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Airline Fares - Aires

Just a word of caution. I bought a round trip ticket from MDE to BOG today. I researched prices and at first glance Aires looked great - 49,000 each way. When you dig a little deeper however, they want 77,000 each way for taxes. The total was 261,000. I went with Aero who was much more honest and had a fare of 250,000 and more options. Aires must think the travelers are idiots.

By cstew47 on Jul 6, 2009, 17:48 in Friendly Talkzone.

gamm2 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 6, 2009, 18:09:

261,000 is a pretty darn good price for a round trip to Medellin. Some people are never happy. You must be Colombian or at least not United Statsian. We gringos are very used to knowing that taxes are not included, especially when buying airfares. There is some restaurant that doesnt include IVA and it always gets my boyfriend all mad. It doesnt bother me - I still just enjoy not having the price go way up at the register in Colombia.

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njc (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 6, 2009, 18:11:

"they want 77,000 each way for taxes."

Aren't the taxes set? You make it sound like they have an option of "asking" you for less taxes.

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cstew47 says on Jul 6, 2009, 18:22:

Apparently you guys aren't getting it. The taxes are a sham. It's a way of jacking up the fare without seeming to raise them. My point was, both Avianca and Aero had equal or better fares and their taxes were much lower. I don't understand why you are defending Aires when I am only trying to alert other members of a potential scam.

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viajero123 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 6, 2009, 18:24:

When you see the fare in Aires website, and click on it, it gives you immediately on a very visible side note a breakdown of how much you have to pay altogether. It is Colombian law that all unavoidable taxes and fees must be included by the airline in the price before you pay and in their promotions and I think they comply with it.

Aires is the airline that is responsible for all these promotions and for the lower Avianca price. Before Aires entering the important Colombian routes, you could have not gotten that fare on Avianca

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lpdiver says on Jul 6, 2009, 18:33:

Some of the sites in the USA do that as well. The latest trick is luggage fees.

ts

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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Papi de Alejo says on Jul 6, 2009, 20:16:

And don't forget seat selection. I thought that it was only Spirit that charged you to select the seat that you wanted to fly in; but now I find other airlines are getting in on the trend.

Live simply... Love generously... Care deeply... Speak kindly...

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lpdiver says on Jul 6, 2009, 20:21:

I wasn't aware of that; but, wouldn't pay (at least not much) for the option.

ts

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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Papi de Alejo says on Jul 6, 2009, 20:30:

I just arrive early and let them assign me a seat; just as they used to do in the good old days.

Live simply... Love generously... Care deeply... Speak kindly...

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njc (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 6, 2009, 23:33:

How much were the taxes with Avianca? 77k each way BOG-MDE doesn't seem unreasonable to me by any stretch.

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Sonny says on Jul 7, 2009, 06:33:

I flew Copa the last four times from the States to MDE, I had extra weight, extra bags (3) was fed on the plane, had all I could drink and was not charged one extra dime. Total from MCO to MDE $371.00 which included all exit fees and taxes. Great airline with the newest planes in the sky. It was cheaper the closer to the dates I wanted to travel plus when you call them they will give you the current specials on airfares. I realize this is International flights but maybe someone would appreciate the information

Just taking life easy. I worked hard for it and deserve it and now doing it.

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Papi de Alejo says on Jul 7, 2009, 09:11:

I have also flown with COPA several times, and as you said, I can't say a bad thing about them. Except that they leave as soon as all are on board; sometimes much earlier than scheduled. I, however, need to plan way ahead so last minute specials, while I won't discount them, won't usually work for me.

Live simply... Love generously... Care deeply... Speak kindly...

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cstew47 says on Jul 7, 2009, 09:32:

Yes, I second that. (Or maybe third that). Copa and its subsidiary Aero Republica give good service and price. I also like the fact that they are tied in with the Continental One Pass program.

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Sonny says on Jul 7, 2009, 10:34:

The one thing I like most about Copa is that I was not charged extra for heavy baggage or extra baggage. There were two of us with a wheel chair, walker, four heavy bags and one very heavy box and two carry on's. Nothing extra and great service

Just taking life easy. I worked hard for it and deserve it and now doing it.

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lpdiver says on Jul 7, 2009, 14:54:

I had a very bad experience with Continental/Copa. It took them three days to get me from Houston to Medellin. I damn near missed my own wedding. I'd probably still be in Panana if I hadn't been befriended by a guy from Colombia who assisted me in booking my own continuing flight to Medellin.

The rest of my experiences with Copa were...okay. They all screw up sometimes.

ts

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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