Business traveller: Air passes for frequent flyers

For travellers with complex, multi-stop itineraries, air passes, which offer discounted travel within a defined region and timeframe, are worth considering.

The options
Air passes come in a number of forms, such as unlimited, limited and build-your-own.

With the first, travellers can fly as often as they like within a given period. With the second, they have a certain number of flights. And with the third, they buy discounted flights, often within “zones”.

Airlines such as Virgin Blue in Australia, Cathay Pacific in Asia, India’s Jet Airways and airline alliances such as One World and Star Alliance all offer air passes that typically cover large countries, or regions such as Europe. Round-the-world tickets are also a form of air pass.

The limitations
Air passes, such as Jet Blue’s BluePass, are often offered as limited-time promotions – and are less likely to be available during peak travel periods such as Christmas.

Some are sold only to travellers arriving from outside the region. Sites such as FlyerTalk and Airtimetable.com are good sources of information on them, as are travel agents.

Traditionally, air passes have been aimed mainly at leisure travellers but some – such as Jet Blue’s – do have more of a business focus.

However, business travellers need to look at the offers closely, says Jami Counter of TripAdvisor. “Some passes can be quite generous and are great deals if travellers are able to fully take advantage of the pass and maximise their flights,” he says. “Others are more limited and most travellers wouldn’t be able to find any real value because of the restricted nature or limited markets often offered.

“It is critical to read up on the details of the offering as well as the restrictions associated with each flight pass before determining the actual value to you, the traveller,” he adds.