With fares starting as low as $2,033.
In December, we offered a high-level overview of airline tactical fares, which come in several forms: holiday (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s), origin-specific, destination-specific, advance-purchase, and limited-route.
In February, we wrote about new lower tactical fares to Africa, and in April, to India. Now, we’re offering a deep dive into South America.
LIMITED-ROUTE TACTICAL FARES TO SOUTH AMERICA
Limited-route tactical fares come in two forms:
- Those offered by small airlines sniping at the majors
- Those that result from competition between the majors, often trying to poach elites by slashing fares at the other’s hub
Right now, we’re seeing some big-time sniping to South America.
Business Class fares have historically been in the $4,000 to $6,000 range on major carriers from the U.S. to southern South America, but on some routes (see chart below), we uncovered fares now starting as low as $2,033. The departure cities where the fares are available include: Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Orlando. As it is often the case, the fares may not last.
LATAM TAKES AIM AT THE MAJORS WITH UP TO 47% SAVINGS
LATAM (formerly LAN) is Latin America’s largest airline and a member of oneworld (American, BA, Iberia, etc.). A LATAM I fare earns 125% base award miles (this includes the 25% class-of-service bonus) on American if you credit your LATAM flights to your AAdvantage mileage account. The fare also earns 1.5 Elite Qualifying Points per mile.
Samples of limited-route fares (see below for more):
- On Orlando-Rio de Janeiro non-stop, LATAM’s published Business Class fare is $2,033 round-trip. American’s fares start at $3,765, a savings of $1,732 (46%).
- On Miami-São Paulo (non-stop), LATAM’s published Business Class fare is $2,342, while American starts at $3,103, a savings of $761 (25%).
QUICK LATAM PRIMER
LATAM’s Business Class offers lie-flat seats and a 15.4-inch high-resolution screen.
LOW-COST TACTICAL FARES BORN OF COMPETITION
On the New York-Buenos Aires route, both American and United’s published Business Class fare is $3,073 round-trip, whereas the duo charge $4,194 on NY- Rio de Janeiro, a difference of $1,121 (27%).
I’m Not From Florida. Can I Play?
Four of the low-cost tactical-fare routes are from Florida. Our advice: Buy a separate ticket to Florida and include several days to hang out. Best time to do that is on the outbound so you won’t have issues re-checking your bags. For the return make sure you allow plenty of time for your connection. Or, keep it simple and add a few days on the departure and the return in Florida. American, Delta, and United offer well over 100 flights a day to Miami and Orlando from all over the U.S.
Best Time to Travel to South America
The first thing to grasp is that South America is south of the Equator and so the seasons are reversed. June through August is winter, December through February is summer. In Brazil, the hottest month is February, the coldest is July (average temperature 70 degrees), and the wettest is December.
While you also have to figure in rainy season, the second thing to grasp is that the continent is huge—4,300 miles long—which means this: It ain’t all tropical. The farther south you travel, the more the seasons change. The far southern part of South America, which has spectacular scenery and is perfect for outdoor types, is even cool in summer. (You don’t want to be there in July and August.)
So, if all you want is an escape from North American winter, then look at northern Brazil, especially the Caribbean coast which has had considerable resort development in recent years. As for Rio, the best time to visit is from December to March but remember that Carnival happens in February and flights will be in demand.
As for Buenos Aires, you have two choices. Do you want the city in full swing? Then visit in Argentina’s winter. If you want to escape from North American winter, visit in its summer, but keep in mind that it’s hot and like many American cities, life takes a breather (many stores close).
Chile, that stringbean of a country, poses the same challenge: It has many different climates. Deserts in the north, glaciers in the far south, and a Mediterranean climate in the center (including Santiago, the airline hub). Check out the Altacama, the vast desert in Chile’s north, and Torres del Paine, the country’s version of Alaska. Again, you have to do a bit of mental gymnastics: visit the Altacama in our summer (winter there) and Torres del Paine in our winter (summer there).
Go online to delve deeper into the seasons for your destination.
TRAVELING ONWARD IN SOUTH AMERICA?
The national airline of Argentina is Aerolineas Argentinas, which flies all over South America from Buenos Aires. Or, buy a ticket on LATAM, which offers connections from Brazil, Argentina and Chile to all over South America.
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THESE ARE REAL FARES
Many people think FCF is in the mistake-fare business because so many free site now write about them. The fares published in FCF are real published fares. We’re very careful about this because when an airline publishes a fare by mistake, it usually won’t honor a booking.
FCF also does NOT report on fares to South America’s second- and third-tier airlines, such as Copa, because they offer dated recliner seats or poor connections.
RELEVANT READS
How Open-Jaw Itineraries and Airfares Can Save You From Getting Bitten.
Are You An Opportunity Traveler?
Samples of Business Class Fares Found to Southern South America
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