3/28/2012

Traveling To Peru? Don't Fly United!

If you are planning a trip to Peru any time soon, you definitely do not want to miss this piece of information. After all, there are more than a couple of ways to get there.

Since the merger between Continental Airlines and United Airlines, nothing has gone smooth for these 2 major U.S. carriers. Continental Airlines was my go-to carrier for traveling to Peru, South America and Europe. But, things have changed. Booking my latest flight to Lima, Peru was nothing short of a nightmare. "Computer System Merger" they now call it. 3 days, 15 hours of talk-time on my cellular, more fees and charges than expected, and really nothing to show for.

Customer Service representatives kept blaming each airline's prior system for the mishaps. They were unable to perform tasks that once upon a time seemed basic, such as transfer of miles between one account to another -in the same family and household-, booking a reservation, or issuing a refund for Pete's sake. Again, the whole experience was nothing short of a nightmare.

My prefered carrier nowadays between San Francisco, California and Lima, Peru is LAN Peru Airlines. They have a direct flight between those two destinations, unlike any other carrier, unless you were flying out of Miami, Houston or Newark. That's it. They are still in the "old-school" airline mode: complimentary adult beverages and above-average meals, not to mention more personal space around you. However, not everything is rosey, as you might expect. Carry-on luggage can not exceed 8 kilograms -17.5 lbs-. But if you are like me and travel only with carry-on luggage, that could be a challenge.