Rapid Travel Chai

Airfares within much of South America are astronomically high and budget airline coverage is limited in much of the continent. ‘Budget’ can be a misnomer, but Pluna filled a gap in The Rapid Traveler’s itinerary this week that BA award availability on Lan could not, while other carriers (including Lan) were double or more the Pluna price, even at the local ticket prices, not the ‘gringo’ prices.

Pluna’s hub is Montevideo and its network includes Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. Travelers can weigh the time cost of a stopover in Montevideo against the cost savings. Those who want to briefly see Uruguay get an added bonus.

It is worth noting that all their planes are small CRJs which not everyone is comfortable with, and this leads to even tighter policing on carry-on rules, rejecting typica rollerboards even when under the 8 kg carry-on limit.

Luggage costs US$30 for the first bag but due to Brazilian law, itineraries with origin or destination in Brazil are exempt from this, as well as tickets purchased in Brazil. The Rapid Traveler should have researched this more caregully in advance and sought a Brazilian outlet, but he was not expecting Mrs. Rapid Traveler to check luggage.

Booking on Pluna’s website can present issues with US-issued credit cards but sites like Expedia sell tickets for the same price.

Tomorrow, a review of Flying Pluna.