Is Flying in Peru Safe? - Luxury Peru Vacations

Peru is a large country, and if you plan on visiting any major tourist attraction you are likely to have to fly. Bus journeys in Peru are long and tiring affairs and most people will choose to fly from one major destination to another. But what are the airlines in Peru actually like? Paul Jones a luxury Peru Vacations expert looks at all of the domestic operators in Peru, and explores the question - is flying in Peru safe?

The most common attraction in Peru is Machu Picchu, and anyone visiting this ancient sanctuary will need to Travel from Lima to Cusco first. The journey by land will take about 20 hours, as you need to travel high up into the Andes Mountains, where the roads are windy and often bumpy. Road travel is not particularly safe either, as Peruvian bus drivers (and other people on the road) frequently take un-necessary risks, and drive without much thought for the comfort of the passengers on-board. Saying that, we do arrange some luxury Peru vacation packages where we specifically include road travel. Under the right circumstances it can actually be quite pleasurable and a great way to see the country.

There are some train routes in Peru, but these are limited to just two destinations. Anyone who takes one of our luxury Peru vacations will most likely take the train from Cusco to Machu Picchu. In-fact this is the only way to get to the ancient sanctuary of Machu Picchu (other than hiking!). Other luxury Peru vacations that include Lake Titicaca have the option to include the Andean Explorer train, which runs from Cusco to Puno on a long, but beautiful 10 hour route.

So for most long journeys you are going to need to use an aircraft, and it begs the question – is flying in Peru safe? It’s not a bad question to ask, after all this is probably your first time in Peru, if not South America, and things are very different in Latin America. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that yes, actually flying in Peru is safe. There are 4 commercial airlines that operate in Peru, and all of them offer daily flights to major cities around the country. The four airlines are: LAN Airlines, TACA Airlines, Star Peru and Peruvian Airlines. Is flying in Peru safe? In short yes, but as with all countries, some airlines are better than others.

Here is the low-down on each of the airlines, so you can have an informed choice for any luxury Peru vacations that you are planning.

LAN Airlines

LAN Airlines is a Chilean operator that has roots as far back as early as 1929. In the early part of this year (2012) LAN Airlines merged with TAM Airlines of Brazil to create the LATAM Group, now considered one of the largest airlines in the world. In Peru, LAN dominate most of the major domestic routes, and have more daily schedules than any of the other airlines put together. LAN Airlines also has an excellent safety record, with the last recorded major incident happening over 21 years ago. The company operate a fleet of modern Airbus aircraft in Peru, with an average age of 7.1 years. LAN Airlines are our first choice when planning Luxury Peru vacations, as they have an excellent safety record, and they offer more daily schedules than the other airlines. But, from experience, they are also the most expensive airline operating in Peru.

TACA Airlines

Originally from El Salvador, TACA Airlines operate in an alliance with the Columbian airline Avianca, in a group known as Avianca TACA Holdings. TACA Airlines have some 46 aircraft in operation, with 3 further aircraft registered with TACA Peru. The company operate Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft, and based on the 9 Airbus A319’s that they have on file (most commonly flown in Peru), the average age of the fleet was just 6.5 years; the newest fleet of any carrier operating in Peru. We often include TACA airlines in our luxury Peru vacations, but due to their limited domestic flight schedules, we tend to lean towards LAN first.

Star Peru

Star Peru first started its operations in 1997 as a cargo carrier in South America. In 2004 they acquired their first passenger jet, offering domestic flights in Peru. Nowadays, the company operates 10 British made BAe 147 regional aircraft, flying to most major cities in Peru. After a considerable amount of searching, I couldn't find any history of accidents with this airline, which was further confirmed by other professionals in the luxury Peru vacations industry. The average age of their aircraft are 23.1 years old (read my comments below about age of aircraft). Occasionally we choose to use Star Peru for our luxury Peru vacations, should their schedules for better for our clients.

Peruvian Airlines

Peruvian Airlines is the newest of the carriers operating in Peru, commencing flights in October 2009. In October 2011, the Irish maintenance and leasing company Aergo purchased a 65% controlling stake in the company. Peruvian Airlines operate a fleet of 9 Boeing 737 aircraft in Peru which have an average fleet age of 27.3 years, the oldest fleet of any of the carriers. Unfortunately, Peruvian airlines are not currently featured in any of our luxury Peru vacations due to recent safety concerns. On 18 August 2011, the operations of all Peruvian Airlines flights were suspended for 90 days by Peru’s Ministry of Transport. A damning technical report highlighted that the company was not meeting industry standards to ensure the safety of their operations. The suspension occurred after reports of 2 separate technical issues with the aircraft's engines, on and soon after takeoff.  Currently, we do not consider Peruvian Airlines for any of our luxury Peru vacations.
 

A Personal Note Regarding Fleet Age

Prior to working in the luxury Peru vacations industry, I worked in the field of aircraft manufacturing. From a personal point of view, the age of an aircraft has very little to do with its reliability, but more of an indication of the health and financial status of the company that operates them. All aircraft must follow a strict maintenance regime, which controls the quality of the aircraft. It is possible to have a badly maintained new aircraft or a well maintained older aircraft – I know which I would prefer to be on.

What the US Government Say

According to the Travel.State.Gov website: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed Peru’s Civil Aviation Authority as being in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards for oversight of Peru’s air carrier operations.

Summary

In answer to the question – Is flying in Peru safe, the answer is certainly yes. However, some airlines have better schedules and prices than others, and one airline had a bad moment a few years back, which damaged its reputation with us. 

This luxury Peru vacations article about ‘is flying in Peru safe?’ was brought to you by Totally Latin America, experts in Luxury Peru travel and tours. For information on our selection of our set and custom Peru tours, contact a Peru Travel Advisor Today.

Disclaimer

Information in this luxury Peru vacations article was obtained from official and non-official websites on the internet. Furthermore, any opinions put forward in this article are my own personal opinions. Anyone considering Peru travel should use their own resources to decide which airline they choose to use. Information in this ‘is flying in Peru safe?’ article was taken from the following sources:
www.peruthisweek.com, www.airfleets.net, www.peruvian.pe, www.lan.com, www.starperu.com, www.taca.com, planecrashinfo.com, travel.state.gov

Topic: Is flying in Peru safe?