Uh Oh! Connections seem to be rearing their ugly head again.

I knew BOG was going to be the worst transit point, but the OAG (Overseas Airlines Guide) does list the connex of 1hr15 from AV to CM as 'legal'. Going by the horror stories of having to clear immigration, and being forced to wait in giganteum queues ('lines' if I'm to be Transatlantic), well - it doesn't sound to good!

The difficulty (challenge?) of the mileage run for those of us with limited time and money is that getting schedules to dovetail together is very difficult indeed.

I have heard from several sources that the Aviateca / Taca / Lacsa connections are not so much of a problem, as the airports at SJO and SAL are easy to make quick connections in. Further, I understand that the Aviateca flight from SAL - GUA relies on the inbound SJO - SAL flight (TACA) for a sizeable chunk of its' passenger load who are all connecting on to GUA.

That said, I will review my itinerary again. The difficulty is that with time running out, I have already had to commit to my transatlantic flights now (my travel agent couldn't hold on to the last 'cheapy' seats any longer without a def. booking) and so now I really am restricted!

Thanks for all the tips everyone - will keep you posted (excuse the pun). And for those of you doing the mileage trip soon - good luck!

Samuel!

After the advice about the connection at Bogota, and the warnings about the possibility of weather disruption, I have amended my itinerary somewhat. Basically, it follows a similar routing, but I now leave Miami for CCS in the morning, with a 4 hour layover in CCS before connecting with AV to BOG. By overnighting in BOG, I can be sure to catch the COPA flight the next day to Panama.

26/MAY/00
VH501 MIA/CCS 1150/1500
AV81 CCS/BOG 1925/2015

27/MAY/00
CM100 BOG/PTY 0820/0940
LR652 PTY/SJO 1605/1615
TA560 SJO/SAL 1650/1809
GU960 SAL/GUA 1825/1910

28/MAY/00
GU961 GUA/SAL 0725/0810
TA515 SAL/MGA 0831/0920
TA515 MGA/MIA 0955/1425

Although the 'legal' connection in SAL to the Aviateca flight to GUA is admittedly tight, at least if I do miss it, there is a Taca flight 30 mins later, and I have another Aviateca flight the following morning which will net me my miles as a contingency. Also, there is a later Lacsa flight from MGA to MIA if it all hits the fan on the last day, and I miss my TA flight.

I intend to return on June 28th to do the relatively simple BOG - UIO - LIM - CUZ flights on Aces, (Saeta) and Taca Int'l. Hopefully I'll be a "Mile-ionnaire" like Pudding Guy yet!

I'm not at all keen to be staying in BOG - but there is not really any option if I want to avoid tight daytime connections there.

Total cost is around £900 not including hotels (around $1430!)

If I am missing something really obvious here - please let me know! Otherwise I hope to see some of you around on my travels!

Samuel



[This message has been edited by SamuelS (edited 04-15-2000).]

Does anybody know anything about Iquitos? I have heard a lot about Cuzco and I was wondering about Iquitos. Is it worth an overnighter?

Any suggestions on Hotels etc.

I am planning on Iquitos for my Taca Peru flight. I like the time much better to fly at 10:30 am rather than 6:00 am. I am not planning on staying overnight though. Since my schedule will be tight I thought I would rather fly over the Amazon rainforest than fly to Cuzco and be so close to Machu Piccu and pass it up. I did read about a hotel around Iquitos. I did a web search a couple of weeks ago and saw some options. Sorry I don't recall the name right now.

Tango, thanks for the advice. I was planning on doing the helicopter option because of my short time there. I realize it's expensive, but it would be a shame to make it all the way to Cuzco and not make a quick trip to MP. Of course I'd like to make it a much longer, in-depth visit, but I'm limited in the time I can take from work.

As far as altitude sickness goes, this is something to consider. I understand the Hotel Monestario has in-room oxygen bottles to stave off the effects.

