bomb

Hi all. Happy new year and safe travels.

I am flying EWR to LIM and connecting to AQP. I land LIM at 10:10pm on a Wednesday and don't connect to AQP until 5:30am the next morning.

Does anyone know if there is a Star Alliance/ Avianca/Taca Lounge there and if its open all night (longshot)?

I am flying in First and am United Platinum/ Star Alliance Gold.

MANY thanks!

Air Rarotonga

Google helped me:

TACA VIP Lounge

• City: Lima
• Airport: Jorge Chavez International Airport
• Location: International Zone after boarding gate number 17, next to the Rincón del Pisco (on the left)
• Operating hours: 24 hours

Question will be if you will have access to the international terminal in Lima...?

JohnnyColombia

You will be able to trick connection staff into letting you into international airside, but you will not get access to the lounge with a domestic boarding pass.

TACA only has an international lounge at LIM

http://www.taca.com/eng/syi/aii/aiipopviplou.asp

Caral VIP is the domestic lounge and it is paid (US$25) or Priority Pass

It is open 24 hours

bomb

Much thanks guys. Well I will be landing from EWR so won't I already be in the International terminal?

Will any of this help me get in even though I won't have an Int'l boarding pass for my next flight:

1. I am flying in first from LIM to AQP (on an Emb 190:-)
2. I am Star Alliance Gold
3. I have a United Club membership

Muchos gracias!

JohnnyColombia

No, you will get channeled down to arrivals so you won't go past the VIP lounge. Like I said, you can trick the connections people into letting you back in to international departures but no way will Sumaq VIP lounge let you in without an invite and valid international boarding pass. I tried it once.

You are going to have to pony up the $25 to use Caral at domestic departures

bomb

Crap. Thanks for the info though. How is the Caral? At least its open 24 hrs.

JohnnyColombia

Don't know it personally but according to trip advisor (and FT) it is small but very good. Although small I cannot imagine many people will be there in the small hours

worldtraveller73

As Johnny Colombia said - you pretty much need the written voucher / invitation for the Sumaq VIP Lounge in the international zone.

There is, however, a large food court that I believe is open late (if not 24hrs), a book store that sells great Peruvian cook books, and direct access to the Ramada which has reasonable (Western priced) food.

deasine

I've been in the SUMAQ without an invitation (as none was given from my connection and there was no TACA staff throughout the terminal) and managed to get in, but my *G and Int'l flight was clearly indicated on the BP.

echino

Bad. Very small, no windows, no showers, no real food, no real drinks.

Go to Ramada airport hotel right at the terminal. Good hotel, but overpriced ($200+). You can get the price down to about $150 by using Corporate ID 8000000066.

worldtraveller73

This is a valid point - since the entry is billed back to the operating carrier / frequent flyer program and each program may have different requirements.

JohnnyColombia

But deasine had an international BP whereas bomb doesn't

bomb

Hi all. Thanks again. My epilogue: So the Catch-22 of Lima is/was that when I arrived, all the domestic check-ins were closed for the night, so I couldn't check my bag/get a boarding pass to enter the gates or lounge areas. Same thing on my return! Landed from AQP at around noon, but the United desks didn't open till 5pm! So I couldn't get to the Lounges until then.

The upside is Lima is a great airport. The international flights positively rage all through the night, so all the stores, restaurants, spas, you name it, stay open for 24 hours. Its like going to the mall:-).

I basically parked it at Starbucks (internet) overnight, then hit the spa (has three services over 90 minutes for about US$65) from 2-3:30am! I got a bite, bought a new luggage lock, did some window shopping. By the time I was ready to check out the domestic lounge, it was basically time for me to head to my gate and catch my 5:30am to AQP.

On the way, back, I hit the HOTEL (my friends down there suggested the same), but it was really hot in there, and I was craving some activity. So I again hit the Starbucks and the spa, and after about 4 hours, was able to check in, dump my bag, and head to the Sumaq VIP Lounge for Int'l flights. Got about 3 hours in there before my flight to EWR.

One side note, I had 3 different flights cancelled due to the NE USA storm! But I made it. Thanks again for the tips. If you're going to be stranded overnight in an AP, you could do a lot worse than Lima.

jasonq

Hi, bomb! So I am having a similar situation in March where I will fly AA into Lima around midnight and have a 6:40AM flight to JUL. I am a US Airways Gold (star Gold) and I am flying AV from LIM to JUL, do they give any lounge access for Star Gold travel domestic on a Y ticket? If so, have you check it out? how's it? Also, how early does the AV domestic CI counter open in the morning? Plus one last question: I am flying AV from AQP to LIM and then connect to UA to IAH on my way back(it's on one ticket). Do I need to pick up my bag in LIM or does it go all the way back to the States side? Thanks a lot in advance!!!!

infamousdx

It should be checked all the way to your US point of entry where you'll have to claim it and bring it through customs.

I just did this the other day - CUZ-LIM-IAH-LGA. Bag was checked from CUZ to IAH and then I rechecked it through to LGA.