i’ll be setting of on another flight with klm to cusco , this time flying from manchester to amsterdam , from there to lima , then an 11 hours waiting time in the airport before i board the taca flight to cusco.
this is going to be a good test to find out about the fast track for the luggage , since there is only 50 minutes transfer time in amsterdam , interesting to see what happens if they can’t get in on the plane on time…
…
so today i fly to Lima .
just checked in at the KLM desk , my luggage should go straight on to the connecting flight to cusco and i should get my ticket at the transfer desk.
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Boarding in Manchester went fine ; we arrived 15 minutes late in Amsterdam, but i got in time on board of my connecting flight … with my luggage …
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when i arrived in Lima i found out that i had to pas migrations, get my luggage, pass customs and look for the transfer desk … no transfer desk to be found … i asked KLM staff … the didn’t know … i asked TACA staff … they didn’t know … so i put my luggage in the left luggage room … cost me 24 soles … and started the long wait for my Lima – Cusco flight the next morning.
So people beware ; KLM tells you that the luggage goes straight to Cusco – NOT TRUE !!! Do not forget to pick pick you luggage up in Lima airport or it might get lost !!!
Around 2.00 am i found the TACA (AVIANCA) checkin desks where open so i got my luggage out of storage and went to check in … got my boarding pass … went to get number 2 and boarded the Taca flight … all went well up to the moment we left Lima …
During the Lima – Cusco flight we got informed that due to bad weather the Cusco airport was closed and that would circle until the airport reopened … the flight that should take around 1.15 hours was almost in the air for 2 hours when we got informed that we would land in Arequipa … we were told that we would have another try a bit later … in fact we where told that several times … we had to leave the airplane to go to the terminal … re board the plain again …
ready for take off again … and again cancelled … some passengers wanted to leave the airplane to find other transportation to get to Cusco , but where not allowed to leave …
After a long time of waiting the TACA pilot told us that we would fly back to Lima … when we landed in Lima around 5.00 pm more than 12 hours had passed since we boarded the airplane (just to get back at the spot where we started.) without any food (just some crisps and a biscuit).
Most of the passengers where upset, we all went to the desk of TACA and got vouchers for transport to a hotel, a meal, breakfast and transport back to the airport …
the next morning we checked in again and flew to Cusco without further delays.
In total i had been travelling from Wednesday 23/10/2013 checkin around 6.30 am, boarding 8.35 am , departure 9.15 am until my arrival in Cusco at Friday 25/10/2013 around 11.00 am , a total of 54 hours , according to my ticket i should have been in Cusco on thursday 24/10/2013 at 6.50 am ; so i was 28 hours late at my final destination.
Lets hope my return flight goes better …
When i wanted to file a complaint on the klm website i couldn’t because the site did not recognise Cusco as a valid destination … only the lima airport was listed there …
Lets see if i can get any assistance or compensation …
I got a message from KLM informing me that the TACA flight was not covered by the European rules and that therefore the delay and problems on this flight would not result in any compensation by KLM, but that KLM would like to offer me a KLM credit voucher for 200 €.
Until today , the 5th of december 2013 the promissed KLM credit voucher for 200 € has not arrived , emails are not answered, a bit worrying …
To be continued …
My travels 