Other North & South America Frequent Flyer Programs - LAN enforcing Peru residency for cheap fares??

Yesterday I priced a domestic ticket from the Peru portal. Today I was ready to buy it and I noticed this new banner above the prices: Importante: La Tarifa Base de Cabina Económica es válida sólo para residentes en el Perú. En caso de que no acredite la residencia en el Perú, LAN le podra negar el embarque o aplicar -previo al mismo- un cargo adicional de US$ 178.50. So basically if one cannot prove Peruvian residency, he/she must pay $178.50. Where do we send the complaints? I am tired of being fleeced.

Where do we send the complaints? I am tired of being fleeced.

Complain to whom? The International Society Of Unjust Tariffs? It is possible like with Argentina that there may be government subsidized fares for residents only. This is different than "point of sale" restrictions, like Chile has.

I ran into the same issue. I did manage to recoup most of the fare difference by booking a package on Travelocity including hotel for less than the price of airfare only on the US site as well as TL.

that restriction on the cheap domestic fares in Perú seems to be brand new. earlier this year i didnot have this restriction on my 80$ ticket CUZ-LIM. however paying for the ticket was kind of complicated :rolleyes:

This sucks!as Prices for Foreigners are way higher..Hopefully this move wont be permanent

that restriction on the cheap domestic fares in Perú seems to be brand new. earlier this year i didnot have this restriction on my 80$ ticket CUZ-LIM. however paying for the ticket was kind of complicated :rolleyes:

They have always "discouraged" buying Peruvian fares and there have been posts on how to get round it. But it seems clear that they are making this more difficult in order to recoup revenue (or gouge foreigners, depending on how you look at it).
For the original poster, check some third parties and see if they will still sell to you. PM if you need some ;) I do think that there may be a disconnect between bright red warning letters on the web site and whether they actually check your document at boarding and cross reference with the fare paid (unless they've put in a LOT more effort in aligning fare classes than they previously had).

In February 2009, I wasn't able to buy my ticket on the LanPeru website for the Peruvian market because they wouldn't accept my foreign credit card. So when I got to Lima, I booked the ticket on the Peruvian web site, then went to the Vivanda grocery store to pay for the ticket, and was able to get the Peruvian price.

However, now with this latest move, they have made it a lot harder. I guess the best tactic is either to book the cheapest ticket and take your chances at the airport, or just book the "Plus" fare and pay the higher price right from the beginning.

I think it's disgusting the way they are charging more for foreigners. I will try to fly other airlines, but there aren't many left in Peru now. LAN pretty much controls the market, and there aren't so many choices.

I guess the only way to find out what will happen is to buy that cheap ticket, and be prepared to pay $178 extra at the airport (this could very well be more than the price of the ticket itself).

Lan is pretty hardcore. I imagine that they will be asking for DNI (Peruvian ID) or Carnet de Extranjeria (ID for foreign residents) at the counter.

I just got back from South America. I booked a Peruvian fare on LAN Peru for a LIM - CUZ flight and was not questioned at all at the counter. I used the getting the reservation number on the website than calling reservations to complete the transaction method.

Otherwise, StarPeru wasn't bad when we tried it this year. On time, cheap and friendly. We even got an op-up on the ex-Druk Air BAe 146 :D

I guess the only way to find out what will happen is to buy that cheap ticket, and be prepared to pay $178 extra at the airport (this could very well be more than the price of the ticket itself).


I have a feeling this will be strictly enforced. I did fly to Tacna a few months ago on a cheaper fare with no problems. Some differences in prices between Base and Base Plus is only $40 each way. I would just rather buy the Base Plus for $80 more than risk paying $178 later.

Avianca gets away with this practice by not accepting foreign credit cards in their Colombian portal of the website, and then only making Flexi and SuperFlexi fares available for other portals (though one could still buy the Colombian price in Colombia). But LAN is just flat out saying.. not Peruvian? Pay more!

Apparently, northern neighbors are still able to book online.

It's real, and it will be enforced. Lan is a great airline for service, etc. but when they have a rule, they enforce the rule. Period. It's crazy because it will just undermine the Peruvian tourism industry. I doubt that many of the backpackers currently roaming the country will continue to come when they find they have to pay an additional $300-$400 per flight to get anywhere outside of Lima.

A friend of mine who is married to a Peruvian was trying to buy tickets for her parents to fly to Cuzco and ran into this problem. So after spending an hour on the phone with the Lan reps, she filed a complaint with Indecopi (Peru's Better Business Bureau/Attorney General). Indecopi believes that the practice discriminates on the basis of national origin, and have launched an official investigation. Hopefully Lan will come to their senses soon.

I have a feeling this will be strictly enforced. I did fly to Tacna a few months ago on a cheaper fare with no problems. Some differences in prices between Base and Base Plus is only $40 each way. I would just rather buy the Base Plus for $80 more than risk paying $178 later.

