air travel within peru
 

We are traveling to Peru for 4 weeks in Oct and Nov. While we have our itinerary fairly well planned, we would like to know the ins and outs of domestic air travel; i.e., are schedules reliable? Is it best to purchase tickets in the US or to wait til we get to Peru? We are going from Lima to Cusco, from Cusco to Puno, from Puno to Arequipa, from Arequipa to Trujillo, and from Trujillo to Lima. Thank you

I think air travel in Peru is pretty reliable. Weather delays can happen, just like anywhere else. But all in all, it's a good way to get around, espcially on routes I wouldn't even want to endure overland, like Lima-Cusco.

Four airlines with domestic flights:

LAN Peru - probably the most polished, and my favorite, and a favorite of most people here:

www.lan.com

Star Peru

www.starperu.com

Aerocondor

www.aerocondor.com.pe

TACA Peru

www.taca.com

I've flown them all. They're all okay. Like I say, I'll always go with LAN Peru if I have a choice.

All can do E-ticketing on their websites.

We booked our flights in the US before leaving. But we ended up cancelling a couple flights and were refunded the fare cost less $25. We had no trouble rebooking the flights on other airlines a few days before we wanted to fly. We found the schedules to be reliable. We did have a few delays. Going from Lima to Arequipa we had about a 1.5 delay. We never heard the reason for the delay. Morning flights were cancelled due to weather on the day of our flight from Cusco to Lima. They put us on a later flight. Again we had about an hour delay, but we had a late morning flight. Those on early morning flights had longer waits for the weather to clear. We were told that is not uncommon on flights from Cusco. We were there in April.

Thanks, Jeff. Do you think it's better to book flights before we leave, in the US, or would we possibly get cheaper fares if we book in Peru? I suppose we should at least book our flight in advance from Lima to Cusco.

What about the LanPeru discounts for multiple domestic flights? I've read that this arrangement can be confusing and not particularly a savings. Has anyone had experience with this?

I've done both, booking before I arrive in Peru and while I'm there.

LAN has a South America Airpass. Look under Promotional Offers on the website. It lets you calculate a total price for your itinerary. The pass has two tiers of pricing: one applies if you fly LAN to and from South America; a higher price applies if you fly to and from South America on another airline. I think it's a better deal if you're flying around South America, rather than just flying around Peru. The prices for individual flights aren't so different than what you'd pay buying the domestic tickets separately.

How flexible are your travel plans?

If you have more time than money, book your tickets in Peru. You may save a couple of bucks by flying at off-peak days or times.

If your time is limited or you want to be in a particular place at a particular time, book your flights in advance on the Internet. The prices are pretty much the same and you'll know that you'll be on the flight you want.