If you really want to suffer in coach, American Airlines is offering award space on its service from Los Angeles to New Zealand at an amazing discount. I mean, really, I’ve never seen award prices this low. You’d be lucky to get a domestic ticket in North America for 5,000 miles (some carriers like Alaska routinely offer them on short routes). But all the way to New Zealand?
This is one of the longer routes in the commercial aviation industry at 6,504 miles each way, or roughly 13,000 round-trip. Westbound travel clocks is scheduled for 13 hours and 35 minutes. But hurry! A deal like this won’t last forever and many dates are already selling out. HT to Spencer at Strait to the Points for alerting me to this deal.
I was able to find a couple dates in December with 5,000-mile tickets if you really want to go for Christmas. But I’m pretty sure my wife would kill me. Apparently my offer to bring along the whole family was not convincing.
If the prices initially look too high, remember to check the box for “Economy Web Special,” not the standard economy class awards.
Use the calendar feature to explore November through February and hopefully you’ll find something. Even if you can’t find cheap tickets both directions, book this deal one-way and use miles from a different program to get home.
I was able to find a complete round-trip itinerary for 10,000 miles and $67.35 in fees. There are even aisle seats available, but considering the savings you might splurge an extra $154 each way for extra legroom and a window to lean against.
On the one hand, I can’t imagine spending that long in coach. I’m old enough that it’s no longer fun, and I have enough miles that I don’t need to be so cheap. But it is tempting just to have a story to tell.
