dll

Was researching a summer trip today and discovered some really great fares from LAX to South America.

Lots of availability and some variety in destinations. Some examples that I found:

LAX-MIA-VVI (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) for $1,400 r/t
This flight stops in La Paz on the way outbound, return is nonstop VVI-MIA; operated by 757-200 (lie-flat)

LAX-ASU (Asuncion) about $1,700 r/t, LAX-MIA-ASU and return same, operated by 757-200 (lie-flat) MIA-ASU

LAX-EZE/AEP on LAN/TAM for $2,100 r/t, variety of routing options including LAX-JFK-GRU-AEP

LAX to SCL from $2125 on LAN

LAX to GRU from $2133 on LAN/TAM

I am headed to EZE in July so that was my basis for the date research but you can find a variety of really great deals. Found availability pretty much widespread and also available from other origin cities (SFO, for example). Any OTA, AA.com or LAN.com can show and ticket these flights.

Eastbay1K

I'm not finding anything ex/SFO. What sample dates did you find?

dll

It looks like the SFO fares I saw were actually Aeromexico (not LA/AA/TAM), they're actually even less. Approx $1,800 a/i roundtrip on AM from SFO/LAX. If you schedule it right, you can catch the Aeromexico 787 between either LAX-MEX and/or MEX-EZE.

For my own trip I was able to snag LAX-JFK-GRU-AEP (nice mix of A321T, AA 77W and TAM A320 shorthaul biz), EZE-SCL-LAX (787-9, 1-stop in LIM) for just shy of $2100 on Orbitz. It had the best schedule combination for my specific needs plus I like AEP more than EZE, particularly for arrivals as the immigration queues are almost non-existent there and it's a short ride to my hotel. Also considered LAX-MIA-SCL-AEP for the outbound and even better schedule but opted to route via JFK for the A321T business class and extra EQP.

Great little trip.

Bago'peanuts

Good deal; thanks for posting. Snagged SFO-EZE-SFO for $1869; plenty of availability for the first couple of weeks in August at the time we booked. IIRC, AA priced this route at around $2200 in December and AM was around $1850; but after AA raised their prices AM followed suit. I'd rather ride on AA but not sure if they will lower their price again before summer.

DarrenChannel

FYI, LAN just put business fares ex-MEX on sale a couple days ago. SCL, MVD, and GIG are $1,399, and EZE is $1,449. Must purchase by Feb 17, for travel through August.

Desdinova

Thanks OP, just what we were looking for:
SFO-LPB $1325

Edgerfly

Are these fares still around from LAX? Can't seem to find any of them. Can you give some sample dates?

2Tall4Y

LIM for $1,317 on UA and LPB for $1,402 on AA, both in May.

dll

Indeed they are. Bookable same places as yesterday. So many options it's hard to list them, but check LAN.com and AA.com for some options. Cheaper options exist on Aeromexico, too.

Dates, as far as I can see, go through end of schedule. Found LAX-EZE flights around end of year on LAN.com very easily.

Edgerfly

I'd like to route through JFK on the A321T

dll

Easy enough, try booking on Orbitz. It should give you some options on TAM that include codeshares on AA metal LAX-JFK-GRU in both directions.

levistrauss

Thanks for the tip. I used my AA card to book this on Orbitz and can cancel till the evening of Feb 17th. Is there some way I can call AA and book the same flight to get double miles on my AA card in the meantime?

dll

I think that's probably unlikely. It's a fare that's filed on LA/JJ only (plus some other non-OneWorld carriers like Avianca and Aeromexico). AA does not have the fare filed. You might be able to force AA.com to price it but I was not ever able to get that to work.

Edited to add this:
Some of these fares ARE AA-filed (like LPB and VVI), so those you can obviously book anywhere you would like including AA.com. The fares I referenced above for Argentina require booking via Orbitz or Expedia to get the routing options via JFK or other cities, as they are JJ/LA-filed and LAN and TAM websites do not show widespread routing options. I also saw some very limited options for LAN-coded but AA-operated EZE-DFW-LAX, which is the new AA 787 route. It was substantially more expensive (about an extra $800), but if that's worth it for you to get the AA 787 it's available. You will have hunt for it though.

levistrauss

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I booked via SCL and am looking forward to spending a full day there on my way to AEP. The return is via LIM on a LAN 787. I think I will stick to this schedule without any alterations with this new information.

Calchas

AA has a ticketing interline agreement with LA so it should be (technically) possible for AA to ticket them. Probably only by phone though.