Posts tagged air fares
Spirit: The Best Deal to Colombia
0368 days
by Tom Germain
in Getting Around
Last October, I finally gave Spirit, the discount airline, a try. I flew from Orlando, changing planes in Fort Lauderdale, Spirit’s hub, then direct to Medellin. My return fare, under 200 dollars, was less than half that of its competitors, including American Airlines and the supposedly discount Colombian airline, Aires. Not only it was a cheap ride, but it might actually have been THE better ride!
Spirit of Medellin
While this is a no frills situation where you have to pay extra for virtually everything, nowadays that’s pretty much the deal with all airlines.With Spirit, you even pay for your carry-on ($30 each way!!!), but I simply put a few small things in a plastic bag and my jacket pockets, and thus only had to pay for my checked baggage (also $30 each way). I noticed most other passengers also didn’t have a carry-on, which is actually not a bad thing since there’s a lot less congestion boarding and deplaning while people block the aisles stuffing their bags in the overhead bins. Choosing your seat in advance will also lighten your wallet, but checking-in early at the airport got me a spot in an emergency aisle, for free. Spirit offers discounts on some of the extras if you’re a member, but at sixty dollars a year for that privilege, you have to fly Spirit a lot to come out a winner, not to mention that you can only use your membership for your own ticket.
The interior of the Airbus 319 aircraft, a Spirit mainstay, actually makes you feel like you’re aboard a city bus or subway, thanks to the illuminated advertising plastered across the overhead bins! Flight attendants do offer drinks and snacks for sale, but if you don’t have a major credit card or an American debit card, your pesos or dollars won’t do you any good. Speaking of service, Spirit’s staff was generally cheerful both in Florida and in Medellin. If you owe any departure tax in Colombia (if your stay exceeded 60 days), you can pay it to Spirit directly at the airport, unlike American, who will automatically send you to the tax collection booth. Overall, I was satisfied with the experience. One negative, however, is the gate area of terminal four at Fort Lauderdale International: it’s typically overcrowded, with huge lineups at the lone men’s restroom. Some serious expansion is needed there to handle the crush of passengers! Then again, it’s a million times better than Rio Negro‘s airport, even after the recent renovations! It’s pretty sad that the only restaurant past the security checkpoint in Medellin is a Dogger hot dog cart!
Spirit also flies direct from Fort Lauderdale to Armenia (Quindio), Baranquilla, Bogota, and Cartagena. You can connect with Spirit to Fort Lauderdale from these major American cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh (Latrobe), Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Tampa. For more details, visit Spirit.
Flying To and Within Colombia
2544 days
by Tom Germain
in Getting Around
Your options for traveling to Colombia, as well as within Colombia, became vastly more varied and economical recently. Colombia, and South America in general, is a very lucrative market for airlines, with passenger traffic growing dramatically even during the world economic crisis. Discount airlines have also entered this arena, filling a void and actually increasing demand further for a large segment of the population that couldn’t afford typically high fares. While Bogota used to be the air travel hub in Colombia, there’s more and more flights on offer that will take you to and from other Colombian cities without connecting at El Dorado, the capital’s international airport.
Speaking of airports, it seems most of the old passenger terminals in the country are undergoing a much needed face lift since they were collectively bought by a Chinese consortium. For a time, traveling through these airports can be rather chaotic. I was in Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordova airport in late February, where there was dust and construction throughout, and, horror of horrors, only chemical toilets in the boarding area!
Aires, the homegrown discount airline, has spearheaded the drive to offer affordable travel in this country. It’s now possible to travel between just about any major city in Colombia with Aires for 55 to 65 US dollars (at current exchange rates), taxes included, each way. Aires has also started offering flights to Fort Lauderdale, New York, Aruba and Curacao, but I should point-out that there’s almost always a connection within Colombia and often two or more. Another small local discount airline is Easyfly, which uses turboprops and has only a few national flights. Jet Blue, the American discount giant, serves Bogota exclusively, while Spirit Airways has entered the fray, proffering direct flights from Fort Lauderdale to Medellin, Barranquilla, Armenia, and Cartagena. Note that once you factor in all the extra fees Spirit charges, even for your carry-on bag, your fare probably won’t be such a deal.
The new competition forced the old airlines, such as Avianca and Aero Republica, to begin offering deep discounts on local and international routes. I remember wanting to go from Medellin to Santa Marta two years ago during the off season, only to discover that the return fare with Avianca, the only airline flying direct, came out to about 480 dollars for what amounts to a 40 minute hop. Aero Republica (Copa), the only alternative at the time, seemed to be colluding with Avianca, as their fare wasn’t much better and you had to change planes in Bogota. The same flight now with Avianca would cost me only about 180 USD, and 125 USD with Aero Republica. That’s quite a drop and these airlines must be feeling nostalgic about the good old days when they made air travel the exclusive domain of the Colombian upper class!
While national flights or from the USA are more affordable now, the same can’t be said if you’re coming from elsewhere. Air Canada, for example, has a direct service from Toronto to Bogota, but it’ll cost you around 900 Canadian dollars (about the same in US). In that case, you’re better off flying one of the US airlines, connecting in a major US hub, and save yourself up to 300 dollars.
Colombian Peso Exchange Rate
