i´m in mexico city. i fly to gua and back tonight on klm, and then to gua again on klm tomorrow for my third partner flight. i´ll met my sister in gua for the rest of our million mile run. other than a near crash on landing at mex, all is well so far. i´ll stay at the holiday inn downtown tonight. its $60 plus $25 in taxi fare round trip. cheaper than hotels close to airport, and can pick up a hotel stay. Wish me luck

Ticket problems from ITN/Amex...

Just in case it might help someone.
I booked 1/2 my flights via ITN/AMEX and
1/2 with Sabre/Travelocity. I verified
that the tickets were unrestricted/fully
refundable. Today I received the tickets
from ITN , they had changed them to a lower
non-refundable/non-endorsable fare. Luckily,
I have most of the important screens printed
and filed , so they appear to be handling
the refund / etc.

It's amazing how many hours I've spent and lost booking/doublechecking /onhold (ITN
has terrible long waits on the phone)...And
I'm using online web booking systems.

Darn, Now more hours of phone calls to get
the seats and FF seats assigned with for the
new reservations ;-( I'm definitely earning
these miles!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by golden girl:
[B]For those who went, what kind of luggage did you use?

They were definately more stringent with their carry-on policies. Taca 514 MIA-MGA was actually checking everyone's carry-ons to make sure they weren't too heavy or big. I don't remember which one, but one of the airline reps told me that they had an 18lb. limit. I noticed that alot of the people who had the wheeled carry-ons that we normally see were forced to check them at the gate from MIA-MGA. I carried a duffle type carry-on and my husband had a backpack. I don't think I would have wanted to take a chance on much more.

My husband and I are back in Maui after the first half of our million mile run. I took some notes along the way, so here are my observations of the trip.

Taca (for NICA) 514 MIA-MGA. Check-in in MIA was extremely slow. We were second in line and waited for about 30 minutes. I was glad we were there early as the line got much longer by the time we left. The flight departed on time and arrived several minutes early. Newer aircraft--roomy, good meal and good service.

Copa 318 MGA-GUA After reading some of the previous posts on here, I tried to get our Copa boarding passes in MIA. They wouldn't give them to us, but did call MGA and told us that there would be someone waiting for us in a red jacket when we got off the plane that would have them. When we arrived nobody was there and after some confusion we were able to talk one of the TACA flight attendants into calling the COPA counter and explaining our situation and taking us to the transit area so that we could avoid customs. Approximately 30 minutes later a Copa rep came by and took our passports and tickets and returned about 15 min. later with our boarding passes. The flight was supposed to leave at 6:35 p.m. By 7 p.m. we were still waiting and there was no sign that our next flight even existed as there wasn't even a rep at the counter. Finally someone showed up and about one hour later we were leaving. We then made an unscheduled stop in SanSalvador to drop off passengers from an earlier flight that was cancelled. We were about two hours late getting into GUA. Customs in GUA was a breeze. We stayed at the Marriott there. I had called in my flight numbers before we arrived and they had a shuttle driver waiting there for us. It was a 5 or 10 minute shuttle ride to the hotel, which was very nice and only $85 per night. Everyone that we ran into at Marriott spoke good English.

Aviateca 961 GUA-SAL Fast check in at GUA. $20 airport tax. Quick flight-on time. Stayed in trasit in SAL (you don't need to do anything special to stay in trasit here). The TACA Salon was closed for repairs that day.

Taca 623 SAL-SJO (this was listed as a Taca flight, but we took a Lacsa aircraft--Taca assured me that this would count for Taca with the Latin Pass program)On time flight, newer aircraft, good food. Easy customs. We stayed at the InterContinental which was gorgeous. We paid $190 p/nite before tax for a concierge floor room which included cocktails and appetizers in the evening and breakfast in the morning. The service and rooms were impeccable. There was someone waiting at the baggage area with a shuttle (again I called ahead with our flight numbers). It was about a 20-30 minute ride to the hotel. One thing to keep in mind that I was not aware of, is that the shuttle only runs one way, you have to get a cab back to the airport for $13 USD, there are plenty of them at the hotel. There was a nice modern mall across the street from the hotel. The guide lists this property has having a casino, but it is closed. Wish we would have had a few more days here.

