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Hobbit-Sized Fares to Middle Earth and Australia

May 5, 2004 -- We'll get to the point quickly: through Friday only, Qantas is offering $498 flights ($581 including tax) from LA to Auckland and $598 flights ($725 including tax) from LA to Sydney.

If you have any desire whatsoever to see the lands Down Under, these fares are absolutely unbeatable. They're extraordinary. They're a good $150 below other Qantas Web-only sale fares we've ever seen -- and maybe $500-600 below most airlines' sales.

Naturally, the fares are restricted, and they're selling out fast. To nab the Auckland fare, you must fly out of LA in May, returning between a week and a month later. You must buy your ticket three days before traveling, and you must fly both directions on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday. When we checked Tuesday morning, tickets were still available for plenty of May dates.

To go to Auckland, buy your ticket right now at www.qantasusa.com/webDeals/171.

Qantas' $598 fare from LA to Sydney has pretty much the same terms. You must buy your ticket by Friday, with a 3-day advance purchase, for travel during May. For this trip, though, you must fly on Sundays or Wednesdays-Fridays.

Interested? We thought so. Buy your tickets to Sydney now at www.qantasusa.com/webDeals/172.

If these fares sell out, Qantas' other, somewhat higher sale fares would be good deals in any other week. For May travel to New Zealand, Qantas currently has a $698 fare sale on. May and August travel to Sydney can be nabbed for $798. Find those fares at www.qantasusa.com.

BYOC (Build Your Own Connections)

Qantas doesn't allow any add-ons to their under-$600 fares. But even if you're not heading from LA or to Auckland or Sydney, it's worth building your own connection. Just leave plenty of time.

Qantas' discounted flights to Sydney leave at around 1 PM; their flights back get in at 6 AM. Their flights to Auckland leave at 11:20 PM, and get back in at 7:30 AM. So if you're coming from the East Coast and flying into Sydney, you may need to spend a night in LA to make that morning flight.

On your way into LA, if you're not staying overnight, make sure to book a ticket into LAX, not into Long Beach Airport. That means flying Frontier, Alaska or Southwest, not JetBlue. Right now Frontier (www.flyfrontier.com) has a terrific $236 after-tax fare from New York to LA.

Flying from Detroit, Spirit (www.spiritair.com) can not only get you to LA for $212 plus tax ($232 including tax), but they're timed right to make a same-day connection to Sydney.

Southwest (www.southwest.com) is running a sale with roundtrip fares of $198 or less, plus tax to LA from all over the country. Tickets from Phoenix and Las Vegas cost a mere $68 roundtrip. You must buy by Thursday to get Southwest's fares, but hey, you were buying that Australia ticket today anyway, right?

On the antipodean end, first try to make your connections on Qantas. If your international flight is late, Qantas will have more compassion than another airline will. Qantas' domestic prices are very competitive if you buy in advance through their website. Roundtrips from Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane in May run as little as AU$150 ($108.18). Fares to Cairns start at AU$312 ($225) roundtrip. Buy online at www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/rededeals/SYD.

If you can't find cheap fares on Qantas, save money by connecting from Sydney on the 'Southwest of Australia,' Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au). Virgin Blue and its partner, Pacific Blue, fly from Sydney to 19 Australian cities and Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand. Fares to Melbourne start at AU$178 ($128.37) roundtrip. Fares to Wellington start at AU$264.80 ($190.97) roundtrip, and fares to Cairns start at AU$298 ($214.92) roundtrip.

Within New Zealand, the low-fare airline to choose is Origin Pacific (www.originpacific.co.nz). With 13 destinations across New Zealand, they'll take you from Auckland to Blenheim for NZ$224 ($140.20) roundtrip, to Christchurch for NZ$238 ($148.97) roundtrip and to Invercargill at the very southernmost tip of the South Island for NZ$330.


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