Discount Air Passes

If you’re bound for Asia and the South Pacific there are a batch of air passes to look into.

Indian Airlines, a domestic Indian carrier, offers a pair of passes. The 21-day “Discover India” pass covers the entire country and costs $375. Under the seven-day “India Wonderfare,” priced at $200, you select either the northern, southern, eastern or western region of the country. Both passes allow unlimited stopovers, provided no place is visited more than once except when necessary for routing to the next destination.

These passes can be bought in the United States or in India (using dollars, not rupees). Contact travel agents or the Government of India Tourist Office, (213) 380-8855.

East-West Airlines of Australia has an “East-Side Air Pass,” which allows unlimited travel for 14 days over the eastern sector of the country and as far inland as Ayers Rock (Western Australia is excluded). With this pass, good in conjunction with any transpacific fare to Australia, you can backtrack and visit places more than once. The pass costs about $250.

With the “Visit Australia” fare, overseas travelers can get 20% off of fares on all the carrier’s routes except flights to Canberra.

Contact travel agents or East-West Airlines at (800) 354-7471.

Fiji-based Air Pacific is offering a 30-day “PacificAir Pass” between Fiji and Vanuatu, Tonga and Western Samoa. The price is $375, which represents discounts up to 65% over economy-class flights on this route, according to the carrier. Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands can be added for another $100. You can’t retrace your steps. This pass has to be bought in the United States.

Contact travel agents or Air Pacific at (213) 417-2236.

Fiji Air also has a 30-day “Discover Fiji” fare that has been cut from $199 to $99. You get virtually unlimited air travel throughout the Fiji archipelago; the airline flies to 15 destinations in Fiji. Reservations have to be made no earlier than 24 hours before the day of departure, and the pass can’t be used for flights to Funafuti, capital of Tuvalu (formerly the Ellice Islands), or the Polynesian island of Rotuma.

This pass has to be bought in Fiji at a Fiji Air office. Contact Fiji Air, Pier 26, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, Calif. 94105; (415) 777-2760.