SJO-CCS Lacsa 610 Had we been checking luggage we could have missed this flight. The line was at least three hours long. We were able to go to the express check in desk which only took about 10 minutes. Also if you are only staying one night you need pay only a $2 airport fee in SJO. If you like coffee this is the place to pick up some coffee beans, they are cheap here. The flight was about an hour and 15 min. late leaving, they said that they were waiting for the crew to arrive. Newer aircraft, good service and food. Not all of the announcements at this gate were made in English. Easy customs into CCS. We stayed at the Inter-Continental. I orginally had reservations at the Best Western, but after talking to two people from Caracas online, I changed them. I mentioned this to several people from Caracas that were sitting next to us on flights and they said that this was a good idea since the Best Western is in a bad part of the city and one that is having alot of problems with crime since the mudslides in Dec. Again, I notified the hotel ahead of time of our arrival and they had a driver there to pick us up. He was a good driver and I didn't feel in danger, although it was plain to see that with some cabs it could have been a harrowing ride into the city. The ride took us about 45 minutes or so and cost $22 USD per person each way. I was glad to get through the tunnels as the air was very bad there. The rooms at this InterContinental were nothing like SJO. At first they put us in a 1st floor (basment) room that looked like an old room at a Motel 6--after complaining, they found something on the 6th floor with twin beds. This was much better, but not what I would expect for $190 p/nite at this type of hotel. It was extremely outdated with dirty carpet and old furniture. The hotel itself was nice and we felt quite safe. We had room service dinner which was excellent. I also worked out in their gym which had good weight equipment, but was crowded. They had the windows open, which made the air seem like you were working out behind a bus. Not good!

CCS-MIA Aeropostal 500 Fast check-in. Allow an extra 15-20 minutes for all of the extra check points. There was more security getting out of Caracas than we encountered anywhere. Had to show our passports and boarding passes at least four times and got a pat-down at the gate. The departure fee was $21 USD (we didn't have correct USD change, but they would prefer it). The flight left and arrived on time and again the service was very good. I had ordered special meals, which were delicious (mushroom crepes and fresh fruit) and looked better than the normal meal.

All in all, the trip went very well. We felt safe throughout. The people were extremely friendly everywhere and for the most part spoke English and Spanish. I know limited Spanish and found it handy a few times, but you could pick up a translation guide and do fine. We used only USD and AMEX without any problems. Bottled water was easily accessible. All of our flights on this run were in full fare coach, which I was surprised to see included alcoholic beverages at no extra charge. I had one glass of Chablis which was decent for Chablis.

I can't wait for our next run in May from LAX-LIM, LIM-UIO, UIO-BOG, BOG-UIO, UIO-LIM, LIM-CUZ, CUZ-LIM and LIM-LAX. I did book the LIM-CUZ trip on a V-Fare which I confirmed with two agents and Juan, the head of Taca's mileage program. All of them said that without question it would count for Latin Pass.

Good luck to Natural Springwater and all of the rest of you embarking on your adventures. You will have a great time! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Many of you have flown and plan to fly Taca flights within central america. I received an email from Taca Distancia suggesting that only Taca flights connecting to OUTSIDE central america count towards the promotion. This suggests that one needs a MIA-MGA (or vice versa) flight for Nica --AND-- a MIA-MGA (or MIA-SAL etc; or vice versa)flight for Taca.

Quote:
LASTIMOSAMENTE NO ACUMULA PORQUE ESTE VUELO AUNQUE ES ENTRE DOS PAISES CENTROAMERICANOS, ES CONSIDERADO COMO VUELO DOMESTICO, Y ESTA PROMOCION SOLO APLICA PARA VUELOS INTERNACIONALES.

I asked about Taca 141 GUA-SAP and Taca 142 SAP-GUA. I was told by two Taca phone agents that the flights accrued miles. While this may be true, the Distancia email message clearly states the flights are not eligible for the bonus. Note that this conflicts with the definition of international flights posted by Latin Pass. And raises the question of why an international segment is different for Taca than for other Taca Grupo flights like Lacsa etc.

Quote:
What is an International Flight Segment?
An international flight segment is any flight from one country to another country which
requires a separate flight ticket coupon.

Has anyone received written confirmation from Taca/Distancia that their intra-central america Taca flights count towards the bonus?

[This message has been edited by flymetothemoon (edited 03-25-2000).]

The response from Taca is strange. I guess I'd like to read the question before reacting.

As you quoted above, the LatinPass FAQ clearly defines "international flight segment" for purposes of the bonus.

Maybe I missed the big news, but last I heard Honduras and Guatemala were still separate countries!

