Taca International Airlines

I have a voucher with Avianca/​TACA which they do not want to help me honor. I called their call center and they said the system was not working. To go to the Avianca/​TACA in DC. Thanks to this negligent ADVICE, I was involved in a serious car accident. I have been on the phone for over 3 hours of my life trying to get the voucher and get a flight. It would be SO SIMPLE if I could just buy online using the Voucher NUMBER. Apparently, it’s less expensive to have a lawsuit on your hands THAN TO FIX YOUR PURCHASE SYSTEM ONLINE!

They are the worst, they are a monopoly airline. What does this do? Mexico City to Managua is a monopoly for them where they are the only airline that goes only because they bought out all the competition. $ 571.00 for a two hour flight with one stop in El Salvador. For $ 544.00 it is a nine hour journey with two stops on LACSA, part of the taca=aviance team. Check Mexico City-​Costa Rica $ 391.00 with more competition.

Only getting one star because 0 is not an option! I’m a very frequent flyer (3 times a week) this is the worst flight experience of my life.
Check in counter, a disaster! No organization, no management, no service.
Once we got on the plane it looked like musical Chairs, I was moved twice to accommodate other people on this over booked flight, Disaster!
I am not high maintainance, just want what I pay for, these people run an airline about like they run there lawn service.

On December 25, my fiancé and I arrived at LAX close to three hours before our flight departed to Peru. I am Star Alliance Gold and we approached the Premier desk for TACA/​Avianca to check in. We handed over our passports and prepped our luggage to check in. At the check-​in desk, the Avianca rep took our passports into the back. When she returned, she told us that my fiancé’s passport could not be used. Very confused, we asked why and she said that there was a small crease across the photo, and she did not think it would be accepted in Lima. The passport was not expired, it was over 8 years old with normal wear and tear. It scanned, it was not expired, and the photo was not impaired in any way.
We asked to speak to a manager and they sent out a young lady who explained that Avianca would be responsible if they accepted this passport and allowed us to board the flight. She told us that «if» Lima customs rejected the passport, the airline would be fined. He said he would take that risk and would pay the fine if that was the case. They refused. They offered no assistance to us. So, avoiding a financial penalty for the airline was more important that customer satisfaction — ruining our Christmas day and jeopardizing our entire vacation with very little change to make something happen on a national holiday.
The manager kept repeating that she did not «think» Lima would accept the passport. This was just her belief, but she could not provide any documentation that said what customs would or would not accept. Other employees told us they didn’t see a problem with it and that since it scanned and was still valid, they thought it was fine. They said they were shocked that we were being denied check-​in. I was undoubtedly very upset and in tears at this point — our trip of a lifetime to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was about to be ruined, completely in jeopardy. We have saved for over a year for this trip. We spent close to $ 3K for our airline tickets. And another $ 3K for our tour. We had already received permits from Peru using our passport numbers and were in the system for approval. And now we were being refused over a crease in a perfectly fine passport.
I could not believe the lack of understanding or assistance by the Avianca staff, especially seeing as this was the Star Alliance Gold premier desk. As a very frequent flier, I’ve been impressed with the quality of service that United & Star Alliance partners has provided over the years. It was Christmas Day and they were of no help. After much prodding, the manager finally agreed to contact Lima Customs to see if they could get some type of approval for the passport. She told us she called and that nobody picked up. She said she scanned in the passport and sent an email to Lima Customs and we just had to wait to see if they responded. We waited for OVER TWO HOURS at the desk. We asked the manager to please call again. She would just come out from the office, shrug her shoulders and say that they didn’t answer and she hadn’t received an email.
My fiancé immediately asked her for the phone number to Lima Customs so he could call directly. She had initially told us she called with the phone in her hand, which could call internationally. She then started to say something to me about not having it, and then in Spanish, she told another Avianca employee to go get the number out of the office. We asked why she couldn’t get it off the phone she said she called on. She did not really answer and deflected her response. We also asked her to provide us with a copy of the email, but she said she would not be able to share that — she only took his email and said she would email if she heard anything.
He had to buy an emergency passport on Christmas Day AND a new one-​way flight to Peru (over $ 2K) and barely made it in time to start our tour. Upon arrival and departure in Lima, he spoke with customs/​immigration who said his passport would have been accepted. They told us that Timothy’s passport had nothing wrong with it — picture, passport # and scanning were all intact.
We will never fly TACA or Avianca again. The worst customer service at LAX, a VERY costly judgement call that ruined our vacation and our Christmas.

