Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [358]
Carbon offset schemes
Climatecare.org and other websites use ‘carbon calculators’ that allow travellers to offset the level of greenhouse gases they are responsible for with financial contributions to sustainable travel schemes that reduce global warming – including projects in India, Honduras, Kazakhstan and Uganda.
Lonely Planet, together with Rough Guides and other concerned partners in the travel industry, support the carbon offset scheme run by climatecare.org. Lonely Planet offsets all of its staff and author travel.
For more information check out our website: www.lonelyplanet.com.
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Many airlines now guarantee that you’ll find the lowest fare on their own websites, so check these out as well, especially since such discount carriers as Southwest and JetBlue are not included in online-agency searches.
To find out about late-breaking special fares, sign up for free email newsletters with the airlines or such websites as www.smartertravel.com and www.airfarewatchdog.com. Use www.seatguru.com to determine which seat you’d like to request when making a booking.
And don’t forget about travel agents, who can be especially helpful when planning extensive trips or complicated routes. STA Travel and Flight Centre, both with worldwide branches, are recommended.
Asia
Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok and Hong Kong are among the Asian cities that have good flight connections to LA. Many flights go via Honolulu, but stopovers usually cost extra.
Australia & New Zealand
The dominant carriers from Down Under are Air New Zealand and Qantas, although United Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines also fly across the Pacific. Prices are higher if you stop over in Honolulu.
Canada
Air Canada, American Airlines, United Airlines and WestJet all offer regular nonstop services to LAX from most major Canadian cities. WestJet also flies to Palm Springs from Calgary and Vancouver.
Continental Europe
Many airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Iberia, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways, have direct flights to LA from major European cities. Many other international and US airlines fly to a gateway city (usually Chicago or Miami) and continue to LA on domestic flights.
Mexico
Aeromexico and Mexicana are among the airlines with frequent flights to LA from most major Mexican cities. Aeromexico has flights to Ontario and San Diego as well. Also look into flights to Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego, which may actually be cheaper.
UK & Ireland
One of the busiest and most competitive air sectors in the world is between the UK and the USA. American Airlines, British Airways, Continental, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic all operate direct flights from London to Los Angeles. All but American also fly nonstop to San Francisco. Aer Lingus and American Airlines fly nonstop from Dublin to LA, although you’ll find more choices and probably cheaper fares by going via London.
USA
Domestic airfares fluctuate hugely depending on the season, day of the week, length of stay and flexibility of the tickets for changes and refunds. Still, nothing determines fares more than demand, and when business is slow, airlines lower fares to fill seats. Discount carriers such as AirTran, Frontier Air, Jet Blue and Southwest have been giving the big guys, including United Airlines, American Airlines and US Airways, a run for their money.
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LAND
Border Crossings
San Ysidro on the US–Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana is the world’s busiest border crossing. Traveling into Mexico is usually not a problem but coming back into the US almost always entails a long wait,