Not too many people have had nice things to say about an overnight in CCS. Unfortunately I don't have much choice in the matter due to the restrictive time frame. However, I've been looking into the possibility of overnighting in Maracaibo (MAR) as opposed to CCS. This would only involve one more connecting flight from CCS after arriving from LIM/BOG on Avianca. There is an Intercon there. Aeropostal has a non-stop to Miami early in the morning. If I do this, I'll be overnighting there on the evening of May 29th. Has anyone looked into this possibility? Is Maracaibo safer/more pleasant than Caracas? Is the airport convenient to town?

satori I would be carefull trying to do a turn around in Iquitos. When I did my run I picked this flight because of the 10:30 time the flight down was great they I was palced in Business class. But they would not check me in for the return in Lima when I tried to check in they told me the flight was closed and I could not get on the plane. After much negotiaiton I was able to board the plane since my flight home left at 6:00 am the next morning this was quite hectic. Their are other airlines that do the return later so you may want to do a one way and the return on a local carrier.

If you plan on spending any time in Iquitos, check health department regulations---some countries require proof of a yellow fever vaccination if you are coming from an infected area--I think Iquitos is one of these areas.

Samuel

Presumably you mean MIA-CCS and CCS-BOG in the first two lines of your itinerary (for 26th May) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just one remark on SAL-GUA: any particular reason why you want to fly on GU rather than TA (since you have a GU flight the next morning anyway)? As I recall, the TA flight is in fact the same as the flight on which you arrive from SJO (TA560), so you would not have to leave the plane if you were on that one. On tightness of connection, it would be unwise for you to count on GU960 waiting for passengers from TA560, since most TA560 passengers going to GUA wil in fact stay on TA560. There was a suggestion earlier in the thread that GU960 might wait for connecting passengers (although, presumably, not from TA560). However, at the time, GU960 was the later flight out of SAL. Now the later flight is the TA flight. This being said, if the flights are on time, 15 minutes should be OK for a connection if you go straight to the gate without lingering on (when you get off the plane, there will be a TA agent as you walk off the airbridge into the terminal who can tell you which gate to go to). If you are unlucky enough for the gate to be at the other end of the terminal, this should mean approx. a five minutes walk.

If you want to avoid overnighting in BOG and do the trip in two days (28 hours, in fact) instead of three, look at my itinerary on p. 7 of this thread (one overnight in GUA only). The cost in business class (except for MGA-MIA on TA, which is in coach) is about GBP900. This would also give you a full day and half (27/5 afternoon and 28/5 all day) between finishing your Latin trip and your return transatlantic journey, either for contingencies or, if everything goes well, for relaxing in Miami Beach.. which you could surely do with, with all the flights before and after... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Compared to your itinerary, you only do 6 airlines instead of 7 (no Aeropostal flight), so you'd have to fit a VH flight in your late June schedule if you want to get the 1M (well, you'll have to get to UIO/LIM in some way or other in any event, unless you intend to fly direct to BOG on AV ex-LON for that second trip?)

Samuel:

Make sure you don't delay too long in booking your flights and purchasing your tickets for the Taca-Peru and SAETA (Aces) segments. You need to have them booked before Taca-Peru begins international service and before SAETA starts up its LIM-UIO service. At least the SAETA service from UIO-LIM was rumored to start sometime in May. Therefore, right before you book your flights, confirm with both SAETA and TACA-Peru that they haven't started service on these routes, or you could be one unhappy camper when you get back home.

Happy Travels!

Rhinochaser

Thanks to ejulber for the trip report -- top notch.

Re: CUZ roundtrip. Since the TACA-Peru requirement doesn't require roundtrip on them, I'm planning to fly LIM-CUZ on TA at 6am-ish, then return the following day on one of the other carriers at noon. Something to consider for people doing a same day return to CUZ (or Iquitos).

Dupe.

[This message has been edited by SFO_FT (edited 04-14-2000).]

Dupe.

[This message has been edited by SFO_FT (edited 04-15-2000).]

For the LIM==>CUZ==>LIM legs, Taca Peru is the only airline in this market that has an interline ticketing agreement with the other LatinPass carriers. If you return on another airline, it will require a different ticket and will drive up the total cost.

Actually, I found it to be CHEAPER to travel back on another airline from CUZ or IQT.

I costed up TA out and back to CUZ and it came out at around £217 full fare return.

Substituting a return flight with Lan Peru or I think the other airline code is for Aerocontinente, takes the overall cost to around £172.

This was on published fare tariffs however, so if you have based your TA flights on discounted tariffs then they may well be cheaper.

