COMINGANDGOING
Sunday, July 25, 2004; Page P01
UPRIGHT AND LOCKED
Grounded in Peru
If you're visiting Peru soon and were planning on figuring your way around the country once you get there: Forget it. Domestic flights are scarcer there than feta cheese.
The Peruvian government last week grounded Aero Continente, Peru's largest domestic carrier, because it could not get insurance. Since Aero Continente operated 60 to 70 percent of domestic flights, the impact on travelers is huge.
"It's close to impossible to get a flight [within Peru] unless you have contacts" and advance notice, said Brian Morgan, owner of Adventure Life, a Montana company that is using local contacts to help clients get around Peru. There are no trains to speak of, Morgan said, and huge distances between tourist sites makes bus travel impractical. For now, he's suggesting that travelers consider destinations that are similar to Peru: areas of northern Argentina with pre-Inca cultures, for example, or Bolivia.
Peruvian officials are planning to give Aero Continente routes to other airlines, but when is the big question.
WALLET WATCH
Cash on Cards
American Express has joined the businesses promoting cards that can be loaded with a specific amount of cash, then used as if they were either a credit card or an ATM card.
AmEx's TravelFunds Card can be loaded with U.S. dollars, euros or British pounds. The best part: you get a free companion airline ticket with the purchase of a card, whose upfront cost is $14.95. You can buy up to four cards and get four companion tickets.
The offer is good through Sept. 30 for travel by Nov. 1, but you must plan ahead. The certificate for the companion ticket can take up to 28 days to arrive in the mail. Plus, the ticket comes only if you are buying a 14-day advance, full-fare ticket. So compare prices of two sale tickets with the price of one full-fare.
You must load a minimum of $300 on the card, and subsequent reloadings cost $5. There is no fee to use the card where American Express is accepted, but there is a $2.50 fee to use it as an ATM card.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
|
