Follow-up with LAN Airlines & the Travel Voucher

You may recall that on the flight from Santiago to Easter Island (17 Nov) I was involuntarily downgraded from business class to economy. This was due to the airline over-booking business class. In fact, LAN Airlines has a history of overbooking flights in general but to IPC in particular. While I can appreciate that this makes good business sense, it isn't pleasant to be on the short end of the stick. Still, the airline got me on the flight as planned and I received a credit voucher for either US$120.00 (applied to a credit card) or USD$400.00 for use toward future LAN travel. I opted for the former.

On Easter Island I visited the local LAN office (11/20) and waited (wasted) over an hour before my number was called. There, the agent "processed" my request to have the US$120 credited to my Amex card. "It could take up to five weeks for the credit to appear on the statement," I was told. To date there has been no credit received.

Working with LAN Airlines has been exceedingly difficult. I was finally able to access the information online and get a voucher number, something I wasn't given by any representative. The status showed the voucher to be "active." Finally I got through to a LAN representative, Oscar, who "processed the request" and again I am to watch for the US$120. to appear on my Amex card within the next five weeks or so. Time will tell.

Even if this transaction results in the appropriate credit on my Amex card, I have to say, for the record, that my overall experience with LAN Airlines has been a disappointment. In terms of carriers within the oneworld airline alliance that I flew on, this airline is clearly the weakest link. It's unfortunate since they are the only airline flying to Easter Island and frankly, I wouldn't mind returning to visit the island again sometime. Suffice it to say that I'll be prepared for this ahead of time and be much more pro-active.

Commemorative RTW Poster

To commemorate this unique adventure I decided to have a select number of photographs incorporated into a poster (20" X 30"). Amazingly it wasn't that difficult to do and it makes for a fun remembrance to have hanging on a wall at home.

Fond and lasting memories, stories to tell and who knows, maybe even a travel article for a newspaper of magazine are all part of the experience that this unique trip of a lifetime has afforded me and will continue to do in the future.

Meanwhile, thank you for taking the time to share in this experience. I hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.

Bon voyage!