Martin Grosz
07/05/2021 6:00 AM
Clarín.com
Services
Updated 07/05/2021 6:54 AM
In these days of closed borders, canceled flights and Argentines stranded in the midst of a pandemic, the mere idea of buying a ticket to
travel abroad
may sound crazy.
But the agencies and airlines, facing a
perhaps different
summer 2022
, began to offer
ultra cheap
tickets
to go to Brazil.
And more than one opportunist is taking advantage of them.
Those who aspire to enjoy the beaches of the neighboring country in
December, January or February
today find tickets with rates that a couple of years ago would have been considered "free" or "
bargains
".
According to
Clarín
and confirmed sources in the sector, this is especially true for the route between
Buenos Aires
and Rio de Janeiro, a destination that today may be cheaper than Florianópolis.
But is it really a good idea to book now, with
no possible certainty
about when the restrictions will be lifted?
Or is it better to wait a few months for the picture to clear up a bit?
And if the bet is indeed made, what to take into account when choosing the ticket, to
avoid headaches
if things get complicated?
Rio de Janeiro is always among the favorite destinations for Argentines abroad.
Photo: Reuters / Archive.
Clarín
asked different experts for their opinion to answer the most frequent questions on the matter.
How much are the flights to Brazil for the summer?
Aiming at
December
,
January
or
February
, it is now possible to get cheap
round-trip
tickets
to
Rio de Janeiro
from companies such as Aerolineas Argentinas, Flybondi and
Gol
from
$ 39,000
to
$ 43,000
.
Payable, in several cases, in up to
12 installments without interest
.
These are values that include all taxes.
And they refer to tickets that enable to
dispatch a suitcase
in the cellar.
Since, if you only carry a handbag and a carry-on,
low cost
options appear
even below
$ 37 thousand
or
$ 35 thousand
.
This Friday, for example, you could buy a
low cost
ticket
to fly
direct
to Rio de Janeiro on December 1 and return 7 days later for
$ 34,545
.
When adding a piece of luggage in the hold for each section, it was
$ 39,632
.
That was equivalent, taking the "solidarity" exchange rate, to about
$ 238
.
And in reality it could be less if it is considered that, of the price paid, almost
$ 6,300
can be recovered (in 2022), since it is withheld as a payment on account of Profits or Personal Assets.
One of the offers found for tickets to go to Rio de Janeiro.
When adding luggage, it is almost 40 thousand.
Image: Capture.
Outside of Rio, to go between December and February to
other
Brazilian
seaside resorts
that are highly chosen by Argentines, the basic round-trip tickets start at slightly higher levels, although they can also be attractive:
Florianopolis
.
There are flights from
$ 48 thousand
.
Salvador of Bahia
.
There are flights from
$ 60 thousand
.
Natal
.
There are flights from
$ 58 thousand
.
Recife
.
There are flights from
$ 68 thousand
.
How much do you get packages with accommodation and all services?
The
Despegar
agency
provided some examples of what you can currently pay for a package for the summer with a
direct flight
to Rio de Janeiro, with luggage,
accommodation
, travel
insurance
and a
flexible
rate
:
For December
: 9 nights, from
$ 63 thousand
per person.
For January
: 7 days, from
$ 63 thousand
per person.
For February
: 9 nights, from
$ 71 thousand
per person.
"Rio de Janeiro is always at the top of the ranking of international destinations chosen by Argentines. Today there are
very good opportunities
to plan a future trip, also with flexible reservations, something that we always recommend and especially in the current context," he told
Clarín
Paula Cristi, general manager of Despegar in Argentina and Uruguay.
Roundtrip flights to Rio de Janeiro, with options starting at $ 40,000 for the entire summer.
Image: Capture.
But how convenient are current prices compared to usual?
To
Matías Mute
, co-founder of Promos Aéreas, a site specialized in detecting opportunities to fly cheaply, paying
around $ 250
for a round-trip ticket to Rio de Janeiro seems "
a real bargain
."
"At a
normal
time
, without a pandemic, I would expect to pay
400 or 600 dollars
for a ticket to go to Rio in the summer, which is exactly the time of choice," he recalled.
And he compared: "The cheapest I have ever seen for that destination were tickets for
180 or 200 dollars
, but for low season and
without the flexibility
to make changes that is offered today."