One star is too generous for this joke of an airline. We booked a trip from Los Angeles to Roatan (with a stop over in El Savador) the saturday before Thanksgiving this year. Our flight was supposed to leave at 12:30 pm, although the plane didn’t board and leave until after 1 am. At 3 in the morning they turned on the cabin lights and started serving breakfast (!) and then left the lights on for the remainder of the flight. Who serves breakfast at 3 am? The flight there was heaven though compared to our return trip.
The following Saturday we went to the airport in Roatan to return home. We had a 12:30 flight from Roatan to El Savador to LAX. It was raining outside but other airlines were landing and taking off so we thought for sure we would get on our flight. By 10:30, we started hearing different stories from the gate agent. Our plane had tried to land in Roatan but couldn’t /​the plane was circling the air seeing if it could land /​the plane had returned to El Savador. Every agent had a different story and for over three hours we were unsure of what was happening.
By 3 pm I approached the agent and asked her for a status update. She said, in a very rude tone, that the flight was cancelled and then proceeded to move the advertisements that sit on top of the counter in between her and I so that I couldn’t see her face.
I asked her if there was another flight we could get on and she said No, come back Tuesday for standby. Tuesday? I was not going to stay in Roatan for another four days — I had work obligations. Her tone indicated that she would be of no help but I asked her if she could assist with getting us on another airline and she said no and walked away.
We approached the other airlines in Roatan but had very few options for leaving within the next twenty four hours. My husband and I ended up paying $ 2,000 to take an American Airlines flight to Dallas to sleep in the airport overnight and then jump on a Virgin America flight to LA the next morning.
I was flabbergasted at how rude the agent was. I was also surprised to learn that several hours after we booked our American flight, the agent helped 8 members of the group we were traveling with onto another flight on Sunday. We weren’t even given a Sunday option. We will never fly Taca again — it’s still hard to believe that they cancelled a flight and didn’t have anyone there to assist the passengers with getting on other flights.
What’s more, as we were getting onto our American Airlines flight in Roatan, there was a Taca flight boarding next to us! Clearly they could land a plane — they just chose to randomly cancel our flight and not provide any sort of assistance to the 60 of us they left stranded in the airport. Terrible terrible airline —- when you go with Taca you truly are on a «Taking A Chance Airline.» Avoid at all costs!

