We saw this morning, thanks to chef Tom Colicchio’s tweet, that Qantas is offering unlimited flights to South Australia for a year via a sweepstakes.
Which made us wonder – it’s at least three legs to get to Adelaide from Chicago (Chicago to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Sydney, Sydney to Adelaide) and a minimum of 24 hours in flight time and layovers … how many times could you do it in a year?
South Australia would be a lot of fun, if only for its massive wine country (from McClaren Vale to Barossa Valley, etc.) or to see Kangaroo Island. It’s supposed to be beautiful. And considering that you’re looking at a minimum of $1,000 ticket for one person, round trip, at absolute sale prices, a couple of trips for two represents thousands of dollars.
But could you do it? Two trips would mean four to five days in solid travel time. That’s a lot, even for hearty travelers. Travel editor Ross Werland was worn out just using JetBlue’s unlimited pass, and he never spent more than two hours on a plane.
It’s a problem we’d like to tackle, though.
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Here’s the fine print:
PRIZE: Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize will be awarded of unlimited round-trip
economy-class flights for the winner and one (1) companion between Los Angeles
(LAX) and Adelaide (ADL). The Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Grand
Prize is $5,000. The Grand Prize winner and the companion are responsible for all
airline taxes, surcharges and any other relevant fees; these must be paid before tickets
can be issued. The winner and the companion are solely responsible for obtaining all
necessary travel documents, including visas and passports. All expenses and costs not
expressly listed above including, but not limited to, transportation to and from LAX
and ADL, hotel accommodations, hotel/in-room services, food and beverages,
excursions, gratuities, any other travel related expenses, and all taxes are solely the
winner’s responsibility. Grand Prize winner and travel companion must travel on the
same itinerary for each trip. Winner’s travel companion must be at least 18 years of
age or, if travel companion is a minor, the Grand Prize winner must be the travel
companion’s parent/legal guardian. Grand Prize winner’s travel companion must be
the same person for each trip. Grand Prize airfare is subject to restrictions, including
but not limited to, restrictions on seat availability, blackout dates, and restrictions on
transferability.
AP file photo