Archive for the 'Pacific & Australia' Category
Last-minute: Qantas 2-for-1 airfare deal to Australia and New Zealand
November 17, 2008 9:00am
Quick — Qantas released a 2-for-1 deal over the weekend that expires tonight. And we’re not just talking the cheap seats. Qantas has all travel cabins on sale, including economy, premium economy (where available), business and first class seats.
Deal: Get two seats for the price of one. I tested dates in March but couldn’t seem to get the deal when trying to book online. It would give me the price for one adult, and then it was doubled for two passengers. If you are trying to book this deal, I would spend the extra $15 and call Qantas and do the booking over the phone. But hurry: The offer ends tonight.
When: Book by 11:59 p.m. PST today for travel between Feb. 16 and April 30.
Roundup: 2002 Bali bombers executed; Not going to Mexico for the holidays? Travel prices dropping across the board
November 10, 2008 8:17am
Good morning, travelers! I hope some of you are celebrating Veteran’s Day today and taking a three-day weekend. For those that are at their desks, there were lots of travel-related articles in the Los Angeles Times this weekend.
Bali | Three of the Bali bombers from the 2002 Bali bombings were executed Sunday. The militants had requested retaliation from supporters while behind bars if their executions went forward. Indonesia has increased security and U.S. and Australian embassies have urged their citizens to keep a low profile, but the U.S. State Dept has only issued a Warden’s Message, not a travel warning. Airlines in Australia are waving change fees for those that want to delay their holiday travel to Bali. Read: Airlines helping Bali travel changes
Mexico | Are you avoiding a trip to Tijuana over the holidays because you are worried about your safety? How is your family (and your holiday tradition) being affected by the recent border violence. Read: Mexico’s drug wars curtail holiday travel
Secret V-Australia airfare deal: Proof that LAX to SYD tickets cost $484, round trip
October 23, 2008 12:30pm
The travel blog Gadling told us about this amazing secret-like deal on V-Australia. Apparently, you can get round-trip tickets between Los Angeles (LAX) and Sydney, Australia (SYD), for less than $500 despite the airline’s home page saying round-trip flights are $1,699.
Deal: I tested Gadling’s instructions on its post “Travel Alert! Virgin sale to from LA-Sydney — for $480!” and, sure enough, managed to find the deal departing Saturday, March 28, 2009, and returning Tuesday, April 14, 2009. The round-trip flight, including all taxes and fees, costs $483.52.
Note: At first I couldn’t find it -– but look at the arrival and departure tabs on your search results page and watch where it says “$216 or $268.” Then look for the “VSaver” fare. Read the rest of this entry »
'Amazing Race 13' - from Bolivian Cholitas to Kiwis
October 20, 2008 12:25pm
The fourth lap of “The Amazing Race” last evening found the remaining eight teams leaving La Paz in Bolivia for Auckland, New Zealand, the home turf of host Phil Keoghan. In fact, his father — who simply called himself Phil’s dad — was the official greeter with his son at the evening’s Pit Stop at a sheep farm called Summerhill. And he is quite the handsome older guy. Really. I think I have a crush on him.
The teams flew 6,900 miles from La Paz to Auckland, where they had to drive themselves to Gulf Harbor and untie a Gordian knot to find their next clue — to drive to the summit of Mount Eden, where they would find their next clue. Estranged couple Ken & Tina decided to take the Fast Forward, where they had to climb from the sky deck to the top of the Sky Tower in Auckland and retrieve a Travelocity roaming gnome. (Nothing like product placement, natch). Though Tina was afraid of heights, she overcame her fear and they completed the task and reached the Pit Stop, winning for the third week in a row. They also ended up earning a seven-day trip to Rio de Janeiro during carnival time from, you guessed it, Travelocity.
The rest of the teams faced the Road Block in which one of the members had a close encounter with several chanting Maori warriors . They had to figure out which one of their facial tattoos matched the design they were given. The annoyingly whiny Terence of team Terence & Sarah actually stepped up to the plate and did the task. From there, the teams had to drive back to the rooftop of an Auckland hotel and look with binoculars for those ugly Travelocity gnomes that were placed in nearby locations.
Qantas A380 deal: Fly Los Angeles (LAX) to Australia for less than $870
October 20, 2008 11:21am
Qantas became the first airline to bring a commercial flight on an Airbus A380 to Los Angeles this morning. To celebrate this new age in luxe double-decker airplanes, Qantas is offering round-trip flights between Los Angeles and Australia for less than $1,000. Fly nonstop from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) or Brisbane (BNE) starting this week for $760 round trip, pre-tax. You’ll want to hurry to get the deal and look for flights QF 12 and 11 to fly on an actual Airbus A380 between LAX and SYD.