This is my FIRST one-​star review that I have ever written. Sadly, I feel compelled to write it in the hopes that it prevents others from going through the same frustrations that we did on our first trip to South America on TACA Air.
Taca Airlines lacks honesty and integrity toward their customers. Their staff has demonstrated indifference by overbooking their flights and lying to visitors about mechanical circumstances in the hopes that we will concede to catching a flight the next day just to make their bottom line. This not only happened to us, but also an elderly couple from Montana, a gentleman from Canada, and a group of teenagers from California… all in the same flight.
I’d like to consider myself a seasoned traveler (see my Unilocal pics for the deets). Both of my parents work in the airline industry so I am familiar with last minute changes. We have used every mode of transit; trains to metros to planes and can attest that South American air travel is by far the most unpredictable and unreliable of all.
But nothing, and I mean NOTHING was as bad as the service we received from TACA Airlines.
Our first incident happened in Lima Chavez Airport on May 14, 2013 when we had a flight to Cusco at 2pm. We arrived at 11am (three hours before departure because the flight wouldn’t allow web check-​in) and the rep quickly stated the flight was cancelled due to a mechanical.
That’s fine. There has to be other flights leaving through Lima airport today, right? After all, Cusco flights leave every hour on multiple airlines via COPA and LAN Air (Machu Picchu is South America’s bread and butter tourist destination).
«No, I’m sorry. There are no flights open through TACA or any other carrier today. We will give you a $ 50 food voucher for the inconvenience and put you on a flight tomorrow.»
Meanwhile, we overheard other passengers on the same flight number as us getting their boarding passes and proceeding to the gate. What? I thought there was a mechanical?
That couldn’t be right. Going against my character, my gut told me I had to fight this. We only had one day to visit Machu Picchu on the 15^th and all the PeruRail train tickets and bus rides were prepaid for 7am the next morning and non-​refundable. We had to get out today. I expressed our circumstances to the attendant for 20 minutes, with no success. Other travelers were getting irate because they too had pre-​booked thousands of dollars in tours and hotel accommodations.
As luck would have it, I caught a WiFi signal and immediately searched Kayak’s website for Lima to Cusco flights. Whattaya know, at least a half dozen flights popped up available from TACA and LAN, all within a half hour of each other! I showed this to the supervisor proving that they had been lying about the mechanical as well as other flights not being available. I demanded that we all be put on one of those flights due to their overbooking even if it was through another carrier. Through thirty minutes of nail biting and pulling teeth, we finally got tickets out on LAN Airlines at 3pm.
What a mess.
Our second incident happened from Lima to Buenos Aires on May 16, 2013. Another overbooked flight delayed us three hours into another flight and we arrived at 5:30pm instead of early afternoon wasting more of our vacay time.
Our third and final incident on TACA was on May 19, 2013 on our flight back from Buenos Aires to Lima. We did the web check-​in 12 hours before flight (now extremely paranoid about any mishaps), printed our boarding passes with seat assignments, and got to the airport at 3:30am for our 6:30am departure. We were informed by a TACA rep at the check in lobby to proceed to the gate because we had our pre-​printed boarding passes.
As we were boarding, the gate attendant stopped us saying that our seats were given to another couple because we did not check-​in at the airport lobby. Wait, what? After we explained that we were directed to proceed to the gates, the rep defiantly stated that we must catch another flight, probably at 6pm (almost 12 hours later).
I was livid.
Once again, I had to explain in very poor Spanish our circumstances and if there was any way to get out on the next 8am flight. An entire hour of arguing and showing proof of our testimonies worked in our favor. We had to run back through passport control, bag checks, and meet outside with the supervisor in the lobby for them to FINALLY concede to my request. They reissued our tickets for the 8am flight and we were outta there.
My fiancé and I have never been more excited and relieved to get out of a continent and back home on US soil. TACA Airlines runs a shoddy and highly unpredictable business as seen in our experiences as well as those around us.
My advice: fly COPA or LAN Airlines.
Don’t fly TACA unless you want to sprout needless gray hairs… No bueno.

Inefficient! Bunch of agents behind the counter, but yet, the line isn’t moving! And their mobile app doesn’t allow for international check-​ins! Aren’t most of your flights international?! What a frustrating morning!

Disappointing…
I have a great relationship with this airline’s online marketing team, so I have booked many flights for family with them. Three years ago when my grandmother passed away, I booked an emergency bereavement flight for my mother for under $ 400 USD. The staff was friendly and helpful on that flight and others. We love that there are nonstop flights from LAX to Guatemala and other countries.
Unfortunately, this past Monday afternoon my mother received an awful call informing her that her sister in Guatemala had been found dead and foul play was suspected. I immediately called this airline. The telephone customer service representative expressed empathy and explained that there was a nonstop flight leaving LAX at 11:30 that night, but I would have to book the flight at the airport.
When my mother and I arrived at the airline’s counter, there were five employees there. The first woman who we spoke with said that my mother could be placed on a waiting list, but would have to return at 9:00 PM to see if she could leave on that flight. She even said that my mother would be the only person on the waiting list and that meant that there was a good chance that there would be a seat for her. She then went to her supervisor and requested what she called a, «waiting list form.» Her supervisor then came over as the other employees crowded around.
The supervisor told us that my mother could not be placed on a waiting list for the 11:30 nonstop flight, but could be placed on a waiting list for a flight early the next morning with a stop in El Salvador. We agreed to being placed on the waiting list for the flight the following morning. We also explained the situation to her and asked if they could call us if by a miracle a seat became available on the 11:30 flight. The supervisor smirked with a lack of empathy and said that they did could not call us. A third employee then whispered something to the supervisor and the supervisor relayed to us that the flight in the early morning was not stopping in El Salvador, but rather in Costa Rica.
It was clear to us that the supervisor that night was unaware of the flights available and lacked basic customer service skills. However, we were desperate to get on a flight out to Guatemala. We agreed to being placed on the waiting list again and asked for pricing. The supervisor quoted us $ 972 plus tax and stated that they did not offer a discounted price for bereavement travel. Still we left our information with them.
I was extremely disappointed with the TACA customer service and I could not bare seeing my mother anxiously waiting in tears. I went on
from my phone and immediately booked a flight with Aero Mexico for my mother. The total cost for the round trip flight was $ 702 (including taxes) and my mother left that very night.
The staff at LAX for TACA airlines has left a bad taste in our mouths. They not only disregarded the emotional turmoil, which my mother was going through, but they added to her grief and anxiety. We perceived their actions to be unappreciative of their customers’ value. During a time of extreme need, they tried to sell a trip for at least $ 370 more than its worth and almost three times more than what they had charged previously for the a similar flight.
I am extremely happy that Aero Mexico had an available flight and we are very please with their friendly staff and the service, which they provided. In the future I will most likely only book a flight with TACA as a last resort.

