Peru Travel Forum

Hi all

Yesterday I was booking/buying a couple of Lanperu airplane tickets online from Traficoperu.com. Everything went smoothly, I got my confirmation email that the tickets have been booked, and then after an hour or so I got another email from one of Traficoperu's agents saying that they need to charge me an extra USD40 on top of the total price advertised for the airline tickets. They also implied that if I don't pay the extra administrative charge then I'll lose my booking.

I am a bit surprised and annoyed because when I booked the tickets I ticked a box confirming that I agreed that administrative fees were included in the total price. There was no other indication on the website that an additional administrative charge will apply and there is nothing in the booking confirmation email to show that is conditional upon paying the extra administrative fee which will be charged separately.

So I wanted to ask you if this has happened to you before, and if you think this is normal for travel agencies in Peru or for Traficoperu in particular.

All comments/advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks

RV

Never heard of that agency. I (almost) always book my airline tickets on-line on the airlines' website(s). Especially if it's a simple one-way or return ticket. In my opinion much safer.
Again: if you need a reliable contact in Lima, Peru I can give you the details if you want that.

Thanks for you reply and advice. As a matter of fact I have now received a second email, in connection with a second booking, which I made with Traficoperu earlier today (that is before I saw the first email regardig the first booking).

The second email is similar to (but not the same as) the first one. The curious thing is that the additional amount which Traficoperu are asking me to pay for the second booking is different from the amount they were asking me to pay in respect of the first booking.

I am therefore even more suspicious of this and, also given your advice, I will reply to them and cancel my booking.

Apart from Traficoperu I have also tried to make a booking on Go2peru.com. Is anybody familiar with them? Unlike Traficoperu, after I entered my details on Go2peru, I received an email saying that my booking request has been received and that they will be in touch within 48 hours to confirm the details of my booking. I will keep you informed, but, meanwhile, if you have any good advice feel free to share it with me.

Thanks

RV

I have just had an online chat with Traficoperu and was told that the extra charge (which by the way amount to about 15% of the ticket price) covers the credit card company's fees (about 9% they say) and Traficoperu's own comission (about 7%-9%).

When I asked why was I not mad aware of this at the time I made the booking, they replied that the online sistem they use is not Traficoperu's and that they are unable to change it and that in any event my credit card had not been charged and if I did not want to pay the extra charge I was free to leave...

All in all, and hoping that my credit card has not been charged at all (which I will only find out in a few days), at least they have not made the charge without warning me first. However, I am not sure I will proceed with this booking and would book with them again in the future, unless I did not have other choice).

On the other hand, if I had known about this from the begining (i.e. if they had advertised it on the website at the time of making the booking), I think that I would have booked through them if they had been cheaper then other agencies/places.

Caveat emptor!

Again: for simple airline ticket bookings I don't see the usefulness to make an on-line booking with an agency when you can do exactly the same at the airlines' website itself. And save at least the (hidden) commission and/or extra booking fees or whatever they call it. But anybody has a free choice to do as they prefer.

It sounds like a familiar website that I may have "surfed" once while planning my trip to Peru last year. I know I didn't transact with them at all, so I cannot comment on this deceptive practice of adding charges on top of everything!

As to suggestions, why don't you try this website that allows you to do a comparison-shopping of Peruvian airlines? I never booked with them as I went directly to the airlines to purchase my airfare, but you may want to try this out since I noticed that this website's search tool offers more competitive rates. See below weblink and check if it works better for you:

http://www.enjoyperu.com/

Click "APUNAKE" on right-hand side of the screen to start searching/comparing domestic flights via major Peruvian air carriers (e.g., Aerocondor, Star Peru, Lan Peru)

Goodluck!!!

BTW...As to the credit card company fees, it's true that the fees can add up for merchants. I know for sure that American Express charges the highest fees for merchants, a reason why not everyone accepts AE cards, but for MC/Visa credit card transactions I doubt that it should be as high as 9% like what they're telling you. I've spoken with a merchant in Lima who told me that AE charges him the highest (like I believed all along), and that the other cards were more tolerable with their fee schedule. Cheers!

Thank you both for your comments and advice. I have been looking at Lan's website (www.lan.com) and considering booking with them direct. However, I have just noticed something quite interesting about Lan, namely that when you try to book a ticket after you've picked United Kingdom from the list of countries (here: http://www.lan.com/country_selector.html), the price is higher (and I'm talking a difference of a few hundred dolars) than when you try to book after picking Peru for example. I am therefore just slightly concerned that for somebody that does not live in Peru making a booking on Lan's Peruvian website may not be valid or something. What are your views please?

It shouldn't do that because it shouldn't matter where you're from to book airfare for domestic flights in Peru. If that is the case, then I would stay away from LAN then if I were you. Goodluck!

This has been discussed several times in this forum. Have a look further down. Just pick Peru and book the tickets. Else look at TACA (but just 1 flight a day) or the other airlines, though LAN has the most flights to choose from.

I have now boked the tickets with Lan using the Peruvian page on their website. I speak Spanish so it was not difficult (btw Lan's website looks vey professional), although I am sure a person that does not speak Spanish but is familiar with booking tickets online would still manage very well.

I admit that although I did do a search for Traficoperu on the forum before posting my first message, I did not check the forum again when I posted my message regarding Lan, so I am sorry if I repeated somebody else's comments/questions...

Good! Happy travels.