Posted Jun 22, 2000
From Our Indian Correspondent

What It Means :

It is possible to book for travel to destinations within the U.S. while in India itself. This sort of reservation using a coupon system issued by domestic U.S. airlines for inland travel within the United States is called the Visit USA or VUSA ticketing.

Why It's Worthwhile :

You save on your dollar expenditure and you pay a flat rate for "x" number of places you wish to visit in the United States (the coupons are in the denominations of between 3 [the minimum] to 8-12 [depending on the Airline] destinations). By opting for VUSA fares you pay only a fraction of what you would be required to pay if you were to choose a long-haul commute within the U.S. and book individually / independently after you get there.

What You Get :

Any travel agent will be able to give you the break-ups for various Airlines - the difference is not very significant though of the five carriers who issue VUSA tickets out of India, Delta, U.S. and Continental have the reputation (hearsay from Travel Agency employees) of being more economical than the remaining two - American and United Airlines.

Assuming you take the VUSA ticket from, say, Delta Airlines in India, the current fares would be as follows:

(Rates given in USD, though you can pay the equivalent in INR)

What this means is that you can fly anywhere to anywhere in the U.S. (one coupon per trip), regardless of distance. Also, you are offered significant concessions if you travel to the U.S. by the parent Airline itself instead of choosing a different carrier (like one of the Asian or European Airlines).

Others Points Worth Noting :

1) You have to state you sector/destination in advance. If you change your mind later you pay around USD75 per re-routing.

2) If you find, after going there, that

a) no convenient direct flight is available for your particular destination on the day you wish to travel or

b) if you opt out of awkward flight schedules then,

you may choose to break your journey and take more than one flight to reach your destination. But, in that process, you end up using more than one coupon for reaching the same place.

3) You have to use up your first coupon within 60 days of landing in the U.S. And you have to use up all the coupons within 60 days of using the first coupon.

4) There are two seasons - the basic (non-peak) pre-May fares and the peak June-to-end-August / Christmas-festive season fares. The peak season fares will be significantly higher (a United Airlines non-peak fare of USD486 can go up to USD599 in the peak season for a 3 coupon VUSA ticket).  

A tip...(if you are able to organize your itinerary in such a fashion then...) you can buy a non-peak VUSA ticket and land in the U.S. on the 30th of May and use your first coupon on the 31st (the last day of one basic non-peak season). Now, although the peak season commences from the 1st of June, your VUSA ticket, which has been paid for at a basic rate, remains valid through 59 days of the peak season at the lower rate itself.  

VUSA ticketing, if planned and utilized by discerning travelers with multiple, pre-determined destinations within the U.S. makes travel hassle-free, saves your dollar funds besides being turning out to be attractively economical.

© The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.