London to Costa Rica (SJO) options

[Oli]

I am looking to fly to SJO next April, but it appears BA have stopped direct flights (even though there are a few showing in March). It looks like my next best option in order to be able to use Avios in business class will be Iberia via Madrid but it’s the first time I’ve booked this way so advice much appreciated (likewise if anyone has any insight on whether LON-SJO will resume!).

Flights I am looking at are:

OUT
0620 LHR – 0945 MAD BA0456
1135 MAD – 1430 SJO IB6317

IN
1600 SJO – 1050 MAD (+1 day) IB6314
1210 MAD – 1335 LHR BA0459

Questions (sorry – quite a few!)

1) Is there likely enough transfer time there, particularly in the inbound leg? The next flight from MAD-LHR is 1725.
2) Pricing via ba.com is 127250 Avios + £516.07 booking as a whole OR 114,250 Avios + £271.80 booking LHD-MAD and MAD-SJO (with returns) separately – still on ba.com, a substantial saving.
3) If I were to book these legs separately and take the saving, does this mean I have to retrieve my suitcase at MAD, then check it back in again for the MAD-SJO leg?
4) In the case of delay and then missed leg, if I book as a whole I assume BA would be responsible for getting me on another flight, but what about if I book the legs separately?

Very keen to know what the best option is, thank you in advance!

[ChrisC]

1 – on a single ticket yes as you would simply use the transit route at MAD. Plus if there was a delay and you miised the flight you would be rebooked. If there wasn’t enough time then the ticket combination wouldn’t be sold

3 – yes you would and there simply isn’t enough time on your proposed schedule to do that. You would need to be at the IB desks an hour before departure leaving very little margin on the BA flight to MAD and clear immmigration and collect bages and then get to the IB sesls

4 – if you book these as separate flights they will be dealt with as separate flights with no protection to be rebooked on other services.

[Oli]

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

[Blindman67]

Oli wrote:

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

read this article about booking AVIOS on Iberia.com
https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/12/22/do-not-book-avios-flights-on-iberia-on-ba-website/

On the few occasions I have booked via Iberia.com from Madrid I always have an overnight stay on the outbound. More costly but a lot less stress!

[ChrisC]

Oli wrote:

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

Personaly I would do the night before.

[meta]

Oli wrote:

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

If you have EU passport then it will be quicker. At Madrid Airport you check-in at T4 (Schengen) and then have to take a train to T4s (non-Schengen), so if you are transiting on separate tickets then you need to clear immigration twice.

I did it once with 5-6 hours in between, but now given all the staffing issues I wouldn’t dare anymore.

[pauline]

Are you sure they are not flying this route? They don’t fly every day but seem to be flying Tues Thurs Sat direct from Gatwick – I hope so as I have Jan flights!

[Oli]

pauline wrote:

Are you sure they are not flying this route? They don’t fly every day but seem to be flying Tues Thurs Sat direct from Gatwick – I hope so as I have Jan flights!

They seem to have nothing past March.

[Oli]

Blindman67 wrote:

read this article about booking AVIOS on Iberia.com

On the few occasions I have booked via Iberia.com from Madrid I always have an overnight stay on the outbound. More costly but a lot less stress!

Thanks for the link have had a read through and can’t see the benefit though. The return flight MAD to SJO shows the same Avios/Taxes on both the Iberia and BA websites for me (85,000 + £221.80), what am I missing?

[yonasl]

Oli wrote:

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

The problem at Barajas (MAD) is that luggage can take quite a bit to be delivered. With the time difference etc. an early 11am flight could be hard to catch.

I would recommend you fly the day before and spend the night in the city. A cab to the center with Cabify or Uber is €15, hotel will be £100 and you can eat amazing food and enjoy the nightlife. On the way back you can stay at the airport as you arrive at a normal hour so can plan to take a plane 3-4hrs later.

If you fly LON-MAD MAD-LON on IB large A330 or A350 some have premium economy seats. So you can book with avios in economy and have a more than acceptable 2 hours flight. If you have silver or gold with BA you will access the lounge anyway (in business you get a full flat seat plus food that’s better than BA’s but spend double the amount of avios)

[Oli]

Thanks for the replies so far. I’m still struggling to see a difference between booking via BA and via Iberia as mentioned in this link

Why you should NEVER book Avios flights on Iberia via ba.com

Can anyone shed any light?

[meta]

Iberia doesn’t add carrier surcharges like BA does. Taxes on Iberia MAD-SJO + SJO-MAD-LHR are likely to be in the region if £300-400 whereas on BA it would probably cost you £700-800 per person.

