oded

Hello

I am trying to find out what is the difference, if any, between the OneWorld Visit South America Pass (advertised here: OneWorld) and the LAN South America AirPass (advertised here: LAN).

From what I understand in this site (link) there is indeed a difference in fares.

However when I called LAN they first gave me a price in L-Class, and then the day after gave me a reservation under B-Class but not under the V-Class which is supposed to be the OneWorld AirPass class. The prices were basically the LAN AirPass prices rather than OneWorld's prices.

1. Does anyone here have experience with OneWorld vs LAN SA pass fares?
2. How do I book it through LAN? They seem to only want to sell their own AirPass.


Thanks!
Oded

jgold

When I explored this six months ago, I could either book the OneWorld SA pass through AA's RTW desk or Lan's airpass over the Internet. Lan's pass was cheaper for me, particularly b/c I was flying into South America on a Lan ticket. One other advantage of the Lan pass, is you need only your inbound ticket to be on Lan, whereas the OneWorld SA pass requires both inbound and outbound to be on a OneWorld airline on a single itinerary. Since I was flying into South America on a BA one-way mileage ticket on LAN, and out of South America on a ex-SCL-DONE5 ticket, I wasn't (according to the AA RTW desk) eligible for the OneWorld SA pass. But the Lan pass was cheaper anyway, so it all worked out for me. Note also that I believe some of terms and conditions differ slightly between the two. I've had no problems securing H class seats for my flights on this pass.

oded

After 10+ phone calls with LAN I finally resolved the mystery around their AirPass program.

OneWorld Visit South America Pass and LAN South America AirPass are two seperate programs which have nothing to do with one another.

In my case, 4 legs (Buenos Aires-Iguazu-Buenos Aires-Bariloche-Buenos Aires) were $624 with OneWorld and $757 with LAN AirPass (incl. taxes and commission).

How to Book OneWorld AirPass?
This is the tricky part. If you call LAN they will try and book for you their own AirPass, not the OneWorld one. You need to make it 100% clear to the sales rep that you want the OneWorld ticket and not the LAN Pass. If they say it's the same one, they either don't know what the OneWorld pass is or they're trying to sell you a more expensive ticket. The OneWorld ticket is V-Class whilst the LAN pass can be L-class or B-class.
Once you get to a sales-rep and make it clear you want a OneWorld card, they will take your OneWorld electronic ticket number to/from South America and get back to you within 24 hours with a quote.
The only case that I found the LAN pass to be cheaper is if you fly to South America with LAN (as opposed to with a OneWorld partner). I flew Iberia as it was $400 cheaper than flying with LAN.

I could not find any other information on the web about the difference between the two passes. If you find my post useful, please comment!

236Dakota

Just returned from SA where we used the OW Visit SA Pass. It was a great value! There was one minor problem. We booked last spring and for some reason unkown to us, AA made several schedule/flight changes over the months. Twice we were delayed at the aiport with e tickets, the last time for an hour, while LAN sorted it out. Both times they said the problem was that AA changed the ticket. Beware if you see flight changes after booking and allow for additional time at the airport if you do. We did, so there wasn't a problem, and all the changes ended up working better for us.

christep

I've just noticed the following published on cxagents.com on December 18 regarding the OW VisitSA fare, which may be helpful:

hardiwv

Based on the above it seems TAM South America AirPass seems more attractive because you can fly up to 8,000 miles inside the region. It also includes domestic travel inside Brazil which is very handy:

http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/inde...005f05a8c0RCRD

TAM South America Airpass an airpass created for both foreign and/or South Americans residing outside of South America*, allowing them to visit several destinations while offering appealing fares.

To qualify the client must only purchase an international ticket for transportation from points outside of South America* to points in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela

* EXCEPTION: clients residing in Venezuela can purchase and use the TAM South America Airpass even though they do not have an International ticket. In this case the fare shall respect the tables below accordingly to the ticket stock used to issue the TAM South America Airpass.

The TAM South America AIRPASS offers from 1200 to 8200 miles to be flown in Economy class.

Fares

The fares on the TAM South America Airpass are calculated by the mileages flown from all segments, taking into consideration a minimum of 2 (two) countries and a maximum of 5 (five) countries – not to exceed a total of 8 (eight) coupons.

When International travel is with JJ/JJ* operated flights through TAM Mercosur/PZ. Issued on JJ/JJ* ticket stock.

Miles Fare
(Fare Basis WSATAM08)
From 1200 to 1900 US$ 335
From 1901 to 2500 US$ 425
From 2501 to 3200 US$ 520
From 3201 to 4200 US$ 665
From 4201 to 5200 US$ 795
From 5201 to 6200 US$ 945
From 6201 to 7200 US$ 1.090
From 7201 to 8200 US$ 1.225

When International travel is with any other carrier for which TAM has a MITA Agreement (Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement). Issued on Interline ticket stock.

Millas Tarifa
(Base tarifaria WSAYY08)
From 1200 to 1900 US$ 370
From 1901 to 2500 US$ 470
From 2501 to 3200 US$ 570
From 3201 to 4200 US$ 735
From 4201 to 5200 US$ 875
From 5201 to 6200 US$ 1.035
From 6201 to 7200 US$ 1.195
From 7201 to 8200 US$ 1.350

Discounts
Infant: Pays 10% of adult fare
Child: No discounts apply – same fare as adult.