Regards
Samuel

Thanks Nick and Rhinochaser for the tips!

There are two reasons I've included Aeropostal (and pushed up the cost and time factor for the trip).

Firstly - it will only cost me £400 to do Aces, Saeta and Taca Peru in June, as I intend to use Worldperk or Flying Dutchman points to 'position' out there.

Secondly, I was worried that the 'Nica' qualifying flight MGA - MIA was only being considered for the 1 million mile bonus, and not for the 100k or 500k. This was raised earlier in the thread, and there was no definitive answer as to whether LatinPass would accept this flight. It does state in the rules that MGA - MIA would qualify Nica for the 1 MILLION mile bonus which some have interpreted to mean not for the 500k.

In the event that I wasn't able to go back to go for the million, it would be devestating to know that I had invested so much time, effort and money only to find that I didn't qualify for the 500k!

In relation to Saeta and Aces - I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on the board to see if Saeta does indeed resume operation.

Samuel

Has anyone come up with an efficient itinerary for a second mileage run that includes Aces, Saeta, Taca Peru, and Nica? (naturalspringwater: you mentioned having to get these carriers in on your second quest for miles. I've been trying to get in touch with you, but your email address doesn't seem to be working.) Originally, I didn't plan to go for the million, hence not getting the Nica flight in, but am now considering it as a strong possibility.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

vandykes..

NICA, SAETA, ACES, TACA PERU. ugh.
Yeah, I am working on it. Let's collaborate and see what we can come up with. It's cheaper by US$200 to go MGA-MIA rather than MIA-MGA, at least according to Expedia. The problem is travel between Nicauragua and South America -- nasty expensive.

I will have some time today to do some more checking, so perhaps I'll have more to share this evening.

My correct email address is:
[email protected]

Cheers,
nsw

tfjim, I'm thinking of going around that time also . Email me [email protected]

Looking as well for an itinerary that would include, NICA, TA PERU, SAETA, ACES. Same as vandykes4, I wasn't going to go for the million, but I'm rethinking it. I have done some research already and Naturalspringw.. is right MGA-MIA is about $200 cheaper than MIA-MGA. Haven;t come up with anything decent here.

without wanting to 'jump the gun' (I haven't even got my million bonus miles yet!) I do have a few questions about what they can be used for.

Can anyone clarify any of the following?

a) Can one transfer the points to HHonors, and if so, is it at the 1 mile to 2 HHonors points conversion rate?

b) Latinpass states that those people who are enrolled in a GENERIC latinpass account may transfer their miles to a MEMBER airline frequent flyer account (i.e Taca, Copa, Aviateca etc etc.) Am I correct in the assumption therefore that the miles could go to my COPA or TACA account if I held one?

c) If the answer to b) is yes, then once the miles were in the COPA or TACA account, one would spend them according to the rules of the COPA or TACA account. So am I right in thinking that one could, in the case of TACA, redeem them for travel on AMERICAN AIRLINES or AMERICAN EAGLE without having to transfer them on again - just cash them in as a TACA reward for AMERICAN?

d) I am assuming that the latinpass miles could not be transferred from the generic Latinpass account into the US airways or KLM frequent traveller account if one was held.

Any experienced FT'ers out there who could share their thoughts and knowledge on this matter? It would be great if one could transfer them to TACA and use them on American Airlines!


SAMUEL

PS - sorry if this is a bit off topic for the thread!

[This message has been edited by SamuelS (edited 04-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by SamuelS (edited 04-16-2000).]

Sorry for a real "newbie" question on this thread. I just read the official rules for the LatinPass million mile deal and some things don't seem totally obvious to me. The following statement in red in the official rules..."Members enrolled in LatinPass or in any of the LatinPass Member Airlines participating programs from March 20th, 2000 or after will not be eligible for this promotion." This statement, as written, seems to state that virtually no one is eligible at this point. It doesn't say "members who enroll after March 20, it says members enrolled." I belong to both TWA and USAirways FF programs but have never enrolled in LatinPass. Am I eligible or not?

Also are the million miles that are earned usable on any or all of the partners? I do no flying to Latin America but travel quite often to Europe. Thanks for the help.

Sorry if you were not enrolled in LatinPass as of 3/19/00 you can not participate in this promo.

