Epic best fare to Canada

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 19

Epic best fare to Canada

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor

New Zealanders planning travel to Canada should forget about the new budget fares across the Pacific. They’re just not worth the doubt and hassle, and will, in the long run, cost more than the advance-purchase epic fare.

The problem is that the Budget fare applies only to Los Angeles and San Francisco in North America, whereas the Epic fare is common to all four Pacific gateways — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver.

Although the new low fare across the Pacific is only $646 return, a traveller from Christchurch destined for Vancouver via San Francisco will pay $lOO9 by the time travel tax and additional air fares are met. But for about a dollar less the traveller will get to Vancouver on an epic ticket without all the uncertainty of not knowing at the time of purchase the dates of his departure and return.

And if he plans his flights with care, he can also enjoy, quite legitimately, over-night stops at Fiji and Hawaii, or even Los Angeles or San Francisco. I will explain how, later. But first, let us compare the fares. The traveller who thinks he will save

money by flying to Vancouver via San Francisco, for instance, on a Budget fare will pay the following:—

N.A.C.. Christchurch - Auckland return, $116; Budget fare, $646; travel tax, $64.60: San Francisco - Vancouver return. $166; travel tax, $16.60. Total, $1009.20c. (Patriotic travellers loyal to Air New Zealand who enter the United States via Los Angeles will pay an additional $3B). The traveller who, on the other hand, decides on an Epic ticket will pay: Christchurch - Vancouver. $927; travel tax $Bl.lO. Total, slooB.loc. The saving might seem small, but the Epic fare also offers other advantages. One, of course, is knowing exactly when you will be travelling. Another is the chance to break the journey by making an “involuntary transit” stop of up to 24 hours. (These are not officially regarded as “stopovers,” which are not permitted with Epic fares). The sensible way to travel to Vancouver on an Epic fare, in my opinion, is to fly Air New Zealand to Nandi, connect with CP Air, and return either through Los Angeles or Honolulu, to

connect again with Air New Zealand or Pan Am for the flight back to Auckland. CP Air’s DCBs leave Nandi for Vancouver late in the afternoon on Saturdays and Mondays, allowing New Zealanders an overnight stop and ample time for duty-free shopping or sightseeing. On the return journey, if the traveller’s flight from Vancouver to, say, Los Angeles arrives after the departure of an Auckland-bound flight, he will be officially regarded “in transit” until the following evening and will have all of that day for sightseeing.

Many people, apparently, are also unaware that an Epic fare can be broken to allow for longer stopovers. For instance, a traveller can pay half the Auckland - Vancouver Epic fare and then buy a normal one-way fare from Vancouver -to Honolulu for a stopover of several days before returning home with a ticket based on half the Auckland - Honolulu Epic fare. On this basis the additional cost would be about $125.

Finally, remember that although some fares might at first appear to be cheap, they could in the long run involve you in considerable extra expense. Before you decide, discuss the matter fully with a qualified travel agent.