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When booking flights with Avianca directly,

enter image description here

and when arriving via Google Flights,

enter image description here

clicking the Purchase conditions link followed by the Full Rule Text brings up this condition:

SR.SALES RESTRICT BETWEEN LIM AND JUL FOR SZY07TNQ TYPE FARES

TICKETS MAY ONLY BE SOLD IN PERU.

NOTE - PROMOTION - APPLIES FOR PERUVIAN RESIDENTS

RESIDENCE IN PERU SHALL BE ACCREDITED WITH PERUVIAN ID OR ALIEN CARD OTHERWISE AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF USD 178.5 WILL BE APPLIED OR BOARDING WILL BE DENIED.

Some other places where people are querying or complaining about this discrimination in fare prices include this Trip Advisor discussion and this Flyer Talk dicussion.

What would happen if I lived in a state of blissful ignorance - are they actually enforcing this fee?

Currently the difference in price is in the region of $178.5, so a 10% chance of slipping through makes it worthwhile (low risk, high reward). Therefore it is also helpful to know, is the penalty per booking or per leg?

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  • 5
    -1 for a "how to game the system" question.
    – fkraiem
    Commented May 23, 2017 at 9:10
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    ~0 using public information available for everyone - reached the stage where extra knowledge is required. I'm also hoping that SEO gods will promote this post and save other people some research. I was also hoping to trigger discussion - how come en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination is allowed?
    – Mars Robertson
    Commented May 23, 2017 at 11:24
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    @MichalStefanow In South America I see A LOT of pricing in museums / parks like e.g. "Brazilians - R$5, foreigners - R$15". I'm not planning to have an extended discussions about morality of this, but I think you either agree to pay the foreigner price or don't fly. Maybe difference in price is there for Peruvians to be able to afford to see their own country, maybe it's encouraged by the govt, I don't know, but since it's there described openly I don't think we should encourage to break the rules. That's why I also gave -1.
    – Kuba
    Commented May 23, 2017 at 21:03
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    This has been flagged for closure on the objection that the answer would be "primarily opinion based". I don't agree; anyone with inside knowledge of AV's procedures will know exactly the chance of evading the ID check. And any frequent user of domestic AV flights can estimate the answer. There may be other reasons to close this question but I have voted to keep it open on the basis it is not "primarily opinion based".
    – Calchas
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 16:47
  • 4
    Perfectly valid question. Voting to keep open.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented May 27, 2017 at 18:38

2 Answers 2

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+100

I'm a dual Peruvian-American citizen having taken my American friends to Peru I can attest that, while controversial, that the cheaper fares are meant to encourage Peruvian citizens who may not otherwise be able to afford air travel on their modest incomes. This is along the lines of Florida resident discounts at Disney World etc.

So to answer your question, the fine is per leg of the flight. You may be denied boarding of the flight all together. I know this is an old question but this can serve as future reference for anyone having this dilemma in the future.

Lastly, yes they check your residency status. If you hand them a US passport, they will automatically scrutinize you because the main proof of residence is the DNI (Documeno Nacional de Identificacion). If you don't have that, or the foreign residence card, you will be assumed to not be a citizen of Peru. Of course, your ticketing agent may ignore it but you're essentially handing the information at check-in to get caught. Should you do an online check-in, then it is probably possible.

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FYI, for fares booked after February 4, 2018, the residency restriction is no longer in place for booking discounted domestic airfares in Peru.

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    Hi. That’s great news but do you mind adding the source of information to this answer to make it more credible?
    – Hanky Panky
    Commented Jun 8, 2018 at 18:11
  • I think OP might be referring to this news article (Spanish), but the article backs up its claim only with "according to information obtained by T News", and I'm not sure how much credence to give to this.
    – Bill Mei
    Commented Jan 9, 2019 at 5:19

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