SamuelS -

a) yes / yes
b) Yes, you may transfer miles to a member program, but this does not apply to Copa or the partner airlines.
c) yes
d) correct

Just back from getting the remaining 4 carriers. All flights on the LPass carriers were fine, but I arrived 6 hours late on AA due a LIM airport closure and a reroute to some unkown Pervian city where we waited 3 hours. Since I missed my initial LIM-CUZ return, an agent at AA was able to rescedule everything by 1 day and i ended up staying that extra day in Lima.

For those of you flying on the ACES LIM - UIO return on the cheap V fares, please note that this fare is NOT changeable within 7 days of departure. I was initially told i would need to pay 199 each way to fly, however, in the end I was allowed to upgrade my VSpecial fare to a KE45 fare that allows changes for 20 dollars more.

I will hopefully post more details later, but all in all a good laugh.

rich

taking the plunge.........here's the itinerary i'll be on along with my brother.......total cost (all flights in y or c except aces in v class) $2490:

sat 27 may
taca 514 (nica): lv mia 3:53pm - arr mga 4:28pm

lacsa 711: lv mga 7:20pm - arr sjo 8:25pm

sun 28 may
aviateca 910: lv sjo 7:05am - arr gua 8:40am
(this is a code share operated by taca - an aviateca ("destinos") rep and latin pass confirmed (in writing) that this would qualify as the aviateca segment)

taca 580 lv gua 12:05pm arr sal 12:50pm

copa 411 lv sal 3pm arr pty 6:20pm

copa 211 lv pty 7:35pm arr gye 9:25pm

aeropostal 924 lv gye 10:30pm arr lim 12:15 am

mon 29 may
aces (saeta) 520 lv lim 6am arr uio 8:10am

aces 521 lv uio 10:04pm arr lim 12:14am

tue 30 may
taca peru 7 lv lim 6am arr cuz 7am
(chopper service to and from macchu picchu)

wed 31 may
taca peru 8 lv cuz 7:50am arr lim 8:50

avianca 76 lv lim 11:35am arr bog 2:35pm

avianca 8 lv bog 4:20pm arr mia 9pm

this itinerary allows for a full day in uio and a half day run to the ruins at macchu picchu which is what we had hoped to see during our quest for 1,000,000...........the tight connection in gye (1hour and 5 minutes) has me worried - has anyone tried this connection yet? any advice transiting thru gye?

hope to see other ff'ers along the way

[This message has been edited by billedr (edited 04-16-2000).]

billedr,

My experience in connecting from Aeropostal to AA in GYE will give u little encouragement for your tight connection. It took close to 1 hour and 20 minutes for me to reach the AA gate after my departure from the Aeropostal plane. My guess is that it can be done faster, but here is my experience.

Since there is no concept of transit in GYE, you must clear immigration. This was no small task as we arrived following a full Ecuatoriana Airbus. Choose the foreigners line to the direct right of the Ecuadorian Citizen lines as you will be able to use the Ecuadorian lines when they become empty.

After, clearing immigration zip through customs and turn left where u will have a 200 meter walk. All doors into the check in area are locked except the furthest door from where you left Customs.

A military guard will check your passport and ask your destination. Continue straight as you walk through the door and you will quickly see Aeroposatal check in. It is next to American Airlines.

You will be expected to pay the 25USD departure tax. (Showing a same day arrival stamp in your passport does not get a waiver like it does in Quito). Ask Aeropostal at check in, since after I complained to AA they were able to get me through without paying. You will then need to walk up a flight of steps where u will clear outbound immigration. This line was also quite long as a KLM jumbo was leaving the same time as AA.

You will then clear security and all gates are pretty close together mixed with groups of shops.

You probably can do the connection if you have better luck with shorter lines at immigration. I would plead my case to the Copa rep as you deplane to see if they can escort you through the process. An aeropostal rep did run over to AA to tell them they had 3 transist passengers. When he returned he said they know we are here, but since there was still 2 hours till my flight and the lines had reduced I did not ask for any more help.

Also Aeropostal was almost 2 hours late arriving in Lima from GYE the day I took the flight back to GYE.

