www.CostaRicaTicas.com

yes actually i have a ticket from the 26th to the 3rd. see you there!

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

Good catch, I guess they recently changed their policy. Sorry for the bad info, I should have actually looked at the link I provided.

I get the concept of elite FF status or biz class passengers getting bigger free allowance, but why would an airline have different free baggage allowance depending on destination? WTF!

Some American airlines do this for national flights. Carryon is free, checkin costs money. The obvious answer is money. The more weight they need to haul, the more fuel costs. In trying to keep a fair balance with free, most will do free international but charge for national.

I use Avianca/TACA, mostly to fly wholly within Latin America. If you are in the FF program you can buy miles at half price, twice a year. That makes a RT ticket to the U.S. cost $450 or round trip between San Jose and South America cost $300. It's not such a big deal for the U.S. but is great for Latin America travel. For the U.S. you can fly on United with Avianca Lifemiles.

The main reason I use miles is that I usually fly one-way. There are no penalties for using Lifemiles for last minute, one-way tickets. You would pay a fortune if you had to buy those kinds of tickets.

More recently, I flew into LAX from El Salvador, with a connection in Guatemala. The flight and service was great. They had better (and free) entertainment systems than United on similar route.

I ended up coming back to Costa Rica from the east coast and got caught in a winter storm. I started out talking on the phone in Spanish with some agents in Colombia, which was not a problem for me. However, after a few more delays (it was really snowing) I just called United and they did the later rescheduling.

My last trip to CR I flew business on Taca which only costed $250 more return than economy. Considering my flight down was the 1:30am redeye from LAX it was well worth the money. The planes were newish and service was good although the staff seemed all related to each other. The pilots were coming out every 1/2 hour to chit chat and it seemed his daughter was getting a free ride in business class. A little amateurish for my liking, but it still beats flying American carriers.

The only downside was no direct flights to/from CR from LAX which means going through TSA security checks all over again in SS or Guatemala on the way back to LAX.

For me not having to go through customs and immigration and then having to put your luggage back in and then going through security again at some airport in the US before getting to LAX or SFO is well worth an extra $100.

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Softbob

There is nothing either good or bad
but thinking makes it so.
HAMLET

The security check in Guatemala is not a TSA check. TSA does not operate security checkpoints in foreign airports.

My experience with the stopover from LAX (not the connection) is that the check is just the Guatemalan airport police with a hand held metal detector, and a few agents going through carry-on bags. It's not the full security check, but instead is a quick gate check. There is no customs or immigration control, and just a glance at the passport. It's not much different than the extra little check you get on the flight ramp when you leave Costa Rica.

I agree, however if I lived in the U.S. that I would take the United flight. It's just better to get the miles on Avianca to use on my trips within Latin America.

Obviously it is not performed by TSA, but I understand it is required by TSA prior for passengers on stopover flights prior to entering the US. It was not just a gate check, they make you do full security check (taking off shoes walking through scanner) then once you come back to the gate, they do another quick gate check to check handbags and pat you down. Of course no immigration or customs control. I did not have the same routine on the way to CR, we were allowed to stay on the plane.

Looks like Avianca came to their senses for a limited time, at least:

FROM JUN 23RD TO NOV 14TH
30LB EXTRA ARE ON US
FILL YOUR BAGS WITH UP TO 100LB
WITHOUT PAYING MORE

Flying SFO TO San Jose next Tuesday. How much can I check for free and where is that written????

Red, I got an email directly from Avianca. This is from their website for flights going North America to El Salvador for those dates:

[url]http://www.avianca.com/en-us/travel-information/plan-your-trip/baggage/free-baggage-allowance.aspx/url]

On Avianca, on flights between North and Central America you are normally allowed 1 or 2 bags totaling no more than 70lbs. With this seasonal promotion, it looks like you can carry up to 100 lbs. I would confirm that with the Avianca on-line chat representative just to be safe.

Can't get the URL to work nor find a chat person online. My ticket says 35 lbs for each checked bag.