pimlottc

I've been tracking IAD-LIM direct on LATAM for a trip in April and I was surprised to see all schedule flights from March and April have vanished.

I originally started tracking a IAD-LIM roundtrip from Apr 15 - Apr 22 on Google Flights at the end of November. It started at $519, nudged up a little the next day, then suddenly shot up past $1200 a few days later, then $2400 a few more days after that, and then disappeared entirely. I was also tracking a Mar 11 - Mar 18 flight and saw the same pattern.

IAD-LIM Sun, Apr 15–Sun, Apr 22
Nov 28: $519
Nov 29: $639
Nov 30: $645
Dec 1: ~$1,200
Dec 3: $2,475
Dec 7: -

Now I can't find any direct flights listed past February, whereas I definitely saw three flights a week (on Sun, Mon, and Wed). I've checked directly on LATAM's site, as well as Google Flights and ITA Matrix.

Any idea what's going on here? Have they really pulled all these flights? Are they likely to show up again as the time gets closer, perhaps with some rescheduling?

dkc192

I have four awards (ticketed by a combination of AA and CX) on that flight in May. I saw on EF that flights around that date are still loaded in the GDS but all inventory on them has been zeroed out, i.e. LA might be preparing to cancel the flights. Looks like I'll have fun times ahead with rebooking three separate award tickets on two different ticketing carriers!

MfromL

No idea. I'm booked for April 17th on AA metal. So far the AA itinerary does not show an update, but it might if they announce the cancelation.

pimlottc

Glad to know I'm not crazy. I'm curious to see what happens with these flights...

MfromL

Unofficial information by a trustworthy poster in another forum says that IAD is cancelled after February. So you should start planning on calling AA to get re-routed, as soon as that is announced. They will launch, however, a SFO route.

dkc192

Thanks for the heads up! Does anyone know which day(s) of week LA tends to load schedule changes into the GDS? Also, in the case of our AA- and CX-ticketed award itineraries, has LA historically automatically rebooked disrupted passengers regardless of whose tickets they're on (LA or partner), since LA was the airline that originated the disruption, or have they mostly left the partners to fend for themselves (perhaps via alliance liaisons)?

MfromL

I have no idea –I'm sure someone around will be able to answer–. I do remember, from reading too many FT posts, that this responsibility will usually fall on the airline that sold the ticket (or award ticket). In my case, I have a 001 ticket, which means it will be AA's problem. Something similar happened not to long ago with...I want to say QR, when the things went south in the Peninsula and they were banned from certain destinations.

dkc192

Yep, that is my understanding too, that ticket changes will go to the ticketing carrier (in my case, both AA and CX). That said, there have been reports where the operating carrier (LA in both our cases) has unilaterally and automatically rebooked or protected all passengers on the affected flight onto a different flight, as soon as the former is cancelled in the GDS; after that, passengers would contact the ticketing carrier to reissue the ticket on the rebooked flights or find new flights as needed.

I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with LA doing this proactive rebooking onto a different flight they operate, say JFK-LIM or MIA-LIM in this case. I ask because while I know AA is quite willing to go through its LA liaison to open up award space on one of those aforementioned flights, CX appears to be very stubborn and insist that passengers facing this issue be rebooked only on flights that already have award space open.

jlb3

Ugh! I was planning to fly IAD-LIM for my birthday the end of March. Figures!

andreadbc

It's no longer for sale but the cancellation isn't completely official yet as they don't have reebooking instructions/procedures in place yet

dkc192

Any update on this? It seems odd that they're dragging out this cancellation process with the supposed end of service less than 2 months away.

andreadbc

Nothing as of a couple of days ago. They actually keep denying that anything is going on before admiting that they just aren't allowed to rebook anything yet... (I'm asking about an award ticket)

dkc192

Yeah...go figures. It would be much easier for them to rebook passengers as early as possible, especially for those traveling in March!

lrphillips

I booked this flight in biz class 8 months ago and I'm starting to make reservations (like Machu Picchu tickets). I'm worried that many of the routes to Lima are not lay flat biz but standard domestic first class seats. Until an official cancellation, what are my options? Should I continue making reservations for the trip (ideally refundable) and hope the Chase card covers my expenses for the rest?

carlosdca

JFK/MIA/LAX - LIM are always lie flat.

The only one with no lie-flat is the MCO-LIM flight on a A319.
That's not "many", as you say.
Which ones were you thinking?