My question to Taca/Distancia:

"Does Taca flight 141 GUA-SAP 4/18/00 qualify for mileage accrual and the Latin Pass million mile promotion for BOTH the Y and H fares? Gracias!"

PG, since you and your friends seem to have been verified by Latin Pass as million mile winners, I'd be interested to know what kind of flight counted for your Taca segment. If you prefer not to be specific, please provide a suggestive example or two, or please email me. Gracias!

[This message has been edited by flymetothemoon (edited 03-25-2000).]

Altavista translation of the Taca representative's response to flymetothemoon:

PITIFULLY IT DOES NOT ACCUMULATE BECAUSE THIS FLIGHT ALTHOUGH IS BETWEEN TWO CENTRAL AMERICAN PAISES, IS CONSIDERED LIKE FLIGHT DOMESTIC SERVANT, AND THIS SINGLE PROMOTION APPLIES FOR INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Hee hee.

We had long-haul Tacas in our trips, SFO-SAL and SAL-SFO, so your response remains mysterious. We also ended up with few extra Tacas in the end.

On on unrelated note, have you tried Taco Bell's latest--the Aviataco? No, that's not it...it's called the TacaNica. The special comes with Lacsa salsa and a Copa Pepsi... Sorry, I'm hungry...

flymetothemoon
Quote
"What is an International Flight Segment?
An international flight segment is any flight from one country to another country which requires a separate flight ticket coupon."
This is posted on the Latin Pass site in the most frequently asked questions section of the promotion. It is very clear as to what an "international flight segment" is for this promotion! Something is clearly missing in the translation, as golden girl so eloquently pointed out. What may be misunderstood is the TACA flight that substitutes for the Nica segment. This flight is required to be from Miami to MGA. This is the only segment that is specified to be from the US to Central America. I have made my reservations, and purchased the tickets in compliance with the rules as stipulated on the Latin Pass site. I do not believe TACA/Distancia is changing the rules it is just a language problem.

distancia also has a promotion for 50,000 miles for a roundtrip to latin america from the us. maybe there is some confusion beween the distancia and latinpass promotions.

Now in GUA at the Radisson Suites. Called the hotel from the airport, and they had a free shuttle van there for me in less than 10 minutes. My room is on the 17th floor - large and very nice, free internet access downstairs. I do not see how you could beat this in Guatemala. Tomorrow I meet my sister here and we fly on together on TACA to MGA. I have reserved Best Western Las Mercedes -conveniently located across from the Managua International Airport - swimming pools, gambling, open-air bar -sounds great!-for 80 dollars plus 15 percent tax.
My problem at the moment is to figure out how to get connected in BOG to Aces and then another Aces without going through customs. We will arrive BOG on Avianca from CCS. We have over 5 hours connection time, but would rather not come out of international area, to avoid customs and departure tax -if there is one. ideas?
Also, still need a hotel in Lima. We will arrive very late, and leave very earlly, so would like to stay close to the airport. Hilton = $250 -too much! Intercontinental - so far away. More ideass? I can check here Sunday morning early.

BJJ - Your two questions:

1. My brother is going to LIM (I am only going on the 500K run, so will not get there). He could not find a hotel there either. But found a nice guest house in Miraflores where the owner speaks English and will pick him up and return him for a reasonable fee. Unfortunately, he is now is NZ and I don't have the name of place. But there is a Central Reservations Tel. 4466895 that you can check with. Or try San Antonio Abad Hotel T 4476766 that has a shuttle. A drive may be necessary, but better 4-5 hours sleep than staying at airport.

In BOG they are not supposed to charge you a fee if you are leaving on same day. But I think you can (from what I have read) stay in the transit area - assume no checked bags. But may be difficult to get an agent to get you boarding passes. If you leave, make sure they stamp passport with date of arrival so you can prove when you arrived.

Please post this info after your trip as, I think, the biggest question for most is how to handle plane transfers at the various airports without exit taxes. And BOG is a main transfer point and many concerned with possible problems there. Thanks and Good Luck!

BJJ, we couldn't figure out how to stay behind security in BOG, but it wasn't a big deal--especially if you have the time. Just present your boarding pass from your arriving flight to the airport tax counter (across from the Iberia counter, I believe) and they'll stamp it without charge. Then get your boarding pass for the next flight. I was somewhat nervous in there, having read about people stealing passports and luggage, but didn't have any trouble.

