Medellin Reports

[Mackin]

Hey Bandy, See you in may. I am one of the guys who was there last year when you were there. I just tried AA from Detroit and they want $388. 00. One way. Then get to add on Med to Miami plus add Miami to Det. If you book round trip they want 262 each way. Last year was 149. 00 each way on a round trip. With taxes was low 300. 00 for Miami to Med. All this to say about 150. 00 more this year.

Kind of got you by the balls, don't they. PM me if you want to know who I am.

[Ouzo 12]

Which airline should one use for cheap flights to mde

From Montreal?

I'd be interested in hearing from other canadians.

Thanks for any info given.

[Bandy]

AVIANCA is really getting expensive! For my May trip, for several months, I was waiting for airfare for the direct AVIANCA flight from JFK to MDE to come down. Instead the airfare went over $700. In fact, even with other airlines it is in mid to high $600's. Then I found a reasonable fare ($465) via Copa Airlines through VAYAMA (www.vayama.com). There is one stop at the Panama City. The same flight through Orbitz and others as well as Copa Airlines websites are close to $700. The $465 includes a $40 credit as "Wecome to 2011". Never dealt with Vayama before. But I already received the electronic ticket. So looks like they are legit. It is hard to believe that there is over $200 price difference for the same flight through other airline travel sites.

Bandy

[Rodeo9112]

I do searches to include Avianca, Copa and AA to get the best price. The most convienent of the three is Copa, them AA, lastly Avianca because of the flight arrival and departure times in Colombia. All three have at times been the cheapest and all three I have amassed free trips to Colombia. As for the Avianca credit card policy, I do not see it be that much of a difference in price between booking from the different companies other than you are not paying the same taxes (which a Colombian citizen or resident will still need to pay at the airports). I have logged in on Avianca and paid with my US credit card even though the policy does not allow. The computer (at that time) did not know my card was a foreign account. Try doing it from the Colombia sight and ignore the warning but look around you might find a better price and not have to stress about revelutionizing the companies policies.

I also found that you can get really cheap rates on Avianca if you wait till the last minute (I. E. Week before) to buy a ticket online. Now, I don't know if it was because I was in country and purchasing from a Colombian IP address in COP, but, the roundtrip between Bogota (where I was) and Medellin was right around $100 USD. This was the case when I made my first trip to Medellin (from Bogota) at the last minute after hearing all the wonderful things about "Medallo"! Just my. 02cents.

Rodeo

[Manizales911]

Simple, find a Colombian person you can "trust" and have them buy the ticket for you and you pay them back. Which is what I do if I'm not in the country myself where I can walk into an Avianca store. This price gouging has been going on for a few years now.

This is what I do also. The problem is most people don't have someone in Colombia that they can trust.

[MiamiHeatLuver]

Well, feel free to bar "Colombians" and write "people" instead then, 'cause the same rule applies to just about all people IMO, and EXPECIALLY the ones you are related to by blood or relationship.

Sure you can lump every kind of person and citizenship in here to an extent, but this is the Colombian forum isn't it? I speak from in depth experience.

[John Gault]

Well, feel free to bar "Colombians" and write "people" instead then, 'cause the same rule applies to just about all people IMO, and EXPECIALLY the ones you are related to by blood or relationship.

I don't borrow and I don't lend. I espesially don't lend.

When your broke, your a joke.

[LittleTruths]

Sure its a daunting task, but it can be done. Of the 100's of Colombians I know, I can count the ones I would trust with any amount of money on one hand and that's INCLUDING my girl's family LOL. Never loan a Colombian money unless you can afford to not see it again. That's a golden Colombian rule to live by.

Well, feel free to bar "Colombians" and write "people" instead then, 'cause the same rule applies to just about all people IMO, and EXPECIALLY the ones you are related to by blood or relationship.

[Member #4394]

I think "presta me" does not mean "lend me" in effect in latin world as our "you have a second?" does not really mean just a second.

Sure its a daunting task, but it can be done. Of the 100's of Colombians I know, I can count the ones I would trust with any amount of money on one hand and that's INCLUDING my girl's family LOL. Never loan a Colombian money unless you can afford to not see it again. That's a golden Colombian rule to live by.

[MiamiHeatLuver]

Yeah, right."Simply" find one. Coudln't help laughing. Still looking for a Colombian I can trust.

Enjoy the life!

PaisaLover.

Colombian Girlfriends without the Strings Attached

Sure its a daunting task, but it can be done. Of the 100's of Colombians I know, I can count the ones I would trust with any amount of money on one hand and that's INCLUDING my girl's family LOL. Never loan a Colombian money unless you can afford to not see it again. That's a golden Colombian rule to live by.

