Lima Travel Forum

I arrive to Lima and continues in 2 hours to Buenos Aires. I don't plan to check in any baggage and I wonder if I can skip immigration/cusoms and proceed directly to the Buenos Aires gate. Any help will be highly appreciated.

Yes, Lima airport has international in-transit.
The website:
www.lap.com.pe

Yes, just stay in the international transit area. Normally either a flight attendants or a gate agent will be there to direct you to the international transit area. If not, just ask. Even if you have checked baggage normally airlines have an interline agreement so even if you are flying in on one airline and flying on to Buenos Aires on another, the originating airline will check you bags all the way through to your final destination.
suerte
SAM

Thank you both very much for the information!

Porteno, thank you! I checked with Continental, and they told me they don't offer this transfer with LAN.

Lou

Continental seems to be one of the strange ones, they dropped over 20 airlines from the interline agreements in 2004. If I am connecting with LAN I normally do so on American and have no problems. Not sure where you are departing from but LAN is offering really cheap fares to Lima right now.
suerte
SAM

Continental is Skyteam and American-LAN are OneWorld.
Nevertheless, even without interlining the luggage can be checked through but no boarding card can/will be printed so checking in again in the transit area/at the gate would be necessary.

Thanks!. I have a couple of hours between flights. So I am not sure if I will have enough time to go through immigration. Althought, I heard the efficiency improved lately there. Also, I think I would have to pay departure tax in Lima if I pass the immigration, despite I don't spend any time in the country.? I think I may take staff with me to cabin, and will just check in at the LAN gate for BUE in the international transit area. I already bought tickets on Continental...:(, so I am stucked.

Thank you, it has been really helpfull.

Lou

Actually it does not make much difference on the airline alliance, I have flown Delta (SkyTeam) to Miami and connected with LAN to Buenos Aires and Delta checked my bags through. Continental is just a bit strange sometimes when it comes to interline agreements.
SAM

That's exactly what I said also, Sam. It happens often to me here in Europe when flights are changed/overbooked. Luggage checked through (always) but sometimes the need to check-in at the gate (for the next boarding pass)-while staying in-transit.
No experience with Continental though, never used them, yet.

No need to pay airport/departure tax in Lima when staying in-transit.

Even so, Lima airport has become quite efficient since the new building opened in february 2005.

http://www.lap.com.pe/ingles/tvueloint.html

Reading the reply more closely it seems that you have 2 separate tickets which, in airline lingo, is not an interline connection but an off-line connection.
This means that, officially, the first airline will check you only to their "final" destination.
There is an additional risk with that, if the first flight is delayed and you miss the second, connecting, flight, neither airline will, again officially, be obliged to accomodate you, irrespective if it's the same alliance or not.