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FYI --- McAuliff From Arthur Frommer's daily travel letter: Asian air prices, defying normal logic, just keep getting lower and lower. Of course, the fact that we're heading into these countries' low seasons plays a part, but it's not the whole story--we were most certainly seeing lows this low last fall. Now we've gotten word of a bargain so extraordinary we can't imagine anyone beating it (though we've been wrong with those predictions before): If you book through a reputable company called Nippon Express Travel USA, Inc., you can get a round-trip ticket between New York (and many other East Coast gateways) and Tokyo on your choice of U.S.-based carriers--Continental, Northwest, United, Delta, or American--for $599, for travel between November 30 and March 31. That's a very good, but not extraordinary, price. What makes it extraordinary is that your companion ticket is free. What's the catch? Only that you must purchase tickets by this Saturday, November 14. You might wonder how this is possible, or legit. Simple: Continental is starting Newark-to-Tokyo service on November 30, and when it rolled out its introductory fare, the others matched. (By the way, the $599 fare is also available on the two major Japanese carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, but without the free companion fare.) These prices also are for Monday-through-Thursday flights; you pay an extra $50 for travel on weekends. (In addition, American is offering the extra option of flying into Nagoya in addition to Tokyo.) Moreover, there is no holiday blackout period for this offer on the U.S. carriers. Plus, the same price is good from virtually all East Coast cities from which the respective airlines fly. Although Californians usually get the sweetest Asian air bargains, this time the easterners carry the day. However, that's not to say that Nippon Express isn't offering anything for the West Coast; for example, flying Northwest to Tokyo from your choice of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, or San Francisco costs just $449 round-trip for travel Mondays to Thursdays, $50 more on the weekends. However, no special companion fares are available from these gateways. United is matching Northwest's prices on all these routes, and from San Jose in addition. Again, these fares are good from practically any West Coast gateway from which one or the other airline flies. To book, call Nippon Express at 800/445-8422 or 212/319-9021 and ask for either Karen or Dennis.