This what I usually do. Book RFS to Madrid with BA separately, stay overnight in Madrid, book MAD-South America/US one-way on Iberia, book South America/US-Mad-LHR as one-way on Iberia.

[Oli]

Thanks, this is what the article said but when I price up MAD-SJO return it’s the same price on both ba.com and iberia.com?

[Oli]

Got it (I think). It’s the return where there’s a benefit:

via BA: SJO – LHR 62500 Avios + £227.20
via Iberia: SJO – LHR 62500 Avios + £151.60

outbound is the same on both BA.com and Iberia

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Blindman67]

Oli wrote:

Got it (I think). It’s the return where there’s a benefit:

via BA: SJO – LHR 62500 Avios + £227.20
via Iberia: SJO – LHR 62500 Avios + £151.60

outbound is the same on both BA.com and Iberia

Maybe this route is the exception to the rule?

One thing to make note of, though this is not applicable to your trip.

If you book on Iberia.com with rewards then be aware of their T&C’s for Cancellations.

You can only get a total refund of rewards if you book on either Iberia or BA flights.

Any other carrier and the reward ticket is NON Refundable.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2016/12/11/united-cancels-manchester-washington/

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Oli]

Thank you. No matter which way I do it BA still comes out cheapest for the whole trip in both Avios and taxes. Weird!

[meta]

Another thing to note that cancelling an award ticket with Iberia is also a pain. You have to call and Avios are not refunded immediately. They do it manually and it takes at least two weeks to get it sorted.

You can change the dates online though, but last time for my Peru trip, I wasn’t able to and it required calling. Iberia also very rarely releases more award tickets closer to the departure, so don’t count on changing the class.

[Oli]

Appreciate the advice. I’m going to grab the MAD-SJO return leg while they’re available via BA.

[memesweeper]

Oli wrote:

Thank you. No matter which way I do it BA still comes out cheapest for the whole trip in both Avios and taxes. Weird!

I noticed this a few days ago. It’s new. The Avios + cash calculation was favourable on BA, and more favourable than I’ve ever seen before on any route as well.

[Oli]

Blindman67 wrote:

Oli wrote:

Thank you Chris. How much time do you think I should be allowing for transit if booking separately? Outbound I think this is going to mean flying in to MAD the night before.

read this article about booking AVIOS on Iberia.com

Why you should NEVER book Avios flights on Iberia via ba.com

<iframe class=”wp-embedded-content” sandbox=”allow-scripts” security=”restricted” style=”position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);” title=”“Why you should NEVER book Avios flights on Iberia via ba.com” — Head for Points” src=”https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/12/22/do-not-book-avios-flights-on-iberia-on-ba-website/embed/#?secret=16CQd4pTS8&#8243; data-secret=”16CQd4pTS8″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” width=”500″ height=”282″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>

On the few occasions I have booked via Iberia.com from Madrid I always have an overnight stay on the outbound. More costly but a lot less stress!

Thanks for the link have had a read through and can’t see the benefit though. The return flight MAD to SJO shows the same Avios/Taxes on both the Iberia and BA websites for me (85,000 + £221.80), what am I missing?

[Paulypops]

Booked myself and Partner for next April on the BA site for Iberia a couple of weeks ago, just about the same price for MAD to SJO on either website and have been able to do free seat selections since, Personally I’m going for a night in Madrid at the beginning and the end of the holiday, partly because I know it takes me a good 4 hours from my home to Heathrow and maybe a little longer from where will end up on the pacific coast in Costa Rica the day before the flight home. Madrid is a long transfer so I would much rather get a hotel close by.

[Man of Kent]

We have been looking at a trip to Costa Rica too in January and have also considered BA / AA via Miami.

What companies are people using to arrange tours / accommodation etc. in Costa Rica?

[memesweeper]

Man of Kent wrote:

We have been looking at a trip to Costa Rica too in January and have also considered BA / AA via Miami.

What companies are people using to arrange tours / accommodation etc. in Costa Rica?

For flying, Avianca used to offer a decent connection time, as did KLM, but this was pre-Covid. This avoids the hassle of a “connection” in the USA. I think they both served Liberia too if you are primarily interested in the Pacific side.

We arranged our tours through our accommodation or independently on arrival. All were very good.

For accommodation we stayed in various places, including:
The fabulous Punta Islita and at the opposite side of the country, and indeed the opposite end of the budget/luxury bracket, Congo Bongo. Could not recommend these two places enough, and the former can be snagged on points if you’re lucky. If you have the time to do both sides, do the Caribbean first, as the luxury is all on the Pacific side.

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Paulypops]

We are using Pacific Trade Winds, they were very good when we tried to go a couple of years ago when Covid came and put a stop to it.