In the span of 2 weeks I flew with Taca 4x and only once before 2 years ago. I’ve been used to flying with other Airlines before starting with Pan-​Am when I was a kid, and the United and Delta after Pan American went under. I’m surprised how well this airline was as I remember hearing it wasn’t that great back in the 80s when I was a kid.
Check in at the airport was very smooth, as I forgot to check in online. Granted, as I arrived early and was at the front of the line, the check in process was a charm. The lady was really friendly. I handed my passport and in what seemed like a snap of the fingers I was already to check in my baggage with TSA for xrays. I’m not going to mention the TSA Process as this review is only on the Airline but I’ll just say that TSA security screenings at LAX (on this day) were a breeze and I think it took longer to untie my boots, take them off, and put them back on than going through the security check point.
*Side note, I also like that Taca allows you to check in 2 pieces off luggage instead of one like most airlines (at least with international flights). Weight limits of 50Lbs each or 70Lbs if traveling in business class.
1^st Flight, December 20^th 2012. AIRBUS– A320 Destination: Guatemala City
My flight was delayed almost an hour. Not sure what had happened but there was an Airport Police officer on board speaking with some of the crew for a good while but after that, the plane was off. The crew was really nice and friendly. Lunch was provided with a choice of Chicken or Lasagna (which I chose) with a Coca-​cola… and the food was pretty good. Though I didn’t have any, alcohol was also served on the flight for those who wanted a cocktail and it was free of charge. The flight was very smooth, so smooth that it actually arrived on time (10 minutes early too) which I was very impressed as we did have that (approx) 45 minute delay at LAX.
2^nd & 3^rd Flight, January 2^nd-​3^rd 2013 ATR42 Destination: Peten Flores, Guatemala & back to Guatemala city.
While on Vacation to the Ancient Mayan temples of Tikal, we once again flew Taca. This time on a Smaller Prop plane, but still the service just as good. The flight was good the service was great, and even a light snack was served on the 50 minute flight. On the way there (morning flight) the airline provided complimentary news papers, which they didn’t on the way back as it was an evening flight. I had duffel bag as checked luggage and my backpack as a carry on but I’m sure the regular checked baggage rules apply.
Last flight, January 4^th 2013 AIRBUS– A321 Destination: Los Angeles, CA LAX
Pre-​checked online this time. I was even more impressed with the return flight that the one there. We were on a nicer newer Airplane, though this one was a «Star Alliance» place rather than «TACA», but still had a Taca crew. The interior was very nice, with mood lighting, personal TVs per seat with options of watching TV shows (my choices were Big Bang Theory, and Futurama), music selections, games, GPS flight tracker, and also had USB port with the option on plugging in an iPod or other device. The Crew just as Awesome as ever. My only complain, and I won’t hold it against them is the small isle and the Lavatories in the Back which was a bit difficult to pass when you «gotta go» when the crew was servicing drinks and meals, but finding an empty seat and standing there while the crew move the carts wasn’t too much of a hassle (or a friendly passanger that would make some room just to let the crew move their carts and let you pass. Once again, the flight arrived on time.
Long Story Short: I was very pleased with my experience with this airline, and seems like Avianca-​Taca is my new favorite airline for international flight to Central/​South America, Caribbean, etc. Kudos to Star Alliance!