Deal: The promotion said that economy seats would be going for $380 each way with the lowest prices found Tuesdays-Thursdays. I tested flights this morning between LAX and SYD Nov. 6-18 and found the total price for one adult flying round trip to be $868 including taxes and fees. You could have up to two stopovers for $150 extra and date or re-routing charges were $200 per person. Flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Melbourne (MEL) or Cairns (CNS) started at just a little bit more at $430 each way, pre-tax, but I didn’t test them.
Roundup: V Australia LAX - SYD launch delayed due to Boeing strike; Geocaching news; Will TSA ease up on liquid rules?
October 3, 2008 8:47am
Good morning, travelers! Aloha Friday, as we say around here. What are your plans for the weekend? Don’t forget to check The Guide to see what kinds of events are going on. I like the “Best Bets” section to give me the quick rundown.
Airline news | Did you score an inaugural $777 economy-class round-trip ticket on V Australia between Los Angeles and Sydney earlier this year? Well, we have some bad news. V Australia is delaying the launch of its service by at least two months. Flights were scheduled to depart starting Dec. 15, but now the dates have been pushed back to Feb. 28, 2008. This is due to the Boeing Co. factory workers strike (pictured) in Seattle. Read: Boeing strike in Seattle now affecting Southern California travelers and businesses
Outdoors and adventure | Are you into geocaching — the GPS sport of finding treasure by location coordinates? Geocaching.com can answer all your questions and tell you how to get started, but Alltop just released a new page for all sorts of geocaching news.
Going bald? Earn travel $$ from Air New Zealand
September 10, 2008 2:18pm
Air New Zealand is looking for 75 baldies for an upcoming cranial billboard advertising campaign the airline is launching to inform passengers about its new check-in process. Come on ladies, you too. They’re paying 1,000 New Zealand dollars (or around $664 at today’s exchange rate) for the chosen globes.
The Cranial Billboard casting call is open to the public.
Caveat: You need to be a New Zealand resident and be there already.
Sept. 16, 2008: 12-2 p.m., Victoria Square, Christchurch
Sept. 17, 2008: 12-2 p.m. Frank Kitts Park, Wellington
Sept. 18, 2008: 12-2 p.m. Aotea Square, Auckland
The heads that pass muster will be required to wear a henna tattoo and carry the message for two weeks.
More info: Changingthewayyoufly.co.nz
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: changingthewayyoufly.co.nz]
Hidden Air New Zealand LAX-London Heathrow airfare deals
August 17, 2008 10:00am
Deal: Air New Zealand offers frequent special fares from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to London Heathrow (LHR), though there are not sufficient seats to permit these lower prices to be advertised, even on their Web specials.
The scoop: Visit the Air New Zealand website often and use the “Show prices across a week” button (see screen grab below, from the Air New Zealand homepage).
Sample fares: My search Friday afternoon for a round-trip LAX-LHR ticket for one person, with a target date of Sept. 9-16, returned fares ranging from $912 to $1,141*, with the following add-on charges totaling $169.50, for a low fare of $1,081.50:
“* Fares include fuel surcharge but exclude government taxes, fees and security charges, which are shown separately on this page.”
Does this sound like a reasonable fare? What’s your favorite time of year to visit London or New Zealand?
Source: AirfareWatchdog.com, with additional reporting by Andrew Nystrom, senior producer, Travel
[Photo: A baggage claim area in Heathrow's Terminal 5 by Graham Barclay / Bloomberg News]
Auckland, New Zealand, airfare deal from Los Angeles (LAX)
July 21, 2008 4:59pm
Keep an eye open for upcoming deals to New Zealand, where round-trip airfares can top $2,000. For the travel period of Aug. 21 through the end of September 2008, Qantas is offering LAX-to-Auckland (AKL) fares for $998 round trip, plus about $150 in taxes and fees. Tickets must be purchased by this Friday, July 25.
For more details, see Quantas’ September Specials section of its website.
Source: staff of AirfareWatchdog.com
[Photo: Amanda Jones / For the Los Angeles Times]
Australia: Qantas A380 seats on sale between LAX and SYD, MEL
June 16, 2008 10:30am
Qantas launched a 48-hour sale to celebrate its new A380 nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sydney or Melbourne that begins Oct. 20. Travelzoo sent out a Newsflash that 380 seats were going for $380 round trip. Let us know if you were able to grab one. By the time I checked it out, I couldn’t find any.
Deal: The lowest fare I did find between LAX–MEL in November was $1,216 round trip including all taxes and fees, (Nov. 10-24). In order to qualify for sale prices, you must fly Qantas flights QF12 and QF11 between Los Angeles (LAX) and Sydney (SYD) on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. For flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Melbourne (MEL), fly Qantas flights QF94 and QF93 on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Read the rest of this entry »
