In Britain, good things in small packages

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.

The six-night British Airways Holidays package, including international airfare, accommodations, transfers and round-trip airfare to the Netherlands, was a little more than $1,300, double occupancy, a price that Virgin Vacations matched within $10.

I priced similar trips on several other travel sites. Travelocity’s total was $1,430; Expedia’s was $1,511.

Experienced travelers could book all the components themselves and spend a bit less for a trip for two, about $1,200 per person, but they would need to know their way around the Internet, the airlines and accommodations in London and Amsterdam and be willing to navigate some of the details of travel, such as getting to the city from the airport.

Travelers who book the airline packages need no such expertise. Choose a date for your flight; choose a hotel from a list -- they’re grouped by price -- and add whatever extras you want, such as airport transfers or sightseeing tours.

Hotels are pre-screened, so you probably won’t end up in a flophouse in a red-light district. And you usually can make your reservations on the Internet or by phone (www.baholidays.com, [877] 428-2228, or www.virginvacations.com, [888] 937-8474).

Follow the leader, or else

TOUR guide Paul, a ruddy-faced Irishman in his 60s, hopped on our bus a few minutes before it departed London’s Victoria Coach Station for a daylong jaunt through the English countryside.

“We will keep on schedule,” he said sternly to the three dozen passengers. “We’ve many places to go today and you will be in your seats at the time I ask you.” No one argued as the bus crossed busy Buckingham Palace Road, headed toward Windsor Castle.

Even though I had come to London on a British Airways package, I had booked this optional 12-hour tour to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge through Virgin Vacations. I had tried a BA London tour the day I arrived; the tour guide picked me up about an hour late, didn’t know much about the places we toured and couldn’t answer any questions. Both British Airways Holidays and Virgin Vacations offer dozens of tours within the city and throughout the countryside. They include simple cruises on the Thames ($17), tickets to West End plays ($134-plus) and day trips to Paris ($319).

I had compared fees for these optional trips and concluded that BA Holidays’ tours were costlier. My gambol through the shires with Virgin cost $123; a similar BA Holidays tour cost $232. (You can book the excursion yourself in advance with Virgin or when you get to London through the vendor: Premium Tours, www.premiumtours.co.uk.)

Paul bullied us, educated us and made us feel a bit like Brits ourselves with his palace jokes (Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, was a favorite target) as the bus rolled along under gray skies to Windsor Castle, 25 miles from London.

The castle, first built nearly a thousand years ago by William the Conqueror, is on chalk bluffs overlooking the Thames and is the queen’s primary residence -- the largest occupied castle in the world and an amazing testament to royal power and wealth.

We ogled the lavishly decorated state apartments, with their Rembrandts, Van Dycks and Rubens; watched the showy changing of the guard at 11 a.m.; then walked through St. George’s Chapel, musing about life in the era of Henry VIII, who is buried there, along with nine other monarchs.

We stepped back in time even further with our next stop, Stonehenge, Europe’s best-known prehistoric monument, which was built in stages from about 3000 BC. This eerie configuration of stone slabs on the Salisbury Plain still mystifies scientists and historians. The sky turned darker, and the wind picked up as we walked around the circle of 50-ton stones, and I let my imagination wander. It is a magical place, but a light drizzle and increasing winds drove me back to the bus.

Our time was almost up anyway. Paul was already on the bus, glancing at his watch as a few stragglers boarded just under the deadline. I expected the bus to leave, but we just sat there. Paul got off for a few minutes, then got back on and conferred with the bus driver. He looked at his watch, strode back and forth impatiently and got off. We waited 10 more minutes as he paced outside. Finally two young Italians appeared, strolling toward the bus.

He boarded behind them and erupted in a red-faced fury. “When I say to be back on the bus at a certain time, I mean it,” he said through clenched teeth. “You made all these people wait for you. That is rude and unacceptable.”

The two Italians shrank visibly and sank into their seats, heads down.

No one was late again.

The competition

VIRGIN Atlantic Airlines came on the scene 22 years ago, and business hasn’t been the same for British Airways since.

“We caused them to stand up, take notice and improve their product,” said Virgin spokesman Chris Rossi.

British Airways sees it differently: Size is the name of the game, and the airline has it.

“We’re the biggest holiday wholesaler to the United Kingdom,” said spokesman John Lampl. “We sell 100,000 packages from North America to the U.K. annually. That’s more bed nights, theater tickets and sightseeing tours [than any other tour company]. We have the quantity and quality that leisure travelers want.”

British Airways flies to Europe from 22 gateways in North America; Virgin flies from nine. But Angelenos are lucky: Both airlines have routes from LAX to London, and Virgin makes a compelling case for itself.

The airline’s Upper Class service and amenities are legendary: large, lie-flat beds; in-flight beauty therapists; and home limo pickup for passengers. And Virgin’s economy service has its perks too: seat-back video monitors with movies on demand. (BA movies are shown on a fixed schedule.) Both airlines serve complimentary beer, wine and cocktails.

Quantity ended up swaying me when I booked my package. At the time, British Airways had more than 50 London hotels to choose from; Virgin had fewer than half that. The hotel I chose from BA, the Kensington International (www.kensington-international-hotel.co.uk), suited me well. My room was tiny but clean and well-equipped, a light breakfast awaited me each morning in the hotel dining room (included in the package), and the Earls Court tube stop was nearby. The neighborhood was great, the staff helpful, and a friendly Corgi named Tiger greeted guests in the lobby.

There was no wagging tail at my Amsterdam hotel, the Ibis Amsterdam Centre. The staff wasn’t very friendly, and the breakfast was unappetizing, but the hotel was central and clean, and my room had a wonderful city view.

All things considered, I was happy with the accommodations.

The package offered mostly pluses, but there were minuses.

* Highlights: The airline package was a first-rate bargain, with most of the planning taken care of. It was convenient, and I didn’t have to worry about the location or condition of my hotels.

* Low points: The trip I booked could not be arranged on the Web. I had to call a British Airways booking agent, and the time I spent on hold was lengthy.

Check-in at LAX was no better; in fact, it’s the first time I’ve arrived three hours early for a flight and almost missed it because of slow check-in -- and this was before the recent bomb scare that caused chaos for British Airways’ passengers.

Spokesman Lampl blamed LAX for the waits, saying the airport is antiquated. I had no such problems at London’s Heathrow Airport or Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

I also arranged airport-hotel transfers with British Airways. Two of the four (two in London, two in Amsterdam) were unacceptable. The transfer company wouldn’t pick up or take passengers to the Amsterdam hotel where I was staying -- a hotel British Airways had booked for me -- and I had to tote my luggage for three blocks in the rain.

* What I would do differently: The British Airways trip was fine, but I’d try Virgin next time, if prices were comparable. I’d much rather book online than spend time on hold.

rosemary.mcclure@latimes.com

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Rating the experience

The company

Name: British Airways, the largest vacation wholesaler to Britain from North America. Offers air transportation, hotels, cars, transfers and sightseeing.

Accommodations: A range, from small budget hotels to luxury lodgings.

For more information: www.britishairways.com or www.baholidays.com.

The tour

British Airways: Custom tour package to London and Amsterdam

(On a scale of one to five stars)

Organization: * *

Lodging: * * *

Value: * * *

Overall experience: * * *

Would I choose this tour again? Yes

Pros:

* Simplifies British and European travel.

* Hotel-airfare combination was a good buy.

Cons:

* A disappointing lack of oversight on transfers and sightseeing tours.

* Couldn’t be booked online.

-- Rosemary McClure