free booze, free booze, free booze.
ok, obviously, i love booze, but i was impressed by the efficiency of the airline itself, stewardesses, and the not skimping on things we take for granted on our domestic airlines these days.
i flew from LAX to Lima, Peru, on a crazy travel deal and booked with TACA. had never heard of the airline prior to my first experience traveling to south america. i was dreading the two stops on both my departing and returning flights, but through and through, both flights were pleasant and the layovers were short.
a snack or a meal on every leg of the trip. some meals/​snacks were better than others, and i can’t say i was impressed with the culinary delivery. but i appreciated that they did feed me. did i mention FREE BOOZE? i had 3 johnny walkers on one leg of the trip, and i wasn’t looked at like an alcoholic. wine also available.
probably also helped i didn’t sit next to any fat, smelly people.
i would happily fly TACA again. cheers.
peru (especially machu picchu) was awesome.

I flew (direct/​nonstop) to El Salvador for the first time on Taca on ¹¹⁄₁₄. The process was pretty smooth. They didn’t lose my baggage and everyone was nice. I was warned about the food but it was decent. The return flight was even better because I had a pillow and my own tv to watch movies like the Dark Knight, Ted, etc. The selection was pretty great. I also had 3 whiskeys on the way there and on the way back, all inclusive as well as snacks. I had a great experience and hope to fly via Taca again. Would recommend :)

So many bad reviews. I came here with one goal in mind and that was to say how enjoyable and what a relief it was to fly an airline that not only had nice friendly stewardess’ but also great food. AND I got a few Johnny Walkers FOR FREE. Then to see all bad reviews I’m pretty shocked. We flew from LAX to El Savador then to Peru both ways and regardless of the number of passengers and flight delays etc… the pilots always made up the time in the air and the stewardess’ were really nice.
I used to fly nearly once a week for work domestically and never got a meal… flights were never packed and frequently had stewardess’ with bad attitudes… and try to ask for anything without them pulling out those credit card readers while laughing in your face if you try to pull out cash. AND my flight to Peru was cheaper than all my domestic flights.
True the wife found the deal online and it seems that everyone we told in OC got it too. but that’s really cool.
I didn’t take the time to read everyone’s bad review but I just wanna say what a pleasure it was to fly this airline. From baggage check to baggage pickup both ways I didn’t once have a bad moment. Maybe it’s luck or maybe they’re just getting better.
Thanks Taca and your icon is tight too!

Seems like a good reliable airline. They had a major hub in San Jose, costa rica which made traveling to/​from there to south america and the united states easy.
Oh just a note, if you go to central america from Peru, make sure you get a yellow fever shot! I didn’t and had a nightmare getting some «sketchy» paperwork!

I should of checked Unilocal reviewed before i booked the flight.
You think you spend less with them for flights but seriously you might as well pay a little more and save time. In the end you wound up losing more than you bargain for. So don’t be cheap!
We wound up at Taca Wed night at 11pm to check in our flight to Costa Rica. We got to the counter and the lady looked at the screen and called two other ladies to look at the screen. Than after a good 30 minutes, She finally told us that our flight was cancelled.
no reason for the cancellation… just canceled.
They wanted to book a hotel for us in El Salvador and stay there for a day than go to costa rica, but whats the sense of that. it was mainly to get rid of our bodies– literally! so that they didnt have to deal with us…
we ended up staying there till 3am!!! 3 fn am! can you believe that?! no water no area to sit just stood there… waiting for a result !
finally after being there for as long as we were. the manager finally came in and finally decided to give us a hotel to stay at for the night.
They promise us comped meals for breakfast to dinner, but when we arrived to eat lunch the following afternoon– we weren’t able to eat anything because… load and behold it wasn’t comped!!!
furious !
Than it was our flight back from Taca, i am a vegetarian and i made sure to tell the attendant that i was one and she noted that. but once it was lunch time… ONCE AGAIN! they had nothing for me ! I was starving and they gave me nuts to hold my stomach… They should really consider shutting down!