In Lima, we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Miraflores, booked through their web site. It was $85/night for a huge room. The place seemed nearly vacant when we were there. We took a bus from the airport to the hotel and back. It was pretty cheap--about $10/person I think. We had them pick us up early the next morning, and the driver was there as promised--or even 10 minutes early (something like 3:15 am). It's about 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel.

A better idea might be to pay business class for your flight the next morning and camping out in the LIM VIP lounge. Grupo Taca clase executiva tickets will get you in, for example. You probably won't get much rest no matter what you do.

I look forward to your report from the LIM internet cafe...

If you do not have biz tkts but are a member of Diners Club, consider hanging out in the 24hr DC Lounge at Lima airport. Complementary beverages etc. If anyone has been there, please confirm.

DC apparently also has 24hr lounges in the airports in Guayaquil, Quito, Miami.
http://www.dinersclub.com/diners_lounges.html

BillHallNY - Originally I was booked at the Holiday Inn, GUA, but after reading posts here I decided to go with the Radisson for $80 (plus megataxes), free shuttle to/from airport. I was able to arrange for the airport shuttle in advance on Radisson's 1-800 number (1-800-333-3333), but BJJ said he called from the airport and they arrived within 10 minutes. BJJ just posted that they have free net access ;-) there, so I'll comment when I get there on Tues (3/28)..

ALL - Anybody know what to see/do in Caracas? I will be staying at the Hilton and will have all morning (til 1pm). Do you think I can get a half-day city tour? Or should I just hoof/metro it?

Cheers,
ns

Re: BOG layover. My itinerary involves a layover of 7.5 hours in Bogota.. waiting for a late flight to Caracas.. Anybody know if I could get a late afternoon tour of Bogota arranged at the airport? Or should I just stay in transit and avoid tax and potential safety concerns?

ns

If anybody's making a 500,000 run from the Detroit area in the near future, I would be interested in hooking up. I also could make a trip from Mexico City as business may take me there in the next couple of months. I'm looking to make as quick a run as possible and obviously the least expensive as I didn't get my wife registered quick enough so I will be making a solo run. Thanks!

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

I have a 6 hour layover in Bogota this Sat.
I had dinner with a customer last week who was from Columbia and he strongly suggested that we not venture out into the city.

Has anybody had any luck with getting boarding passes for a flight when you are not in the country from which you are flying from?

NSW and tomphot: Please see my report on Bogota El Dorado airport in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...002076-16.html

Also, I wrote a trip report about a week long stay in Bogota in the section "Flyer Talk Trip Reports" if you're interested.

I would be glad to answer specific questions as best I can here.

Hello all, and thanks so much for all of the information. I'm just finishing the booking of my million mile run leaving May 4 or 5 from MIA. I'll return there on May 14. I'm likely travelling alone, so would love to meet up with folks along the way. I'll post my itinerary later this week, when it is confirmed. Anyone else travelling in this time frame?

My husband and I are off on 3/30 for the 500K trip. Our route will be MIA_BOG_SJO stay the night in SJO (?Marriott, check out the volcano) Then SJO_SAL_GUA, the night in GUA (Holiday Inn), then GUA_MGA_MIA back on the 1st of April.

We were wondering about renting a car in San Jose to drive to the Volcan Poas. I beleive the Marriott has a shuttle rfom the airport. Any suggestions for restaurants in SJO and GUA? Thanks!

DGOLDS: I saw what you and Pudding Guy wrote about El Dorado airport (thanks guys. Most helpful). One specific question though: Assuming that one is able to get boarding passes for connecting flights (a big assumption to make in my case, but never mind...), is it possible to stay airside, or do you have to go through immigration in any event (arriving from Miami)?

NickB: I didn't see a way that you could stay in the airport without going through immigration, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. If you do have to go through immigration, allow at least an hour for clearing customs, and a couple of hours for checking in to your next flight.

You might give Avianca or ACES a call, I'm sure they could give a definitive answer.

Disregard my earlier request for information regarding day tours in Bogota. I am going to hole up in the airport for the 7-hour layover.

Check out the latest the State Dept. info on Colombia: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif http://travel.state.gov/colombia.html

NO CONCERNS??

I am surprised not much response to the post above (see partial below) regarding TACA inter Central Amer. flights not valid for the LP promotion. Has anyone contacted LP and got a definite answer WITH a name of representative, date, etc. for future reference?? I would have thought this would be a MAJOR issue to be resolved for many going on the LP trip.


