Hello,
I am looking to book flights roundtrip from Lima to Cuzco for April, 2010. I think we are going to go with Taca as they have much more reasonable prices then LAN but still seem reliable. For our flight from Lima to Cuzco, there is a 5:45am and a 10:10am flight. 5:45 seems terribly early, but I have heard that the later your flight the more likely it is to get cancelled due to weather. People who have made this flight, do you think we are taking a big risk by booking the later flight? Also, what about returning from Cuzco to Lima, are earlier or later flights better? I know this all depends on weather and is completely unpredictable, but any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
Aimee

10 AM is usually fine

coming back late AM or early PM best

www.taca.com

www.starperu.com

both lots cheaper than LAN

currently under investigation by

the government of Peru for discriminatory $178.50

tourist surcharge on each flight in addition

to high regular prices.

Oh my goodness, I just posted the exact same question on Trip Advisor forum, except we're going in May. I don't mind spending a bit more to fly at a more convenient time, but the price difference between Lan and Taca is too much to ignore.

The common wisdom is that the earlier in the day you can fly that route, the better because of the weather, but that applies in choosing between morning and afternoon. I'd feel perfectly comfortable flying to Cusco at 10 a.m.

Great! Thanks for all the advice... 10am it is!

If I can add my two cents worth...from my own personal experience. I was there in August 2008. My flight from LIMA to CUZCO was on time. We had a 10 am flight that day. Our flight back to Lima from Cuzco was in the afternoon...around 2pm. We made our flight.

Now a little back story on what happened with many of the other travelers that had their flights cancelled while we made our flight...

Cuzco is in a valley and the winds can pick up quite a bit especially in the mornings. This can mean significant delays for flights coming from Lima and can even mean cancellations of flights.

During the 3 days prior to our departure from Cuzco, many flights were cancelled. There were literally hundreds of people stuck in the airport waiting to get out. The day of our departure, our guide said that we should be ok because our flight was in the afternoon. We got to the airport and found hundreds of stranded, angry people that were stuck there and trying to get out. LAN PERU was not very helpful in dealing with this and there was a near riot. They did not put people on other flights because they were either cancelled or full.

Because our flight was in the afternoon, it was on time because it was able to land in cuzco on time. The stranded passengers were appauled to see that we got our ticket for our flight when they didn't. Fights nearly broke out.

So bottom line, book an afternoon flight out of cuzco to lima. And don't book a connecting international flight out of lima the same day! Just in case something happens to you!!