Hope the details help and good luck,
rich

Hi all. I'm new to FT. I'm planning a 1 mil trip from L.A. over Memorial Day weekeend. Is anyone from L.A. area planning similar and want to travel together? Do I need to go through MIA from L.A.? Seems kind of a long way just to get started. Does anyone have a good, proven itinerary from west coast? Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

mileage junkie - I hope you enrolled in LatinPass prior to March 20 because if you didn't you aren't eligible for the bonus.

Mileage Junkie: If you are going for the 1,000,000 bonus, you have to fly either MIA==>MGA or MGA==>MIA. There is no way you can get around Miami. If you are going for the 500,000 or 100,000 bonus you can avoid Miami.

Flying D. - yes, I signed up in Feb. Thanks

I haven't looked into the pricing, but you could fly LAX-MEX on Lacsa, MEX-GUA on Aviateca, and then continue on from there. It's very convenient because you can spend the night at the MEX airport Hilton and fly out early the next morning.

Flying D. - I'd like to get the flights done as quickly as possible. The first day, I think I'd probably fly from Mexico City right to GUA; and check in to the Radisson there that everyone seems to be raving about. Or, even better, just to get 1 more segment done the first day; MEX-SAL-GUA, if possible

Why do my flights on Expedia price out so high? Is there something I'm missing or doing wrong?

I really and truly appreciate all the help.

I booked the final legs of the 1 million mile flight plan for mid-May. My plans for doing a somewhat leisurely week in Peru and Ecuador were changed by a couple of other important factors, so it is a fly-by-night, or rather "the sleepless nights" itinerary. It looks like the Aces UIO-LIM roundtrip fare jumps from $212 to about $560 in June.
I booked a 60,000 mile first/business class ticket from SFO to Miami to Guayaquil on AA. Thank you Healthy Choice.

Then it is GYE-LIM Aeropostal, LIM-CUZ Taca Peru, CUZ-LIM and hopefully in a hotel bed by 10 am after 30 hours of travel. LIM-Quito on ACES at 6 am the next morning and back to LIM at 12:15 am. Aeropostal to GYE at 3:45 am, then back to SFO at 8:30 am.

When the miles come through I will plan a leisurely "vacation" back to LatinPass country.

MILEAGE JUNKIE:

Here's my itinerary that starts in Mexico City and is pretty efficient with number of days, but not much time for sightseeing:

May 4
MEX-BOG AV6393 1:50P-6:10P
BOG-UIO VX521 7:59P-9:19P
UIO-LIM VX521 10:04P-12:14A
MAY 5
LIM-CUZ TA7 6:00A-7:00A
CUZ-LIM TA8 7:50A-8:50A
MAY 6
LIM-GYE VH925 3:45A-5:30A
GYE-PTY CM210 7:45A-9:40A
PTY-SJO LR652 4:05P-4:15P
SJO-SAL TA560 4:50P-6:09P
SAL-GUA GU960 6:25P-7:10P
MAY 7
GUA-MIA TA515 6:56A-2:15P

If you price out the last 4 flights from PTY-MIA as one ticket, it can be done for $404 on the right days. The first six airlines can be done for around $1,600 in full coach. All flights are booked on individual flight tickets. Good luck on your trip.

------------------

I am considering booking my ACES return flight in the following class - LHE1M - Does anyone know if this fare will get me mileage? What are the valid fares for ACES?

Also, my MGA-MIA flight on Taca will be on MF class. Is this fare eligible for mileage?

F. Runner, thanks for the itinerary. Don't you have to have a MIA-MGA segment or vice versa to get the 1 mil though? In any event I'll probably be starting my 1 mil run with the red-eye on LACSA from LAX to either MEX or GUA (does LACSA fly LAX - GUA?) on the night of 5/25 (morn. of 5/26). If anyone would like to join me, I'd love the company.

Has Anyone done the turn-around LIM-CUZ on Taca (I mean go at 6am rtn on the same flt at 750am)?, If so, whats the best way to go about, get boarding pass in LIM for the rtn ?
Thanks

upgrademe, hey I am new here where can I find out about the latinpass ??

Vandykes4, I just got on this line and would like to find out the details of the LatinPass . COuld you direct me to the page?? I have contact in a lot of these cities. We have flown free a couple of times but didn't know of this site.
Dragon