Travel

Bargain tickets available to Europe and Asia -- with a catch

Are you ready for some offseason international travel bargains? Me too. But there's a catch: "some assembly required." No, you don't have to bring your tool kit to work on the plane. But you may have to spend a bit more time planning your trip, cobbling together a variety of discounted airfares.

First, let's start with some cheap fares to get from Anchorage and Fairbanks to the Lower 48. Since our nonstop flights to Europe end in September, all the low-cost roads lead to Seattle or Los Angeles before we can hop aboard an international flight.

From Anchorage to Seattle, the least-expensive fare is $203 round-trip. That's a great deal on Delta — and you can use this rate between now and Feb. 26. Alaska also offers this fare, but on fewer dates. From Fairbanks, though, it's Alaska that has the better rate to Seattle: $214 round-trip between Nov. 30 and Feb. 27. Of course, the prices surge higher during the peak holiday travel seasons around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

From Anchorage to Los Angeles, Delta offers a $254 round-trip rate between Nov. 28 and Feb. 28. Alaska also offers the rate, but on fewer dates. Alaska does offer a nonstop from Anchorage to LA, but it costs a little more. From Fairbanks, Delta offers a $255 round-trip fare between Dec. 1 and Feb. 16.

From either Seattle or Los Angeles, you can take advantage of better prices to Europe, Asia, South America and everywhere else. But you'll probably have to buy a separate ticket.

Between Seattle and Hong Kong, Delta has a fare of $492 round-trip. This is a nonstop flight. I took it earlier this year — all 14 hours of it. The fare is available on Wednesdays in November, then on Mondays and Wednesdays in February and March of 2017. Delta also has a Seattle-Taipei (via Tokyo) fare of $490 round-trip available on a couple of dates in February for six-day trips, departing on Feb. 8 or 14. It's also available if you leave on Nov. 29 for a six-day trip.

You can shop other airlines, including Air Canada (via Vancouver) for about the same price with plenty of available dates in January, February and March. It costs a few more dollars ($503 round-trip), but features less-convenient connections.

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Going the other direction to Europe, Icelandair offers good connections through Reykjavik to either Brussels or Paris. The fare to Brussels is a little less: as low as $443 round-trip, while the rate to Paris is $499 round-trip from Seattle. Travel between Jan. 9 and April 2.

You can earn Alaska Airlines frequent-flier miles with both Delta and Icelandair.

Los Angeles is a long way from Alaska, but it's the biggest airline hub on the West Coast. Accordingly, you'll get deals that you won't find anywhere else except New York.

If you really want to get away from it all, hop a flight to the southeastern corner of Colombia: Leticia. It's actually on the border of both Peru and Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Fly there for $377 round-trip from Los Angeles between Jan. 13 and June 23. Two-thirds of the trip is on American Airlines, before a switch to LATAM Air. Although it's just across the river from Brazil, you won't be able to go there unless you have a Brazilian visa, which is time-consuming and expensive to obtain.

Flights to Quito, Ecuador, from LA start at $444 round-trip on either American or United. American is another one of Alaska Air's partner airlines, so you can earn miles. That said, American only allows 25 percent mileage accrual on its least-expensive fares.

From Los Angeles to Mexico City, American offers a fare of $235 round-trip between Nov. 2 and April 6. It's not available on every flight, but there are plenty of available dates. There are some cheaper rates, around $212 round-trip on Volaris, but the seat-pitch is just 29 inches. That's a little small for me. But if you're short and you like a deal, this is your tip!

Flying to Europe from Los Angeles, there are a couple of budget airlines that have grabbed my attention: Norwegian and Wow Air.

Norwegian flies all-new 787 Dreamliners and the fares are dirt-cheap. From LA to Barcelona, you can fly for as little as $243.30 one-way. But when you try and book that price, there's a BIG disclaimer: "If you would like checked baggage, Nice & Tasty menu and seat reservation, it pays to choose Low Fare +." That ticket is about $90 more each way. In other words, it's $90 more if you want something besides a middle seat.

If you want to fly at about the same time between LA and Stockholm, the round-trip fare (in the middle seat with no checked baggage or meals) starts at $332 round-trip. It's a nonstop flight!

Fares to other Scandinavian cities are similar: as low as $382 round-trip between LA and Oslo (departing Jan. 23). Flying from LA to Copenhagen is $400 round-trip.

Norwegian also has a nonstop flight from LA to London's Gatwick Airport. The rates start at $463 round-trip. Again, you'll feel pressured to upgrade to the "Low Fare +" rate, but you certainly don't have to!

Wow Air flies nonstop from LA to Reykjavik for as little as $160 each way. Of course, that's the base price. You have to pay at least $11 for a seat assignment (or they will assign a seat at check-in for no charge). There's a charge for a large carry-on, although you can take a small carry-on at no charge. But they will weigh your bag and it cannot weigh more than 22 pounds. A checked bag will cost you $68 each way.

All of Wow Air's other destinations necessitate a stop in Reykjavik on the way —but it's still cheap: just $440 round-trip from LA to Amsterdam.

Buying two separate tickets is a hassle. It means you have to check in again in the middle of your trip and clear security again. You may have to re-check your bags, which may include paying more baggage fees. Still, if you want a real deal to some great destinations, the three magic words are: some assembly required.

All fares are subject to change without notice. If you're trying to fly on two separate tickets in one day, give yourself more time at the connecting airport. If the task is daunting, consider paying a travel agent to set it up for you.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about

Scott McMurren

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.

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