Rapa Nui ticket prices fluctuating wildly - best way to buy?
June 27, 2023 5:00 AM Subscribe
Have you visited Rapa Nui? Is there a trick for lower-cost airfare?
Partner will be in Santiago in August and has been trying to book a trip over to Rapa Nui with a friend. Prices seem to fluctuate wildly not only day-to-day but seemingly minute-to-minute; we're talking tickets that appear for about $200 USD, but then will disappear, and then be over $1000. Attempting to work with the airline directly is not going anywhere.
They've managed to get an inexpensive one-way ticket TO the island, and are now trying to book the return ticket, and are unsure if there's some kind of trick/time of day that's most likely to work, or what. If you've made this trip in the recent past, would appreciate any insight!
Partner will be in Santiago in August and has been trying to book a trip over to Rapa Nui with a friend. Prices seem to fluctuate wildly not only day-to-day but seemingly minute-to-minute; we're talking tickets that appear for about $200 USD, but then will disappear, and then be over $1000. Attempting to work with the airline directly is not going anywhere.
They've managed to get an inexpensive one-way ticket TO the island, and are now trying to book the return ticket, and are unsure if there's some kind of trick/time of day that's most likely to work, or what. If you've made this trip in the recent past, would appreciate any insight!
The Chilean version of the LATAM website seems to offer somewhat cheaper prices (on the order of ~$700 compared to ~$950 for the one date I checked) -- if they're able to use their credit card to make purchases in CLP at a decent exchange rate, that could be an option.
To be clear -- I don't believe these are resident-restricted fares, as far as I can tell. I would not encourage your partner to misrepresent themselves in order to get fares intended for residents, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
posted by mekily at 2:47 PM on June 27, 2023
To be clear -- I don't believe these are resident-restricted fares, as far as I can tell. I would not encourage your partner to misrepresent themselves in order to get fares intended for residents, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
posted by mekily at 2:47 PM on June 27, 2023
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Given that Santiago to Rapa Nui is a fairly substantial leg with a variety of challenges (it's like a transcontinental flight across North America, except over open water), the higher airfare is most likely the "correct" one. I can't imagine that there'd be an incentive to offer discounts.
My experience: I was there seven years ago, I did see something similar on LATAM's website at the time, I booked a normal fare, not a cheap one. That's not recent experience, though.
posted by gimonca at 6:17 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]