To sum up — you have other better choices for an airline!
We booked our flight online and did our seat selection. Upon arrival at LAX we were told our seats were not together but on different parts of the plane. And both were MIDDLE seats. We explained we had done our seat selection online and had a printout to support us. They told us there was nothing they could do at the check-​n counter but they would take care of us at the gate. At the gate we were told there was nothing they could do for us but we should ask the flight attendants and they would make certain we could sit together. Once on board, the flight attendants acted perplexed and told us to take our seats and they’d figure it out… and then promptly chose to ignore us. My first flight with my wife and we spent 9 hours sitting on opposite ends of the plane. I just got a blank stare an hour into the flight when I asked if they had finally figured out what to do for us. Finally she said we could ask someone to switch seats. Right, like a person with an aisle seat would switch to a middle seat. Thanks for screwing up and then leaving it to me to try to fix it.
Which brings me to the fact that Taca’s planes are old. Tight, uncomfortable seats. Miniature movie screens that are mounted on the ceiling every 4 rows. The worst airline food I’ve ever been served. Snippy fight attendants.
The only good thing I can say about my miserable flight is that they arrived on time.

I’m a little up in the air with Taca (LACSA)…
THE BOOKING: 3 stars, done online through Orbitz. Fairly simple and to the point.
Booked two roundtrip flights to Costa Rica w connection from LAX to Guatemala City, both back and forth.
THE CHECK –IN: 3 stars… While it appeared to be a chaotic scene at LAX checking into LACSA, it was actually pretty organized. Luckily everyone was very pleasant and spoke perfect English. The line moved quickly.
THE FLIGHT: 4 stars… OK, so there was only one movie showing, no wi-​fi, or free terra chips. BUT, there was free hot snacks, free BOOZE, leather seats and VERY helpful/​friendly flight attendants. They also are one of the few airiness that still offers pillows and blankets. I’m sold on the FREE BOOZE!!! The flight itself was pretty stellar and the seats actually recline more than 7 degrees! And, even though the food wasn’t good per se, at least it wasn’t flavorless! And they don’t skimp on the snacks and drinks!
OVERALL: 3 stars.
Although our seats were «confirmed,» once we checked in, we were told we could not sit together on the return flight. Whatever. Kinda sucked, but didn’t ruin the flight. I’d def fly with then again if flying to Central America.
I RECOMMEND!
enjoy!
xo
andrea

So this is the second day of my most random adventure to Lima, Peru. Unfortunately there was a mixup in flight times which caused me to miss my original red-​eye flight. (1:30am Friday means 1:30am Friday and not Saturday — lesson learned) My first experience with this airline was a complete utter disaster. Not only was I frustrated from mixing up my flight time, no one behind the counter seemed competent enough to make any accommodations or ease my frustration by giving me a reasonable solution. Part of this frustration might have also been from having 100 angry spanish speaking fellow travelers miss their connection flight to San Salvador all huddled around me as well.
After hours and hours of trying to solve this dilemma with no luck I finally gave Taca Airlines customer service a call and found an English speaking representative. She was quickly able to assist me in changing my flight to the next available flight on Sunday which brings me current to where I am sitting right now Unilocaling.
At 4am the LAX airport is almost a ghost town, it has the feel of a hollywood movie set. As people shuffle in and out getting ready for the rat race which is about to ensue; all the airline counters are basically closed between 1am-​5am, its hard to find or accomplish what you are trying to do so going to the airport between these times are pointless because you will have to end up waiting anyways.
Boarding my flight now, next stop Peru.