Avianca gets away with this practice by not accepting foreign credit cards in their Colombian portal of the website, and then only making Flexi and SuperFlexi fares available for other portals (though one could still buy the Colombian price in Colombia). But LAN is just flat out saying.. not Peruvian? Pay more!

I think you are right.... it's better to just pay the Base Plus fare than to risk $178 more at the counter. They still won't let you pay with a non-Peruvian credit card online. So, you'll have the buy the tickets once you're in Peru, or use one of those travel agencies in Peru that will do it for you.

In the future, I'm going to compare the Base Plus fare with the fares of other airlines & then make my decision.

A friend of mine who is married to a Peruvian was trying to buy tickets for her parents to fly to Cuzco and ran into this problem. So after spending an hour on the phone with the Lan reps, she filed a complaint with Indecopi (Peru's Better Business Bureau/Attorney General). Indecopi believes that the practice discriminates on the basis of national origin, and have launched an official investigation. Hopefully Lan will come to their senses soon.

I go to Peru once or twice a year and never knew about Indecopi. I am going to see if I can also file a complaint, even though I am a foreigner. LAN is not going to change anything unless forced to. They also charge foreigners more on domestic flights within Argentina (I don't know about the other countries they do business in). IIRC, they are not permitted to do so on international flights.

I go to Peru once or twice a year and never knew about Indecopi. I am going to see if I can also file a complaint, even though I am a foreigner. LAN is not going to change anything unless forced to. They also charge foreigners more on domestic flights within Argentina (I don't know about the other countries they do business in). IIRC, they are not permitted to do so on international flights.

The Argentina situation is different. Those are government-subsidized fares for Argentina residents. That is different than just a residency requirement, absent a subsidy. It is also different than point of sale restrictions. Point of sale restrictions are common throughout the world. But anyone can buy a point of sale restricted ticket as long as one is in that location.

This issue is a big discussion in Peru among expats and visitors alike.

Here is a link to an extensive conversation about the issue in English.
http://www.expatperu.com/expatforums/viewtopic.php?t=7419

To complain in Peru, one should file with INDECOPI and here is the link to their website, in English. They are the Peruvian Government Consumer Rights agency.

http://www.indecopi.gob.pe/sac-que-es-ing.jsp


A few others have filed complaints, so the more complaints, the more likely it is that something will be done.

it is clearly not a case of government subsidised travel incentives for Peruvians, it is not even a discount to encourage Peruvians to travel because it is a mostly hidden fee, it is simply a gringo tax.

They are even selling the prohibited fare to tourists in Lan offices without telling them, then fining them at the airport.

Lan should be punished.

Dear AdamSouthFL,

From the marketing team representing LAN Peru in the United States, I’d like to clarify some of the misunderstanding surrounding the LAN Peru fares that are part of the Peru es tuyo, conocelo (Peru is yours, get to know it) campaign. The fare structure with new lower fares for Peruvian residents is designed to make travel within the country more affordable for more people – it’s not meant to slight or penalize foreign travelers. These fares are accessible to any legal resident of the country, not only Peruvian citizens.

LAN Peru offers residents of Peru convenient fares through Peru es tuyo, conocelo, much as other service companies, theme parks, and entertainment venues offer accessible fares to residents in other countries or states, including the United States.

In addition to these resident fares, LAN Peru and its related companies also regularly announce deals to make travel to Peru and other destinations in South America less expensive for foreign travelers to their destinations. For example, the LAN Argentina promotion, Discover Argentina, Beyond Buenos Aires, that is currently available allows travelers to visit one of a number of domestic destinations in Argentina for the same price of flying from the United States or Canada to Buenos Aires.

Furthermore, LAN Airlines and its affiliates offer convenient products for foreign travelers to the region. With the South America AirPass, when foreign travelers fly internationally to the region, they can buy one-way tickets to the destinations operated by LAN Airlines and its affiliates, making the most out of their experiences at accessible prices.

We will also be sure to share information about these deals in the future.

Sincerely yours,
This is a "post-only" email response. If you'd like to contact us again, please send your requests only through "contact us" at www.lan.com.
Delia V. Brea I Customer Relations Manager, North America and Caribbean
LAN AIRLINES I 6500 N.W. 22 Street. Miami, FL 33122 I 1 (786) 265-6341 I Fax 1 (305) 670-5960 I www.lan.com
FLY FREE WITHIN ARGENTINA
Travel from the US or Canada to our destinations in Argentina for the same price as Buenos Aires. Visit LAN.com, call us at 1 866 I FLY LAN or contact your travel agent.