A reflection of this is a piece of information offered by the Avantrip agency: the
average value in dollars
of the reservations that are being made to fly to Rio is 18% less than a year ago and
25% less than in 2019
.
"No matter how you look at it, today it is cheaper," they said.
Cheap flights available for December to Rio de Janeiro, according to the ranking of the multi-search engine Turismocity.
Image: Capture.
Why should you rush to buy tickets?
Could they increase later?
In the opinion of Mute, an experienced airfare analyst, for those who know they
want to make that trip
and can deal with the uncertainty, this is "definitely a good time to buy."
He supports his position with a series of
arguments
:
"The dollar is cheap
.
"
The government maintains
its price
"
trampled
", which rises much less than inflation, which makes the purchase of flights abroad more accessible.
"But, after the
elections, they could devalue
. It happened many times and always the one who anticipated won," Mute said.
"The demand today is minimal
.
"
And that's why prices are so depressed.
"But as soon as borders reopen and people begin to reserve, they will
increase,
" he anticipated.
"The tickets are flexible
.
"
In general, they allow you to make changes
without penalty
, to travel up to
one year after
the date of a flight that eventually cannot be used.
"If that is the case, you will not travel next summer, but at some other time
until January 2023.
It is very unlikely that you will not be able to travel for so long," he reasoned.
Of course, although the borders are reopened, there is
an important risk
for which any buyer should be prepared: the chance that, as just happened,
a new closure
abruptly
prevents a return on the scheduled date.
There are attractive offers to travel to Rio de Janeiro by Aerolineas Argentinas, Flybondi and Gol.
Photo: Xinhua.
When choosing a ticket, what care should be taken to avoid inconveniences?
The main recommendation of the specialists is that any ticket purchased is
open to changes
.
And that, if
accommodation
is reserved
, it is also with
free cancellation
.
"The most important thing is that travelers are attentive to making
flexible reservations
, which allow date changes
without penalties
. It is, in fact, the most sought-after option since the pandemic began, and that is why we offer a wide variety of alternatives that allow it" , Cristi pointed out, from Despegar.
In Users and Consumers United (UCU), an entity that has been legally advising clients in disputes over canceled trips, they emphasized that the most important thing in the face of flight offers today is to "
look carefully at
the conditions" before buying.
That is, the "
fine print
" of the passage.
"If someone considers that it is worth taking advantage of it,
assuming the risk
that the trip will not be made, we would not advise them to wait, but to know very well what they are going to hire," said
Adrián Bengolea
, lawyer and president of UCU.
Rio de Janeiro is always among the favorite destinations for Argentines abroad.
Photo: AP.
What they do indicate with emphasis on that user entity is
not to book
through
intermediaries without domicile in the country
, since that -as they argue- can bring "many problems" in case of having to claim for a cancellation.
"When the ticket is bought through intermediaries, the airlines do not usually take the claims. It is an
abusive practice
, but it happens, and thus they force the passenger to make formal claims," Bengolea assured.
Faced with the offers, are there already opportunists reserving to spend the summer in Brazil?
In the agencies they affirm that, despite the current crisis of border closure, in recent weeks they have noticed
growing reserves
of Argentines who want to go to Brazil as soon as everything is reopened.
"Although the focus is on national destinations, we observe that
there is an interest
in Rio de Janeiro, mainly to travel
next summer
, understanding that it is always a very popular destination among Argentines," said
Paula Cristi
, from Despegar.
Emiliano Leanza
, Head of Business Intelligence at
Avantrip
, contributed in the same vein: "Compared to May, in
June
we saw a
very important growth in the sale
of tickets to Rio de Janeiro. From the first week of the month to the second the jump it was
200% in quantities
, the following week another 14%, and the next 15% more. "
Of these reserves, Leanza specified, the majority pointed to
December (24%)
,
January (17.3%)
,
February (16%)
and -remarkably- October (14.6%).
An overview of the fares to fly to Rio de Janeiro in December, in the Avantrip search engine.
Image: Capture.
Who are the ones buying to travel to Rio today?
In
6 out of 10
cases the ticket included a single ticket, which in Avantrip they mainly attribute to
travel
plans
between friends
, where each one pays their own.
Another
25%
corresponded to
couples'
trips
and only in the
remaining
15%
of the tickets was the typical
family
purchase
, with 3 or more seats included.
MG
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