Hi All,
Just came back from South America trip chasing the solar eclipse!
I wanted to post some info up about LATAM and internal flights in PERU as the information is extremely hard to come by - especially Australian information - and this may help other people!
I booked our flights on the LATAM Peruvian website (all in Spanish) as the flight costs were significantly cheaper and we had no issues at all with the travel.
For example, Lima to Cusco one way is $189 AUD without baggage, and adding baggage in for the next level is $237 AUD.
Cusco to Arequipa was $134 AUD no baggage and $182 AUD with baggage.
However by changing the country of your location changed the costing of the same flights. I found the Peruvian website to be the cheapest, even though it was in American Dollars verse the Australian Dollar.
Lima to Cusco was $23 US no bags, or $33 US (less then $48 AUD) with bags.
Cusco to Arequipa $34 US no bags or $49 US (Less then $71 AUD) with bags.
So for us the cost difference of $189 to Cusco and $111 to Arequipa by booking through the Peruvian website or just over $300AUD. Multiple by 4 of us and that was a $1200 saving!
The issues we had with the LATAM Peruvian website is
1. Everything is in spanish! So either use google translator as you go through the website on your computer, or use a second device (mobile/tablet) for translation as you go through the website.
2. We couldn't use our VISA card as we had an Australian address. We tried two or three times and it just wouldn't accept the payment. We tried our MasterCard and it worked first time on both bookings.
3. You will receive a email a day before departure to check in - which is perfectly fine. You will get your boarding pass which you can save to your phone or get it emailed to you. Again this is all in Spanish, so we used two devices side by side, one to go through the online check in and the second to translate.
4. All food and drinks costs money. Think of this as a Jetstar flight. baggage costs extra, food costs extra, changes costs extra etc etc.
The Good:
Latam has their check in computers in both Spanish and English! *YES!*
For bag drop off -
QFF Platinum privileges work! there is a dedicated line for oneworld emerald which is also for LATAM's frequent flyers too. The customer service by all the reps was awesome. There was no waiting in these queues. If you are not lucky enough to be emerald, don't worry, the line up looked like it was less then 10 mins long at both Lima and Cusco Airports. LATAM had the shortest queues compared to the other airlines.
Latam has group boarding - being Emerald you are placed in group 1. Latam Boards EARLY! I mean really early! up to a hour before departure time. so if you are in the first 3 groups make sure you are at the gate early if you need overhead storage as it goes fast.
QFF Silver gives you no status in LATAM and you are in group 5. - Our arequipa flight didn't pick up better half's emerald status and put us in the lower booking category. This is where the LATAM service reps were great, and stamped out boarding passes as preferential boarding.
Our QFF status points and QF points came through within a week, earning 10 SC and 100 QF points and 5SC and 50 QF points for these two flights.
No-one asked us about what website or how we booked, and we had no issues at all. This is definitely a cost effective way of travelling domestically in south america. I will be doing this same trick but with Argentina when we head back next year by booking on local websites as opposed to the Australian LATAM website.
Just came back from South America trip chasing the solar eclipse!
I wanted to post some info up about LATAM and internal flights in PERU as the information is extremely hard to come by - especially Australian information - and this may help other people!
I booked our flights on the LATAM Peruvian website (all in Spanish) as the flight costs were significantly cheaper and we had no issues at all with the travel.
For example, Lima to Cusco one way is $189 AUD without baggage, and adding baggage in for the next level is $237 AUD.
Cusco to Arequipa was $134 AUD no baggage and $182 AUD with baggage.
However by changing the country of your location changed the costing of the same flights. I found the Peruvian website to be the cheapest, even though it was in American Dollars verse the Australian Dollar.
Lima to Cusco was $23 US no bags, or $33 US (less then $48 AUD) with bags.
Cusco to Arequipa $34 US no bags or $49 US (Less then $71 AUD) with bags.
So for us the cost difference of $189 to Cusco and $111 to Arequipa by booking through the Peruvian website or just over $300AUD. Multiple by 4 of us and that was a $1200 saving!
The issues we had with the LATAM Peruvian website is
1. Everything is in spanish! So either use google translator as you go through the website on your computer, or use a second device (mobile/tablet) for translation as you go through the website.
2. We couldn't use our VISA card as we had an Australian address. We tried two or three times and it just wouldn't accept the payment. We tried our MasterCard and it worked first time on both bookings.
3. You will receive a email a day before departure to check in - which is perfectly fine. You will get your boarding pass which you can save to your phone or get it emailed to you. Again this is all in Spanish, so we used two devices side by side, one to go through the online check in and the second to translate.
4. All food and drinks costs money. Think of this as a Jetstar flight. baggage costs extra, food costs extra, changes costs extra etc etc.
The Good:
Latam has their check in computers in both Spanish and English! *YES!*
For bag drop off -
QFF Platinum privileges work! there is a dedicated line for oneworld emerald which is also for LATAM's frequent flyers too. The customer service by all the reps was awesome. There was no waiting in these queues. If you are not lucky enough to be emerald, don't worry, the line up looked like it was less then 10 mins long at both Lima and Cusco Airports. LATAM had the shortest queues compared to the other airlines.
Latam has group boarding - being Emerald you are placed in group 1. Latam Boards EARLY! I mean really early! up to a hour before departure time. so if you are in the first 3 groups make sure you are at the gate early if you need overhead storage as it goes fast.
QFF Silver gives you no status in LATAM and you are in group 5. - Our arequipa flight didn't pick up better half's emerald status and put us in the lower booking category. This is where the LATAM service reps were great, and stamped out boarding passes as preferential boarding.
Our QFF status points and QF points came through within a week, earning 10 SC and 100 QF points and 5SC and 50 QF points for these two flights.
No-one asked us about what website or how we booked, and we had no issues at all. This is definitely a cost effective way of travelling domestically in south america. I will be doing this same trick but with Argentina when we head back next year by booking on local websites as opposed to the Australian LATAM website.
