www.CostaRicaTicas.com

For my upcoming Viaje Numero Tres, I decided to take advantage of the good rates available on Take-A-Chance-Airlines. I've read all the past comments, both positive and negative, but I'm wondering - are there any special precautions I should take to make sure the trip goes smoothly; i.e., re-confirming my reservation, arriving early at the airport, taking carry-on bags only, etc.?

Thanks!

I just booked on TACA out of LAX (went with AA last time) and all I've heard thus far is that the check in process may not necessarily be as efficient as on domestic airlines so instead of getting to LAX 3 hours before departure I'm going to get there 4 hours ahead and drink.

Have used both TACA & AA from MIA and found absolutely no difference in check in procedure. That maybe because AA is the dominant carrier at MIA and lines to check in are always long. Can not speak to the LAX situation.



Think doing all of the above make sense.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Get to the airport early or a 4'11" mamasita will lecture you on needing to arrive 2 hours prior.

If she is the stew, she may also lock the bathrooms. They kept filling us with drinks and locked the loo. I'll never take them again. They also lost our luggage and said, "It'll probably come down on the next flight." It did, but if I hadn't been sitting with somebody else with the same problem who was being met, I'd have probably lost everything. My advice is don't get near them. As usual, YMMV.

IMHO, Taca's flights themselves are fine, and the planes are all brand new Airbus A319 and A320s. But their check-in process IS manual, primitive, and slow, so DO allow the 3 hours prior to departure that they recommend. That being said, I didn't mind using them last month, but I DID arrive with plenty of time to spare.

Ditto the others.

The flights are perfectly fine. I haven't flown to CR out of LAX, but at MIA the check in process is at best inefficient and confused. AA may handle more passengers, which can be an equalizer, but while TACA has fewer flights they seem to schedule them all around the same time. Get there at LEAST 3 hours ahead, bring carry-on only if you can do it (not because they'll lose it but for reasons that will be apparent below) and have PLENTY of patience. Latinos have a different attitude about time, so you might as well get used to it before you leave. You may go straight through, but it ain't worth taking a chance. One thing I would add is make sure you get in the right line and don't be afraid to ask.

Expect to see lots of large family groups with humongous luggage (that you might have to manouver around) yammering away in spanish. It can be somewhat confusing for a gringo that hasn't been through their process before. The first time I went, I saw a huge line that stretched around the corner. I went to what I thought was the end of the line. It took me 10 minutes before I realized why the line wasn't moving. It was a "luggage line". There were people in it, but they turned out to be family members watching the luggage, while mama or papa waited in the main line. Then when they finally got to the front, everyone would go back for the luggage and drag it past everyone waiting in the regular line.

It made some sense because there was so much luggage it would take up too much space in the main line and would be a hassle to pick up everything and move a few feet every few minutes (though many people used that method as well). Instead, some people preferred to have papa wait in line and mama watch the luggage, while the grandma sat comfortably and the K*ds ran all over the place back and forth between their parents and then manuever all their bags under the rope barriers and around the other people waiting in line when papa got up front. Yeah, that's a lot better

Lets just say check-in can be a bit chaotic. It seems almost humorous now, but at the time I was ready to pull my hair out.

I have lived in CR for many years, I travel to the Empire at least once a month.

1. Never check bags on Taca inbound. They sometimes leave more than 1/2 the bags behind. I assume this is to take revenue earning freight. Additionally, they will not deliver bags. They claim that it is because you ned to be there to have the bag clear customs. If you plan on leaving San Jose in the first two days, this could be a huge problem. Outbound I have not experienced any problems more than other airlines.

2. Do not make a reservation on their toll free number and pay at the San Jose Airport. Taca will always charge an additional fee, they say it is some sort of airport tax, Costa Rican tax, or the price has changed.

3. If you have an uneventfull trip, they are fine. If you have an issue such as getting bumped, lost baggage, or a missing reservation, you are done. Try calling Customer Service, it rings in San Salvador, and if you can actually get the agent to understand the issue, they are more likely to hang up on you than attempt to solve the problem.

I myself only use Taca for their LAX non-stop.

though there are pros and cons with any airline.. here is my report.
https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... light=taca

I MIGHT also add a month plus Later I Still don't have my FF miles credited to my AA Account.

_________________
The Boss of All Bosses!!! Hey I'm a drunk alcoholics go to meetings!

One key to efficient travelling is never to check baggage anyway. Be aware that TACA has a limit to carry-on weight, as I recall 10 kg. They did not weigh my second laptop-size bag, into which I'd loaded heavy items, like books and bottles of body-scent. The only problem with TACA from SFO is the return time, half an hour after the last BART train. For me, it's like a fifty-dollar add-on to the fare. I wish they had a non-stop as from LAX. But otherwise, no problems.

There is a Costa Rica tax on tickets issued in Costa Rica. I learned this the hard way, booked an American Airlines flight SJO-MIA on AA website and arranged to pick up the ticket at their Sabana office, they added the Costa Rica tax. Now I book online and get a eticket by email, no Costa Rica tax added.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Just flew Taca yesterday to LA. Taca now insists that carry-ons be below 10 lbs, nothing to do with size, just a weight issue. This happened to me on both legs of the trip. Of course just remove a laptop or whatever and put it back in at the gate. This has never happened to me on any other airline. I have a 12 lb carry-on, the non gringo passengers were checking in bags the size of Buicks. It is run just as you would expect from a government owned airline.

Elusive,

TACA is not a government-owned airline.

http://airlines.afriqonline.com/airlines/609.htm

Thanks for the info about the 10 lb. carry on limit. I fly TACA often but only within Central America. They are usually very efficient with their C.A. service but their new policy really blows. Unfortunately there are no other options except the bus.

Appreciate all the helpful responses to my original inquiry.

Elusive - I'm wondering if you have your kilograms and pounds confused when you talk about the "10 lb" limit. A 10-pound limit for carry-ons is hardly realistic for any airline is this day and age. My reservation confirmation clearly states "22 lbs" for carry-ons, which is roughly equivalent to 10 kilograms. I also called the reservation line and double-checked this with an agent. I actually went out and bought a new carry-on luggage piece expressly for this trip, so I hope I'm not wrong on this!

It sounds like you should be right, but coming back they definitely has a 10 lb limit. Though it could have been an error on the girls part. I had a near empty bag as I usually do tons of shopping in the states and go to Goodwill for two check in bags, that I throw away when I arrive. It probably is 10 Kilos, but it still shows the Taca attitude.

Have you ever had an issue on carry on bag weight with another airline.
Does any other airline you know of, leave passenger bags behind knowingly?

I remember once having to fish through my bags to show them the e-ticket reciept, after making a mess of my bags, and having to repack on the fly at the counter, they insisted on an overwight charge because I now had one bag overweight . I will say the waited patiently while I moved some clothes back to the original bag to get under the limit.