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.

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

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 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 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.

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.