London — I had been on hold for nearly an hour, killing time by doodling tiny airplanes flying around a spinning Earth. Uplifting classical music played in my ear, but I was in a deep blue funk as I waited for an airline booking agent to answer a question.
A few weeks earlier, I had purchased what seemed like an unbeatable deal: a $599 round-trip fare from Los Angeles to London on British Airways.
But then I noticed a different offer that would have decreased the price by about $50 and given me some cheap hotel options. Miserly traveler that I am, I called back and asked for the lower fare.
Silly me. To get the $50 reduction, I would have to pay $200. Welcome to the wacky, Catch-22 world of international air travel packages.
Thanks to spirited competition, mostly between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, U.S. travelers can score extraordinary off-season bargains to Britain and the Continent. But -- like the Chinese restaurant menu that specifies "no substitutions allowed" -- you can't really futz around with the deal once you've chosen Combination A, B or C.
I compared the two major airlines' online fares and package deals to Europe in the spring, when package rates were at low ebb but airfares were starting to climb for summer and hotel costs were already skyrocketing for the independent traveler. Then I traveled anonymously as a consumer scout, checking out the hotels, transfer services and optional tours offered in the package.
There were some lapses in service on this non-escorted package, but by and large, international travelers can save time and frustration -- and find suitable budget accommodations -- by reserving one of the airlines' packages.
Traditionally, the lowest-priced fares of the year are offered when leisure travel falls off during winter, fall and spring. But deals are being offered earlier this year, partly because of the airline terrorism scare Aug. 10 in London. Airfare from LAX to London costs as little as $616, including taxes and fees. Three-night air-hotel packages start at $662 per person, double occupancy (plus about $130.50 in fees), and weeklong London packages start at $950 per person, including fees.
My weeklong spring trip took me from Los Angeles to the storied streets of London; to the English countryside, where I had tea at Windsor Castle (the queen was there but did not invite me to join her); to the chilly mystical landscape of Wiltshire, where I roamed about the monuments of Stonehenge; and to the rolling countryside of Somerset, where I peered into the Roman baths at Bath. From there, I hopped over to Amsterdam for a few days of sightseeing.
