Venezuela Currency Devaluation = Good Flight Deals?

The Venezuelan government announced today that it would be devaluing its currency once again, moving the fixed rate against the dollar from 4.30 to 6.30 bolivars. This move will push the dollar up 46.5% against the bolivar and is expected to ease the precarious budget situation in Caracas by ushering in an influx of foreign currency to take advantage of now reduced oil prices. More importantly for us, the move might also lead to a temporary reprieve in airline ticket prices.

Round-the-world fares and airline tickets originating in Venezuela price in local currency and it is conceivable that we might see some good deals in the next few days. I am not counting on anything like the Burma fare sale, where the Burmese kyat went from 6.4 kyat per $1 to 818.0 per $1, catching many off guard. But a 46.5% drop in value is still substantial.

You’d have to get to Venezuela to take advantage of any of these fares, but just as an example, take a look at this trip I pieced together in business class on the Star Alliance RTW Fare Tool:

CCS-IAH-YVR-SYD-BKK-JNB-MUC-ZRH-LIS-EWR-CCS would be a pretty nifty RTW trip and prices at 61,351 VEF. At a 4.30 to 1 exchange rate, that is $14,268–a lot of money. At a 6.30 to 1 exchange rate, the price drops to $9,738–still a lot of money but a much, much better price and pretty good for the 34,000 miles of business class travel in exchange. A near identical trip originating in Los Angeles is pricing out at $16,379:

If you are considering a RTW trip or might be traveling out of Venezuela in the coming months, keep an eye on fares and the exchange rate in the coming days…it may well pay off handsomely. Should I stumble upon anything particularly noteworthy, I will provide an updated post.