Spanish leisure carrier Plus Ultra has issued a decent fare for economy class roundtrips between Madrid and Cartagena, Colombia. You can buy tickets for as little as €502 – a fare that not only includes board service, but also a checked bag up to 23 kg.
While the inbound is non-stop, the outbound flight has a technical stop in Bogotá. You should be able to stay on the plane. Tickets to Bogotá are available for €559.
Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to Skyscanner with your selected flight dates.
Plus Ultra operates a fleet of one Airbus A340-300 and five Airbus A330-200 aircraft. One of the A330s is scheduled for the trip between Madrid, Bogotá and Cartagena. It features a 2-4-2 seating pattern in economy class. There seems to be a rather outdated IFE for every passenger that might or might not work. Be sure to bring power banks for your personal equipment, as these planes have no charging ports. Plus Ultra has received abysmal reviews on TripAdvisor.
Search & Book
These tickets are on sale without a sales or travel period. We were not able to confirm a minimum or maximum stay. While there are singular flight dates in May and June, the best availability is from September through November 2024.
Google Flights helps you find additional flight dates. The cheapest tickets are sold through online travel agencies by Skyscanner. Tickets are roughly €60 more expensive on Plus Ultra’s website. Given the airline’s bad reputation for its customer service, we recommend saving as much money as possible and buying tickets through OTAs.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
There are no miles to be earned with these tickets.
Cover Picture: by Flavia Carpio on unsplash