I was ready to give TACA –5 stars… but… now i can’t!
here is the story:
Coming from LA to Bogota used to be quite nice and convenient via Avianca. Well. Not anymore!!!
now Avianca doesn’t fly LAX — BOG anymore, now is TACA! OMG!!!
first of all I don’t know how many flights do they have at the same time, butt the 2 times I flew it has been SUPER PACKED!
and this time their system couldn’t take my name, even though I Bought the ticket over a month ago. they made me wait for 1.5 hrs!
until all the line have cleared
that was really awful!
The clerk had to call supervisors, etc until finally were able to take my suitcases and give me my boarding pass…
then. they realized they didn’t have any seats left
except First class 1 seat!
since it was their fault… I got it for half of the trip
very comfy!
now… i don’t have the heart to give them –5 stars, so I give them 3
for now
I still need to go back to LA…
To Be Continued…
Continuation:
On my way back from Colombia everything went smooth
of course I had to pay excess of baggage
(2 suitcases of 50 lbs each is NOTHING :()
other than that the flight was pretty average, nothing to praise nothing to complain about.
I keep my 3 stars rate

WOW all the bad reviews. I have flown this airline several times on trips to El Salvador. I have never had a bad experience on their filghts minus the kid across from me on my first flight who got airsick and left his dinner in my lap (Not the airlines fault).
The staff has always been polite and attentive. I have checked in at LAX and as usual it is busy. The staff has however always opened other lines in fact the most time Ihave spent in line from check in through security was about 45 minutes. The flights have also always landed on time.
The food is okay but I can only think of one airline that had good food. They also don’t allow you to have more baggage then domestic carriers.

My sister, «Hey Lily! TACA has the cheapest flights to Costa Rica»
Me: «Okay, lets book it and go to Costa Rica!»
She took TACA (LACSA) to Ecuador a few months ago and loved it. So we figured that TACA would be just as good since they are the same company. Boy was I wrong.
Whatever could have gone wrong, went wrong. Literally!
Our plane was suppose to leave at 2am from LAX and arrive at San Jose, Costa Rica at 9am… that gave us enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to La Fortuna. However on the night we were suppose to leave LAX, the plane was delayed 8 fuckin’ hours (excuse my french)…10am was the new departing time. This puts us in Costa Rica at 5pm and all the buses would have left to La Fortuna already! So we were SOL!
We called in ahead of time and so we didn’t even head to LAX that evening, we arrived at 10am. Check in at TACA took forever, they were so slow… no wonder the plane was delayed 8 hours with the rate that they work!
I asked the lady who checked us in if we get any compensation. She said plainly that it wasn’t the airline’s fault that there was a delay. Huh? I don’t get how it’s not their fault… she checked us in and we were finally on our way to Costa Rica! But we later found out on the plane that other people were compensated $ 300, which the check in lady never mentioned!
The plane ride itself was fine and the service on the plane was pleasant. The food was… well, airplane food … not so good, but whatever. They did not have any cold beer, you had to drink it with ice. The onflight movies were played on teeny tiny screens … and once I was sound asleep, I woke up because there was a group of people behind me that were talking so loud… quite annoying.
5 hours later we arrive at Costa Rica airport and I wait for my backpack to arrive. My sister and friend’s backpack show up right away. At the end it turns out they left my backpack along with other people’s luggage at LAX!!! What the fuck!
I went to baggage claim, filled out a form to have my backpack delivered to La Fortuna at Arenal’s Backpacking Hostel… I emphasized that I would only be there for one night and then I would be off to Tortuguero. So it was important that I get it at La Fortuna, Carlos Vargas the baggage claim guy assured me it would be there.
So I went on with my Costa Rica Adventure… the next day at La Fortuna, I was waiting for my backpack till the wee early morning. 7am shines upon me… and I went out to the front desk and NO BACKPACK! Seriously? I called TACA and they said the backpack arrived and is in San Jose and I must go pick it up myself with my ID, or have a driver with my ID pick it up for me! Like I have the time or the money for that.
What pissed me off, was the person on the phone from TACA said I did not fill out a form! BULLSHIT! I totally filled out a form and told them where I would be staying.
Anyways…I went on my whole trip with the clothes on my back + a book + a rainjacket + a headlamp. I still had a great time in Costa Rica… but it would have been better with all the stuff I packed for the trip.
At the end of my trip I arrived back at the airport in San Jose and got my backpack. They gave me $ 75 cash for my inconvienence… whatever! I took the cash which came in handy to pay for the airport tax!
8 hour delay + no backpack = fun stinky times in Costa Rica
Lesson learned:
Always pack extra CHONIES with your carryon bag!