See full post above (and a couple of replies):
=======================================
posted 03-25-2000 09:56 AM
Many of you have flown and plan to fly Taca flights within central america. I
received an email from Taca Distancia suggesting that only Taca flights
connecting to OUTSIDE central america count towards the promotion. This
suggests that one needs a MIA-MGA (or vice versa) flight for Nica --AND-- a
MIA-MGA (or MIA-SAL etc; or vice versa)flight for Taca.
==========================================

PS. I did read of a Airport Hotel next to LIMA airport which "looked" like it was adequate. It was in the "footprints" book on South America (reddish cover) in the Lima section and had a small ad besides being mentioned in the article. Can't remember name offhand. I have book at home and will review if anyone has interest.

SAPMAN: I can't remember if it is in this thread or the 1000000 Miles one, but a number have submitted flight plans to LP for pre-approval which involved intra-central America flights, and these were cleared, as far as routing is concerned.
In any event, I just cannot see how Taca could unilaterally decide to re-define the English language in a highly peculiar manner through unpublished rules. It would be a different matter if Latinpass had published a definition of 'international'. Unless explicitly defined otherwise for the purposes of the promotion, international must mean between two distinct countries, wherever those two countries are situated.
Awareness of the rules of the Latinpass promotion does not seem to be overwhelmingly good among Taca agents and their statements need to be handled with a healthy degree of scepticism. I was told by them that I only needed to fly on 9 airlines for the million miles! needless to say that I am not going to rely on that...

Okay I've finally got the address of the Argentine steakhouse in Quito - it's Rincon del Gaucho, Almagro 422 y Garcia Local tel no. 547-846. However, PLEASE note that it was 3 yrs. ago when I was there and things may have changed since then. There was also a great pub just off the Avenidas Amizonas in Quito. I'm sorry, but the only thing that I can remember about its location was that it was opposite a strip club - sorry! Ask around - the pub (which is not seedy) is a good popular spot.

[This message has been edited by leroy11 (edited 03-27-2000).]

Delphi, sorry I didn't see you question earlier. Please feel free to e-mail me. I'm going on May 4-14, for the whole million. It would be nice to meet a fellow FF Hoosier.

Delphi, sorry I didn't see you question earlier. Please feel free to e-mail me. I'm going on May 4-14, for the whole million. It would be nice to meet a fellow FF Hoosier.

Thanks Leo,
I will have dinner @ Rincon del Gaucho in Quito this Fri night
Tom

i am concerned about the taca "intl" flight. remember the airlines can change their mileage requirements at any time. just because a central american flight was good last month does not mean it is good now. also why choose to ingore taca on their definition of an intl flight and believe them when they say a V class ticket on taca peru counts, when it expicitly says only Y and C class on their web site. has anyone had any other confirmation, yes or no, as to what class of fares are good for the promotion. thanks.

.

[This message has been edited by MauiGirl (edited 03-28-2000).]

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[This message has been edited by MauiGirl (edited 03-28-2000).]

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[This message has been edited by MauiGirl (edited 03-28-2000).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SAPMAN:
[B]NO CONCERNS??

I just spoke with Latin Pass on this and they told me that it doesn't matter what Distancia's rules say, it's the rules posted by Latin Pass that are in effect for this promotion. I also spoke to a Taca rep who claimed to be familiar with the million mile offer and he told me that it didn't matter which of the Grupo Taca airlines you flew on, they would all count for the Latin Pass promo. In other words you could take four Lacsa flights and they would count for Taca, Lacsa, Nica and Aviateca. So I definately know they don't have a clue. In my dealings so far Latin Pass seems to be the most helpful and knowledgeable.

From the FAQ on the Million miles promotion on the Latinpass website:
"3- What is an International Flight Segment?

An international flight segment is any flight from one country to another country which requires a separate flight ticket coupon."

I emailed Latin Pass the following question:

"Hola,
Are Taca flights (that accrue miles such as Y or C class) between Central American countries eligible for the million mile bonus?"

And just now received this reply:

All full Y class fares and C class fares are eligible for mileage accrual,and as long as you travel from country to country, you will be eligible for the bonus promotion.

It's nice to have it in writing.
Gracias Latin Pass!

[This message has been edited by flymetothemoon (edited 03-27-2000).]

duplicate

[This message has been edited by flymetothemoon (edited 03-27-2000).]

duplicado lo siento

[This message has been edited by flymetothemoon (edited 03-27-2000).]