Santiago, Chile airfare is priced around $800 from several major cities around the USA like JFK, LAX and MIA. One exception is Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Santiago, Chile at $474 roundtrip on Copa in T class on several dates in May.
Copa flies Fort Lauderdale FLL – PTY Panama City and PTY – SCL Santiago, Chile. The routing requires overnight in Panama outbound and the option of overnight in Panama inbound.
Copa T booking class earns 50% miles in United Mileage Plus for 4,145 miles for this itinerary.
Google Flights shows this itinerary is bookable through Copa Airlines or several online travel agencies including Orbitz and Priceline. I was able to price the $472 itinerary on Priceline and Orbitz to the booking page, but Copa Airlines website showed the lowest fare outbound sold out for several of the same dates I checked.
Copa also showed flights available on some itineraries I checked with the same flights showing sold out for other itineraries.
Overnight in Panama City, Panama in both directions can be a bonus city adventure or a pain in the ass. The ticket price savings compared to $700 for the next lowest Copa fare can be used for hotel expenses. The savings to fly Copa from FLL or MCO Orlando can potentially cover the cost of the flight from USA airports to Florida compared to the price to fly to SCL from other airports in the states, often topping $1,000.
Priceline.com $471.50 Fort Lauderdale FLL – SCL Santiago, Chile, Copa Airlines May 8-18, 2015.