[Paisalover]

Simple, find a Colombian person you can "trust..."

Yeah, right."Simply" find one. Coudln't help laughing. Still looking for a Colombian I can trust.

Enjoy the life!

PaisaLover.

Colombian Girlfriends without the Strings Attached

[Phunluv]

I have been on a 3 month trip through South America and it is the same problem everwhere. It is abasolutely f#cking insane and absolutely mindblowingly anoying and frustrating. Its like the airlines have done verything possible to stop anyone buying a ticket! It is absolutely f#cked.

Not sure if things have changed in recent years due to credit card fraud but a friend of mine who traveled throughout Colombia for several months had no problem flying around inside the country and even changing his ticket without any special fees or hassles. He always just went up to the counter at the airport and asked what was available. At least for regional flights WITHIN Colombia, I believe this is still the best way to go unless you are tied to a specific schedule and need to be absolutely sure you will be on a specific flight.

I can't speak though for other countries and international flights will obviously be more complicated. The Lima-Cuzco leg is an obvious exception because of the Machu Picchu tourism.

[Justafool]

I do searches to include Avianca, Copa and AA to get the best price. The most convienent of the three is Copa, them AA, lastly Avianca because of the flight arrival and departure times in Colombia. All three have at times been the cheapest and all three I have amassed free trips to Colombia. As for the Avianca credit card policy, I do not see it be that much of a difference in price between booking from the different companies other than you are not paying the same taxes (which a Colombian citizen or resident will still need to pay at the airports). I have logged in on Avianca and paid with my US credit card even though the policy does not allow. The computer (at that time) did not know my card was a foreign account. Try doing it from the Colombia sight and ignore the warning but look around you might find a better price and not have to stress about revelutionizing the companies policies.

[Bowerboy]

I have been on a 3 month trip through South America and it is the same problem everwhere. It is abasolutely f#cking insane and absolutely mindblowingly anoying and frustrating. Its like the airlines have done verything possible to stop anyone buying a ticket! It is absolutely f#cked.

First you have to pay the hugely inflated gringo price. Ok so once you acept this and try and buy the ticket it won't let you unless you have a credit card from that country. Its not just Columbia, its every country is the same. The only exception seems to be Taca airlines (which is why their 5:40am flight from Lima to Cuzco is always full 'because its about the only company who sells online in a normal way).

Compared to all Asian and European Airlines the Airlines of the Americas are a total farce. If the whole world ran their airlines the same way no one could get anywhere. Note that European and Asian airlines are the only airlines that evr turn a profit.

It helps to make sales if you can acually buy a what the company is selling. It is so absurd that its beyond belief. I have had to change plans and make so many diversions during this trip because I couldn't buy tickets for otherwise empty flights (in 3 months the only full or even close to full flight I have ben on was Taca from Lima to Cusco).

[Phunluv]

I just wanted to point out something I noticed about fare differences in COP and USD. This past November, I was helping a buddy research online airfares for his wife and infant child to go to Cali around the Christmas season. I tried every possible way I can think of to search for fares on the Avianca site. I did notice the USD fare was higher than the one in COP for exactly the same itinerary, but the difference was not a huge one. It seems that you can't pay for the e-ticket anymore directly in COP if you have a US credit card, but from what I've seen, the difference is almost always less than $40 and sometimes just around $10-20.

I'm not totally crazy about this, but I think it's legal. I wouldn't rule out Avianca just on this issue alone. I would say use Avianca if their flight schedule works well for you; I wouldn't call them a great airline but they're okay and have improved slightly in recent years. There's always AA of course if you don't mind connecting through MIA (I try to avoid all the bozo TSA guys & the cuban mafia there, LOL!). Spirit is okay and FLL is not as giant a hub as MIA so things tend to run a bit smoother there. Just realize it's pretty no-frills and you can get hit badly with the luggage fees if you don't plan in advance.

I have hundreds of thousands of FF miles I need to start using so it's not a major issue for me and I believe Avianca is joining Star Alliance so keep that in mind if you have FF miles in a Star-affiliated airline and the Avianca fares are pissing you off. Avianca fares tend to be pricey compared to the other airlines and while the "dollar surcharge" is annoying, it only adds a bit and is not the main source of the price difference when comparing with Spirit or AA.

Since I live in NYC and speak Spanish, I think next time I might check with local travel agencies in Astoria, Queens or certain Colombian neighborhoods out in Jersey for fare quotes. I've always wondered about these local agencies that cater to the immigrants; if anyone has tried this way, let me know if you've found a better deal through a neighborhood agency. (There's a shipping service in Queens I use that's MUCH cheaper than FedEx when I need to send something down there although it can take awhile)

Now back to your regularly scheduled monger program.