Richard Chen

This thread's answers beat related thread Foreigner/"Gringo" Fee on Lima-Arequipa-Cusco-Lima?'s, thank you all.

LAX888

I have found that for the same price I could get Taca Business class for a domestic flight but would only get LAN economy for the same flight (LIM-CUZ). So I booked business on Taca of course. Did you look in to that for your trip? I paid 210 USD for a one way ticket in business on Taca.

andreadbc

Yes, that's true! Sometimes Business on TACA (no restrictions) is cheaper than the lowest non-resident economy fare (on LAN or TACA)!

LAX888

Although my fare has restrictions concerning cancellation. They only allow change for a small fee but no cancellation. However I just took the risk in case I could not make it.

I know it is the wrong forum but has anyone got experience with domestic travel in Peru with Taca? How do they compare with LAN?

andreadbc

Sorry, I meant no residency restrictions. I haven't personally travelled with TACA but I haven't heard any negative comments either.

AA_EXP09

Lifemiles, on the other hand, can devalue without notice.

krzysz

I found both of them to be fine. However, there is one important difference when it comes to weather conditions. Apparently, TACA (and Star Peru for that matter) is not certified to land in Cusco during difficult weather conditions. I was scheduled to fly TACA from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco in August, and the flight was cancelled (actually, it was rerouted to fly to Lima without stopping in Cusco) due to bad weather in Cusco. All LAN flights landed without problems (and they used the same planes, A319, on this route). They just rebooked me on the flight the following day, no accommodation provided; some passengers opted to travel to Cusco by bus (12 hours from PEM), but TACA refused to pay for their bus tickets and also refused to reimburse their tickets on the spot - the passengers were asked to contact their sales office. In the end I got to Cusco earlier than the bus passengers, who arrived at around 3 PM instead of 8 AM due to snow on the way.

The same thing happened when I flew TACA from Arequipa to Cusco in February: the flight was about 1 hour late as they were waiting for the weather to improve in CUZ. LAN flew there without problems. Otherwise, when the weather is good, TACA is fine: new, clean airplanes, polite cabin crew, and their fares are generally lower than on LAN.

LAX888

Thanks for this valuable message. I am a bit concerned now as I am booked on TACA (all on one *A award ticket) and am flying from CUZ - LIM (on TACA) LIM - NYC-SIN (via ICN) ). Although I have more than 8 hours to transit in LIM I am still a bit worried. However I guess if Taca cancels all the flights to LIM that day (there are still 2 flights after mine). Will they reroute my back to SIN since it is their fault that I could not fly?
Anyway I guess I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope for good weather that day. At least the service is good if the flight takes place...

Dieuwer

Do the LIM-CUZ-LIM fares fluctuate a lot or are they constant until the day of departure? How about the TACA biz fare? Are there any sales at T-x?

italian7

Is this fee always enforced or does it depend on the checkin agent?

bingocallerb22

Yes, it is enforced if/when you check-in your luggage.

I have asked for specific details. Is it $178 each way or total? Total, both ways. Do they re-issue the tix? No, you keep the same tix. Do you beat pax with a stick if they have this situation? Yes... well, actually not at all, it is dealt with with a smile.

onfo

If I'm flying LIM-CUZ-LIM and not checking a bag, do you think it will be enforced?

zpaul

bingo should be able to answer with certainty, but my interpretation from this and other forums on other sites is that they could ask you to show a Peruvian ID at check-in with a human being, regardless of bags. You may be able to get around this with OLCI or kiosk check-in (if available).

DISCLAIMER: I have never flown domestically in Peru; my answer is only from reading about this on a variety of threads and boards, and a few non-Peruvian resident friends' experiences.

bingocallerb22

Yes, as above. If you interact with a smiling LAN employee landside you could get caught. They will ask you for proof of residency (DNI or CE – carnet extranjero). BTW being caught isn't so terrible, they still smile (see my post above). But of course you printed your boarding pass ahead of time (best) or at a kiosk so without luggage you do not encounter a smiley face until handing over your BP to board – too late. They may smile at you when checking for oversize bags for gate check, but you'll be sitting at an adjacent place. However, with IRROPS for sure you will be noticed. (Hmm, even if you gate check a bag it doesn't come up – too late).

carlosdca

Do you think you can come across as a Peruvian (just by looks)? People there do notice if you stand out like a "gringo", and will be more prone to ask for ID...