Today we had one of those experiences where the situation was just too good to be true. We’re on a tight budget and were happy to find our flight tickets into the jungle were less than $80 each return. I had a strange feeling and was rushing to complete the transaction before the website crashed or a notification arrived saying that the flight was full.
The confusion arrived when my card was declined by Visa Verification process…. and I couldn’t understand why. Finally after several unsuccessful attempts Yieber called Lan Peru directly and spent over half an hour haggling with the customer service representative.
It turns out that if you are Peruvian or a legal resident of Peru you get the cheap price. For me on the other hand it was an entirely different story. My flight was nearly $300 (US) return. That was the reason for the transaction being denied, because it was coming from a foreign credit card.
Thankfully Yieber was able to reduce the prices slightly because he complained that the website had given us false hope.
This system is exactly the opposite that Air Canada offers. Flights within the country are way overpriced but you can fly across the Atlantic or to South America for half the price.
I try and avoid air transportation as much as possible since it leaves a HUGE carbon footprint, but in some cases it’s the only available option.
When I average the cost of both our tickets we are each flying for about $170 (US) return which seems a decent cost for a 55 minute journey.
It was interesting try to follow the negotiations in Spanish when Yieber was trying to convince the airline that I was living here, albeit temporarily.
Got to give him credit for trying!
If you’re interested in supporting our shoestring budget production you can follow the link in the right hand column Go Fund Me! Or you can make an electronic donation to my email.
As you can see, we’ll make sure to stretch your dollars to the max!
Gracias!
Peruvian Heartache 