kja

For an upcoming trip, I plan to fly to and from Peru open jaw, and, while I am there, I plan to take three additional flights within Peru to get from place to place. Other than price, are there pros or cons to either (a) booking all the flights, including my open-jaw flights to and from Peru, at the same time as a single multi-city itinerary or (b) booking the in-country legs as separate, one-way tickets? If it makes any difference, I believe that all the flights I am likely to take are with LATAM or American.

Thanks in advance to any insights you can provide!

Christina

huh, I've never been able to even do such a thing as the major airlines that fly me to other countries are never the ones doing those local small flights. And if they did do such a route, they would be much more expensive than the local budget carriers.

So I think price is the big issue, or possibilities.

If price really isn't a consideration and you'd book the same flights anyway, and it doesn't affect the price of the major flight on each end, I can't think of any reason NOT to have them all part of one itinerary. In fact, I would think it is probably useful to have it all listed under one itinerary in case of problems, instead of the airline having to patch together various parts to look at.

NewbE

I am interested to read the replies to this question. We have only ever done it as you describe in "b", booking the in-country legs as separate tickets (round trip, in our case, but that doesn't make a difference).

yestravel

I have only booked the domestic flights separately from the International flights. I have typically used budget Airlines for the domestic flights, However I thought some Airlines had “passes” that entitled you to lower air fares on their partners in the specific country to which you are going. For Peru it used to be American and LAN (now LATAM).

kja

Thanks, all! On a different thread, crellston suggested that separate tickets might give me greater flexibility if I have to change or cancel one of the in-country flights. I'm still trying to figure out if the international baggage limits would apply to the separate in-country flights, the other issue that had occurred to me.

yestravel

Be sure to check the change/cancellation t&cs. I had the opposite from what crellston suggested in Colombia. Avianca who we flew to Colombia was far more generous with their policies toward cancellation than the other airlines I booked separately for the domestic flights.

kja

@ yestravel: Interesting! Thanks for letting me know to check into that. BTW, I'm now planning a night or two in Pisac, thanks to you.

yestravel

. BTW, I'm now planning a night or two in Pisac, thanks to you. [
I hope you like it. Your trip sounds like it’s shaping up nicely.

kja

I think so, too! Being able to draw upon the wisdom of my fellow Fodorites really pays off.

Odin

I’ve almost always booked separate tickets. Even if you book the entire itinerary under one booking, it does not mean you will have one ticket; separate tickets can still be issued for various reasons other than price. International baggage allowance on domestic flights only usually applies to connections.
On my last trip to the Caribbean, I had 4 sets of separate tickets and separate bookings, some were on the same airline and some flights were connections booked separately. The airline through checked the luggage to final destination and was given the booking ref of the other booking. Even when there was a schedule change to one of the flights which meant we had to change the outbound flight, the airline changed it even though it was on a different booking.

kja

@ Odin: Thanks!

mlgb

I would be careful with LATAM when you are including ground transfers for part of the itinerary. They are a pain to deal with if you need to reschedule for any reason. While good in the air, heaven help you if you ever need to talk to them either on the phone or in person. I'd worry that if you miss a segment along the way, there a chance that LAN could cancel the remainder of the ticket?

Good in the air but honestly would rather deal with American or United for customer service.

That said, if you get a better price or equal price going all the way to Jaen on the inbound flight, I'd be inclined to do that on the singe booking.

Avianca isn't much better. But if you use United miles to book them, thankfully you can use United CS in case of issues.

Avianca does have a better luggage policy than United but when I code-shared on Avianca even though booked thru United I got the Avianca allowance.

Your extra bags should be allowed on the connected domestic flights in Peru but LATAM has been downgrading their luggage allowance based on the class of ticket. One trip I had packed a carryon sized rollaboard inside a big suitcase (I have had that 18 inch bag rejected for carryon domestic flights in Peru). The lodging thought it was funny that I arrived with one bag and left with two! I left my big bag behind in Lima at 3B with clothing and purchases that I wouldn't need after the first leg of my trip. Be sure to check the carryon regs for that Jaen flight, they may be restrictive if it's a small plane.

yestravel

The great thing about these boards is the varying experiences we all share. I found Avianca to be wonderful to deal with. They were slow at times, but always helpful and had much better policies than UA. I couldn’t believe how lenient their policies were as compared to UA. I would use them in a heartbeat over UA. I have only used LAN on a couple flights quite a few years ago. What I remember was I could carry wine through. ��. I always went with the best deals and fortunately th8ngs have generally worked out.

kja

@ mlgb: Again, many thanks! I admit to a strong preference to book all the way through on both inward and outward flights, primarily because it's then the airline's job to get me to where I'm going. None of the connections are close, so I have at least some margin for error. In contrast, I'm not seeing or hearing any compelling arguments in favor of including the separate in-country flights on that same ticket, and the concern that you and crellston raised about potential snags if any of those flights are changed makes me reluctant to pursue that option. Although I haven't booked yet, and remain open to argument, I'm likely to book them separately. And thanks for the warning about potential baggage restrictions for the Lima to Jaen leg -- I will definitely look into that!

@ yestravel: I agree! People with varying experiences, but a common willingness to share those experiences with other travelers. Awesome!