Minimum / Maximum Stay
Minimum: 5 days; counting from departure of the first sector
Maximum: 30 days; counting from departure of the first sector

Baggage Allowance
The baggage allowance for the sectors covered by the South America Airpass will be the same as permitted on the international route.
In the event of excess baggage, 1% of the full economy fare for the sector involved will be charged.

Period of Application
Ticketing: From now until December 31, 2008
Travel: January 1, 2008 through June 10, 2009

Routings
Routings must include at least 2 countries in the area of application.
Routings are limited to no more than 8 flight coupons and to a maximum of 5 flight coupons per country.
The same sector may not be flown more than once in the same direction, except for a connection.
The same city may not be used as an origin and/or destination more than once, except for a connection.
Each segments flown is equal to one coupon

Stopovers
A maximum of 4 stopovers in Brazil and 2 in other countries will be permitted in addition to the point of origin and the point of destination.
A stopover occurs when a passenger does not depart an intermediate point within 24 hours.

Reservations
The whole itinerary must be confirmed before departure.
Reservation booking code:
Domestic - Z
International - W
“TAM SAP” must be informed in the reservation as an OSI.

Ticketing
Valid for sales and ticketing only outside South America. *Except Venezuela
Only one Airpass may be purchased in conjunction with each international ticket (including AD/ID and award tickets)
The Airpass ticket must be a separate ticket and must include a cross reference of the international ticket sold in conjunction with the Airpass.
Tickets are non endorsable.
PTA’s are not permitted.
TAM SAP / NON END must be noted in the endorsement/restriction box.
Fare basis – WSATAM08 or WSAYY08
Fare constructions and combinations are not permitted.

Changes
Rebooking permitted any time: US$100.00 per transaction, respecting the validity of the airpass.
Rerouting: not permitted

Refund for Cancel / No-show
Before departure: refundable. Penalty: US$100.00
After departure or partially used: non refundable.

chris901

Some great, useful info here. Interesting that the Oneworld airpass is sometimes cheaper. Essentially, the routings possible on the two different airpasses are exactly the same.

For a comprehensive, easy to follow explanation of airpasses in South America, see these links on the LAN Airpass , Tam Airpasses and South America airpasses in general.

cmyden

Some great info here guys. I'm currently trying to figure this out.

I have the opportunity to book a great flight from my city to Buenos Aires through Travelocity.

It looks like this...

YYZ -> ORD (Chicago) via Air Canada
ORD -> GRU (Sao Paulo) via United
GRU -> EZE (Buenos Aires) via LAN Airlines

On the way home it's United/Air Canada the whole way.

The post by jgold mentioned that the LAN South America AirPass only requires the inbound flight to be operated by LAN.

Would I qualify even though my flight didn't originate with LAN? How would I book the AirPass? From what I'm reading, it can only be done by phone. Travelocity is the only place I've been able to find this deal.

Can one book the flight with Travelocity and then go to LAN asking about the AirPass afterwards? Or does it need to be booked simultaneously.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

jgold

I don't know the answer to all these questions, but when I booked the LAN airpass, I believe I did it over the Internet (although I think a subsequent phone conversation may have been required for payment via credit card). My LAN ticket into South America (JFK-SCL) was ticketed via BA using BA points, with LA as the carrier. The only thing I needed for the LA website was, I believe, either my LAN confirmation number or the e-ticket number. Presumably if I'd bought the ticket on Travelocity, it would have been fine. I did not have to buy the airpass simultaneously with the inter-continental ticket.

I note in your post that your inter-continental ticket is NOT on LAN. I would think that's a problem, but I don't really know enough about that situation.

hardiwv

I am not sure about LAN. But you may book the TAM South American Airpass even if your inbound flight is not with TAM. You may note however that UA and Air Canada are TAM partners and fully codeshare flights with TAM.

Rgs,

cmyden

It seems that the TAM South American Air Pass probably wouldn't work too well, primarily because I only want to fly within Argentina (it seems the TAM pass is better suited for travelling within Brazil). It also requires you to visit at least 2 countries with the pass, from what I can see.

Either of the LAN passes would be great, but I guess I'll have to investigate this some more.

hardiwv

In this case, have you tried to consider buying separate tickets by Aerolineas Argentinas/Austral? I think AR/AU has an Argentinian Airpass but they also have attractive domestic fares in Argentina.

http://www.aerolineas.com.ar

Rgs,

KL808

I needed to get tickets for this summer AEP-MDZ-AEP/EZE-GRU.

So called AA RTW desk and quoted me the fare which was at a 10% discount.

Also called LAN and asked to get a quote for the same flights. In turns out that the LAN south american pass was cheaper in Taxes plus it was a higher fare class (H) than the one world south american pass. ^

My 2 cents is do your homework and shop around.

cmyden

Thanks Hardi, from what I read, Aerolineas is really unreliable, but usually cheaper than LAN.

If I can get the discount prices for LAN, a lot of the flights end up being cheaper than Aerolineas, and apparently more reliable.

LHSEN

Once you have ticketed the airpass (LAN), can you add more flight segments?