The Real Deal: Round-trip nonstop airfare to Lima, Peru and other South American destinations, and fuel surcharges, from $298 per person — plus about $75 in taxes.
When: Through June 15, 2009.
Gateways: Miami; add $40 from New York City; $201 from L.A.; additional gateways available.
The fine print: Does not include taxes of about $75 per person; fuel surcharges are included. Minimum stay is two days; maximum is 90 days. Flight changes after booking will cost $100. Add stopovers to an itinerary from $75 per person. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.
Book by: Feb. 28, 2009.
Contact: LAN Airlines, 866/435-9526, lan.com.
Why it's a deal When you book airfare through LAN directly, you automatically get a 3 percent discount off the entire booking. LAN's sale fares will show up on other booking sites such as Kayak or Expedia — depending on the agreement between LAN and the particular booking site, the fare might be 2 percent to 3 percent higher or lower than the sale fare that LAN displays. So the airline (naturally) suggests you book through its site to ensure you get the full 3 percent off; you'd do best to price out the itinerary on multiple sites to see where the best deal lies for your particular dates and itinerary.
For instance, in a recent Kayak search, we found a round-trip flight between Miami and Lima—with a layover—for $381 (LAN/LAN Ecuador), about $8 more than the nonstop sale fare (including taxes) available directly through LAN. LAN, which is based in Santiago, Chile, appears to have cornered the regional market; on other major airlines, tickets to Lima were going for as much as $1,360 (Delta). LAN's sale fares are even more favorable when compared with fares found on Kayak for destinations other than Lima. We priced out round-trip flights from L.A. to Santiago and found the lowest to be $836 (Taca). LAN is quoting a sale rate of $776 with all taxes — a savings of $60.
Details: From Miami, here are some other sample fares: $336 to Quito, Ecuador; $562 to Buenos Aires, Argentina; and $599 to Santiago, Chile. All prices are before taxes.
Plus: Kids Fly Free As part of the sale promotion, kids 12 and under fly free and only pay taxes between Miami and Lima; they will be charged $70 plus taxes for the flights to from Miami to Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. To qualify, each child must be accompanied by an adult paying the promotional fare.
Before you go: U.S. citizens will need a valid passport for travel; a visa is not required.
