Anyone take *A to LIM?
Mar 22, 2005 | 10:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 547
Anyone take *A to LIM?
I'm planning on going to Peru this summer with some friends, and would like to either use my UA miles for a *A C-class award ticket (first choice) or buy a coach ticket (as cheap as possible) on a partner. Is there any easy (or possible) routing from LAX? When I use the journey planner on the *A website, it suggests routes through YYZ on Air Canada, or GRU on Varig. It even showed one really, er, creative routing LAX-MEX-YYZ-LIM.
Mar 24, 2005 | 11:32 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
Programs: AY Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 8,625
I've made the trip to LIM from SFO on a Star award in C. SFO-MIA-GRU-LIM and back. UA on all but the GRU-LIM-GRU flights. It was a lot of flying - 5 hours to MIA, 8 hours to GRU and then another 5 hours up to LIM.
Now that the MIA-GRU routes no longer exist, you'll have to go through ORD or IAD if you fly UA.
AC award availability using UA miles is notoriously hard to find.
I purposely avoided the RG routing through LAX b/c I had heard nothing good about their C product.
I may visit LIM again this fall - this time, I'm going to try for an F award from LAX-GRU on the ex-Swiss MD-11 which is supposed to be nice. Second choice will be on AC since I've heard great things about their international business product. If neither of those work, I'll take the long way on UA in C -I don't think F on the 767-300 is worth the extra miles.
Now that the MIA-GRU routes no longer exist, you'll have to go through ORD or IAD if you fly UA.
AC award availability using UA miles is notoriously hard to find.
I purposely avoided the RG routing through LAX b/c I had heard nothing good about their C product.
I may visit LIM again this fall - this time, I'm going to try for an F award from LAX-GRU on the ex-Swiss MD-11 which is supposed to be nice. Second choice will be on AC since I've heard great things about their international business product. If neither of those work, I'll take the long way on UA in C -I don't think F on the 767-300 is worth the extra miles.
Mar 24, 2005 | 3:51 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 547
Thanks for the advice, but I didn't end up using it. I held, but didn't book SBA-LAX-GRU-LIM in C, with the second two legs on Varig. I tried for AC through YYZ, but as you said, there was no availability. Reading about Varig on their board made me quite hesitant to go through with it.
Then I found a fare for $394 for a direct flight LAX-LIM on Lan. Since I'm going with 3 other people (who don't care about miles, or status, only money, and live near SFO, ORD, and NYC) we're all going to meet up in LA and take that flight together, and I'll save those 80000 miles for something else. It probably won't be as nice (and possibly horrible) but it's fairly cheap and I'll be with my friends rather than alone, and we won't have to worry about finding each other once we arrive.
Then I found a fare for $394 for a direct flight LAX-LIM on Lan. Since I'm going with 3 other people (who don't care about miles, or status, only money, and live near SFO, ORD, and NYC) we're all going to meet up in LA and take that flight together, and I'll save those 80000 miles for something else. It probably won't be as nice (and possibly horrible) but it's fairly cheap and I'll be with my friends rather than alone, and we won't have to worry about finding each other once we arrive.