Europe Flight Coupons for Sale

A start-up company based in Los Angeles is selling EurAir Passes: $90 flight coupons, each good for nonstop one-way travel--mostly on local-regional airlines--between 55 cities in 18 European countries.

The nonrefundable coupons can be bought only in the U.S., in packets of three or more, and are good for 120 days. To be assured of a seat, travelers can reserve flights before departing, or they can present a coupon to one of nine participating airlines while in Europe and be boarded if seats are available.

Savings can be substantial. For instance, a typical London-Milan one-way fare in June is about $358, Madrid-Rome about $540. But company president Bill Wolf, a founder of the now-defunct Air L.A. commuter airline, concedes that the coupons might not beat advance-purchase fares on some routes.

The nine airlines are Ireland’s Aer Lingus, Air Baltic (Latvia), Air Greece, Air One (Italy), Augsburg Airlines (Germany), PGA Portugalia (Portugal), Spanair (Spain), VLM (Belgium) and Virgin Express (Belgium). Information: tel. (888) 387-2479 or the EurAir Web site, https://www.eurairpass.com.

Meanwhile, CityBird, the low-fare airline that flies to Brussels, has allied with Sabena to provide flights to more than 50 European cities from the U.S., including Los Angeles, beginning June 1. Round-trip fares between LAX and Rome, for instance, start at $750, plus taxes. Reservations: (888) 248-9247.