Airfare Deals Overseas: Bargains in Local Flying

Dozens of overseas airlines offer deals on local air travel to Americans, Canadians, and other foreign visitors. Some save you money whenever you fly within the host country or region. Others make sense only for extended local travel.

Visitor airfares come in several forms:

Air passes nominally let you fly as often as you like during their validity period, or at least on certain days within the validity period.
Visitor tickets or coupons-sold in sets at a fixed, discounted price per flight-provide individual one-way flights. Some are available at more than one price, varying by distance. Most impose a minimum number of flights.
Visitor discounts give foreign visitors a break from the local list prices for individual one-way or round-trip tickets.
Visitor itineraries provide one or more fixed, multistop itineraries for less than the sum of the standard one-way fares.

Typically, visitor fares work out best for multiple-stop regional air trips. Travelers who need just one or two short side trips from one hub city are often better off with individual Economy excursion airline tickets.

Most visitor airfares share some limitations. You must usually buy your tickets or passes before entering the country or countries where you use them, showing proof of foreign citizenship or residence. Many offers are limited to travelers with international air tickets-sometimes only on the airline sponsoring the visitor fare-to or from the area where the visitor program is to be used. International travel on frequent-flyer awards may not qualify. Where several airlines offer visitor fares in the same country or region, your travel is normally confined to the line that issued your ticket.

Many visitor airfares limit you to one stop in each destination city. In most cases, however, you're allowed to connect through the sponsoring line's hub as often as required. Validity periods are measured from the date of a ticket's first use, not its purchase date.

TIP: Always have your
travel agent price individual
tickets for your itinerary
before you buy a pass--
they're often cheaper.

Air Passes

In order to promote tourism in their countries, national airlines offer air passes at reduced rates to tourists. If you are planning to travel extensively in a country or region, an air pass may prove most cost effective. But before you do purchase an air pass, get an idea of the cost of the individual flights you want to take. Also look at adding stopovers on your international ticket, it may prove cheaper.

All passes must be purchased from a travel agent or airline outside the country you are visiting. Some are only available for purchase in the U.S. to U.S. residents. Most require a planned itinerary with confirmed flights when you purchase an air pass. Ask about children's discounts as well.

Asia

2000 All Asia Pass from Cathay Pacific. Fly to Hong Kong and enjoy 30 days of virtually unlimited travel to any or all of 15 different cities in Asia from $999.00.

Discover Asia Airpass on SilkAir. USD 139.00 Per Flight Sector - Includes travel between Singapore and the following SilkAir destinations: Jakarta, Lombok, Medan, Padang, Pekanbaru, Solo in Indonesia; Langkawi, Tioman in Malaysia; Hatyai, Phuket, Chiang Mai in Thailand.

USD 239.00 Per Flight Sector - Includes travel between Singapore and the following SilkAir destinations: Kunming, Xiamen in China; Manado, Ujung Padang in Indonesia; Yangon in Myanmar; Cebu in the Philippines. ELIGIBILITY; Tickets must be purchased prior to arrival in Asia and passengers must reside in the USA. VALIDITY & LENGTH OF STAY; Valid for travel commencing on March 1, 1998 through March 31, 2000. Applies on all SilkAir routes. No minimum stay - Maximum stay 90 days.

Indonesia

Visit Indonesia Decade Pass on Garuda Indonesia Airlines, 800-342-7832. The V.I.D.P. costs $300 for 3 flights to anywhere within Indonesia. Additional flights can be purchased for $100 each, up to a maximum of 10 flights. One stopover is allowed at each destination. Pass must be used within 60 days of purchase. You must enter Indonesia through a valid gateway city on Garuda. In the U.S. the pass may be bought from Garuda or a Garuda consolidator, or you can even buy the pass in Indonesia as long as it is purchased within 14 days of arrival; just present your Garuda ticket. All flight segments must be ticketed and confirmed 3 days prior to departure from the U.S. Flight dates on segments after the first one may be left open. For comparison, a flight from Denpasar to Jakarta would cost $260. More information.

Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines has teamed up with Malaysia Travel Advisors. MTA is a travel wholesaler dealing with and selling travel products directly to the traveler.

Thailand

Amazing Thailand domestic air fare through Thai Airways. Priced at only US$179, Amazing Thailand has been created to enable foreign travellers to see more of Thailand at reduced cost. This attractive multi-destination promotional fare is only available to be sold abroad, and is issued in conjunction with THAI's international tickets.

Visit USA

If you have relatives who are foreign nationals or are U.S. citizens who reside abroad, a program to consider when they come to visit is called Visit USA. This pass allows unlimited standby travel within the U.S. during the stay. Tickets must be purchased abroad, usually in conjunction with an international round trip ticket. Residents of Canada and Mexico and ineligible.

For some airlines the pass is actually a set of coupons, with each coupon good for one segment. You must purchase N coupons, where N depends on the airline. For United, the minimum is 3 coupons. There may also be a maximum on the number of coupons you can purchase. On United the price is approximately $90 per segment if you purchase the minimum number of coupons, and falls to $60 per segment if you purchase 10 coupons. There is also a two-tier pricing scheme depending on if the Visit USA pass is issued by the same airline used to travel to the U.S. The difference is about $15 per segment. Prices and programs differ on other airlines. For example, Delta Airpass gives 30 days of unlimited travel for about $500 (60 days for $800).

No re-routing or refunds are allowed. Some will refund a completely unused pass-ask when you buy it-but none will refund a Visit USA pass after the first flight segment is flown. You must make confirmed reservations for the first segment, and you will be charged if you change the date on the first segment flight. Travel must start within 30 days and completed within 120 days of entry into the U.S. (for travel on United; other airlines may have different policies). May be limited to one transcontinental direct flight per Visit USA pass, depending on the airline.

Council Travel is known to sell Visit USA tickets on USAir without any restrictions--i.e., you don't have to be a foreign resident or national, or be a student. Many foreign travel agents don't check whether you reside outside the U.S. or not, which means you can buy Visit USA coupons even if you're a U.S. citizen. They won't, however, send tickets overseas. You must be physically present to pickup the tickets.

-Next Section-

LE FastCounter