I'm going to travel on Star Peru from now on. I just looked at a trip on LAN from Lima to Iquitos.... there's an incredible special right now for less than $70 round-trip for Peruvian residents, but the cheapest for a foreigner would be $236. Star Peru is $88 cheaper than LAN's price for the same dates. I have flown on Star twice before and it's just fine. I think I was only flying on LAN to get frequent flyer points on American Airlines, but with those cheapest fares you don't get points any more. So really no reason to fly on LAN any more. People, check them out at starperu dot com. You can apparently buy online too, but my next trip to Peru isn't scheduled until February. I don't know if they block foreign credit cards the way LAN does, but it's worth a try.

The different price thing is everywhere, different tax at airport for domestic departures, diffreent rates on the train, different entrance fees to Machu P. etc.
My friend was continually taking out his residency card to prove he was a resident.

Yes, there is a different airport tax for international vs domestic flights, but I thought the tax for domestic flights was the same for everyone, why would he have to take out his residency card? What do I not understand?

Yes, there is a different airport tax for international vs domestic flights, but I thought the tax for domestic flights was the same for everyone, why would he have to take out his residency card? What do I not understand?

The way I understand it is that a person has to prove that they reside in Peru to obtain certain airfares. To do this the pax has to show their resident ID.

I hear Fox News is running with this story. It is all over Twitter. Expat that Americorps speaks of.... is a highly reputable source!!!! Lots of stories on how to work the tourist visa. It has threads that teach you how to enter on a 30 day visa and then stay as long as you want!!!!!

Hi All,
look, the solution to this is NOT to complain to the Peruvian Governemnt because 1) they are totally corrupt and probably are getting bribed and 2) LAN is a Chillian company.
You want to stop this? Then complain to to the U.S. Government, (or the government of whatever country you live in) tell the FAA and the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commerce Department that LAN is discriminatating on the basis on National Orgin, and urge them to ban LAN flights to the U.S. Call your Congress person and complain, and ask them to consider revoking flight agreements with LAN allowing them to fly to your country. Simpy put, BAN LAN!
That stupid airline won't last for five seconds with out foreign travlers, and they know it. We are their life blood. Let them try and live off just domestice flighs to Aerquipa and Igutios. They will lose faster than the Peruvian National football team.
Better yet, you can even sue LAN in a U.S. court of law since they do business here in the U.S. TAKE THIER MONEY!! Find a decent plaintiff class action firm to take the case, and that will put a stop to this nonsense ASAP.
The really sad thing about this is that this kind of garbage by corrupt Peruvian government officals and scum bag LAN officals is that it adds fuel to the fire of ant-immigrant groups located in the U.S. who all the time are saying things like "They want us to respect them, but see what they do to us. They cahrge us a higher price just because of where we were born. Kick them all out, and build a wall and tell them all to go to hell".
Lan (and the Peruvian Government by allowing this) is just hurting their own people, and they embaress the country just so they can make another dollar which they did nothing to earn.

I hear Fox News is running with this story. It is all over Twitter. Expat that Americorps speaks of.... is a highly reputable source!!!! Lots of stories on how to work the tourist visa. It has threads that teach you how to enter on a 30 day visa and then stay as long as you want!!!!!

Great first post ^

Hi All,
look, the solution to this is NOT to complain to the Peruvian Governemnt because 1) they are totally corrupt and probably are getting bribed and 2) LAN is a Chillian company.
You want to stop this? Then complain to to the U.S. Government, (or the government of whatever country you live in) tell the FAA and the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commerce Department that LAN is discriminatating on the basis on National Orgin, and urge them to ban LAN flights to the U.S. Call your Congress person and complain, and ask them to consider revoking flight agreements with LAN allowing them to fly to your country. Simpy put, BAN LAN!
That stupid airline won't last for five seconds with out foreign travlers, and they know it. We are their life blood. Let them try and live off just domestice flighs to Aerquipa and Igutios. They will lose faster than the Peruvian National football team.
Better yet, you can even sue LAN in a U.S. court of law since they do business here in the U.S. TAKE THIER MONEY!! Find a decent plaintiff class action firm to take the case, and that will put a stop to this nonsense ASAP.
The really sad thing about this is that this kind of garbage by corrupt Peruvian government officals and scum bag LAN officals is that it adds fuel to the fire of ant-immigrant groups located in the U.S. who all the time are saying things like "They want us to respect them, but see what they do to us. They cahrge us a higher price just because of where we were born. Kick them all out, and build a wall and tell them all to go to hell".
Lan (and the Peruvian Government by allowing this) is just hurting their own people, and they embaress the country just so they can make another dollar which they did nothing to earn.

Another great first post ^

How about complaining to AA and getting them booted out of the One World Alliance:D

What is particularly dismal (or I have other words) is that LAN will SELL you a Base Fare ticket without a DNI or Carnet Extraneria and then won't let you use it!! without a DNI or Carnet extraneria you can be refused the flight or pay the $178 fine.
Why would they not instead refuse to sell the ticket without DNI or carnet numbers and avoid all of this?