (El Salvador) www.flylatinamerica.com
TAM (Brazil) www.TAM-USA.com
Transbrasil (Brazil) www.transbrasil.com.br
United (USA) www.ual.com
Varig (Brazil) www.varig.com.br
Vasp (Brazil) www.vasp.com.br

OnePass (Continental)has triple miles for elite qualification. Starting 01/09/2002 through 15/12/2002 (Sept 1 hr Dec 15)

LAX/EZE...Buenos Aires air fare sale $358 + tax (app.80)...

http://www.carbone-travel.com/fares.htm

You have known prices were cheap in Buenos Aires...now getting there is inexpensive too...

Ezy,

Thanks for the link. Yesterday I looked on American for the time period around New Year's and found $1,200. This looks more promising.

$400 vs $1200...think of what you can do with the $800 difference in BA.....the possibilites are endless...Hopefully you can work around black out periods....

going to cartagena in may or june any other suggestions on web sites for cheap airfare other than the ones posted?

Airfare to Rio went up $400 overnight, what gives?

American summer travel, why did you hesitate? Prices will go down mid September.
SL

And Brazilian Winter vacation travel - the rpices go up in late June every year and go down again by late July. Then there's another hump from early December to late February. Hotel prices in Brazil, everything else goes up during these periods too. Vacations...

BS

Decent deal now for LA-Rio at varig.com - $727 weekdays, with all the taxes it is $840. You connect in Mexico City.

Any one know of any deals or ways to get great deals to Cartagena on the off seaason. I want to go from July 13-20. PLease let me know. thanks

Belldude, depends on where you are but there are Central/South American consolidators which are fairly cheap, check your Sunday Travel Section. Copaair.com, Avianca.com also fly to CTG for reasonable fares. I'll post some consolidator information on the Airlines/FF Program sections.

Merlin...when are you hitting Colombia again?

Concarne, check your PM. Merl.

I just wanted to share my pleasure with Copa Airlines. On my return from Cali to LAX next month Copa rescheduled my return flight through Panama City which would cause me to miss my connection by 30 minutes. So I gave them a call and they suggested that they put me on a flight leaving Cali at 7AM instead of my original flt leaving at 5PM. Well I wasn't about to give up my last day in Cali so I countered with "why don't you put me in a hotel in Panama City and I'll catch my connection the next day (thus giving me 24 hours in Panama City to play).

The woman on the phone said they couldn't do that, and I insisted that sure they could. So she passes me to a manager and he says sure he can do that. So they're putting me up at the Hotel El Panama (great location) and providing me with transfers to the hotel and back. So I get to extend my vacation by an additional day and get to visit Panama for the first time. I won't waste that 24 hours! :-)

I thought that all Copa flights connecting there anyway. What was your original itinerary?

You're right all of their flights do connect through Panama City (PTY). My original flt had me leaving Cali at 5pm, arriving at PTY at 7:20p and my connection to LAX at 8:30p. They changed the LAX flt so that it departed at 7p. So their response to this was to suggest that they put me on a 7am flt out of Cali and I'm sitting at the airport all day in Panama. This way I get to play all night and do a some sightseeing the next day.

For those Colombian Players, who like to travel in Colombia, and have a One pass Account By Continental, Copa , and aerorepublica
www.aerorepublica.com have a special. going on
for 5,000 miles you fly any were in colombia, Leticia and san Andres, you can do those two city for 8,000 miles and TAX.
TAX is like $12.00 dollars they alow a open jaw, you can live Cali and arrive Barranquilla and depart Cartagena and arrive cali
My Two cents.

Kukulkan