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What Airlines are Flying to La Paz?
What Airlines have Service to La Paz (LAP) Baja California Sur
NOTE: 07/24/08 Aero California has once again had operations suspended in Mexico. Passengers holding tickets have been told to call back "tomorrow" since Wednesday, calls to reservations are terminated without connection, and the website displays a page saying: Website out of service at this time, posted by Aero California. There is no word when flights may resume.
In recent weeks, a flurry of dire rumors about airline service to La Paz (airport code LAP) have been circulating. In the warm summer months, when Baja appeals to a smaller audience of divers and fishermen, bad news for the travel industry can spread like wildfire and can get as out of whack as any kids game of ‘telephone’.
With the slowdown in the US economy, both the travel and real estate industries have begun to feel the pain here in Baja Sur. It was just a couple of years ago that the grounding of Aero California flights left the La Paz airport with just a few flights per week from Los Angeles, two carriers and very high pricing. That fall, Alaska resumed service to La Paz and was joined by Delta in December of 2006.
Getting to La Paz has never been as easy as say, Los Cabos. Aero California offered service from San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix. But those days are gone. Today there is really one way to get to La Paz from the north, and that is through LAX in Los Angeles. You can fly three different airlines and get a scenic tour of Mexico, with plane changes in Mexico City or Guadalajara and travel times from 10-18 hrs, with lay-over.
There is one Aero Mexico flight that connects in Hermosillo and takes just about 4.5hrs from LAX, offered at varying times Monday through Saturday. This flight isn’t cheap, with two week advance purchase on the date of this article; the price was $547 to$807USD. The two other flights to La Paz by Aero Mexico route through Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Alaska currently flies to La Paz from LAX on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. For the past 16 months this has been a blessing for travel and tourism in La Paz, as well as opening up the real estate market. The panicked rumor in the ‘calle’ recently was that Alaska was pulling out of La Paz. Well, this is true, and false. Alaska has applied to have Horizon Air, its commuter airline affiliate, take of the La Paz route. This most likely means that the 737 with 12 first class and 112 coach class seats that were flying here from San Francisco to Los Angeles to La Paz will be replaced with Bombardier CRJ-700 70 passenger coach only aircraft. Alaska is said to be reviewing the change to make a decision in August. However, current press releases indicate the decision may have already been made.This change still must be approved by the US and Mexican aviation authorities. Changes to fares and schedules have not yet been announced. The current best rate airfare with 2 week advance purchase was $470USD.
Alaska currently serves Loreto as well. This route is also under review to be transferred to the commuter airline, Horizon. Schedule changes have not been announced.
People also feared that Delta was pulling out of La Paz. Currently offering the flights from LAX to LAP at $470 after taxes and all that mumbo jumbo, Delta appears to be doing the most damage to summer travel, suspending La Paz Service on August 15 until ‘mid November, 2008’. According to the Delta press release, service may resume in Mid November, but whether it will be the MD87 aircraft, or something smaller has yet to be announced.
American Airlines will sell you a ticket to La Paz from LAX, but you will board a Mexicana Airlines jet and make a stop most likely in Mexico City. Mexicana offers the same itinerary of course, and either one of these flights will set you back about $1000USD for the privilege of spending 10+hrs traveling to go about 1100 direct miles.
One option for Southern California residents in particular is Aero California from Tijuana. Weekday roundtrip price is $328 as of the date of this article. It is really not a difficult task to cross the border and take a bus or taxi to the airport. I recommend getting a bus ticket to take you across the border, even as far as the downtown San Diego bus terminal at the airport or in advance. Typical bus fair is $20. Once across the border at San Ysidro the San Diego trolley offers an inexpensive and relatively quick trip to downtown.
Taking a flight to Los Cabo (SJD) can be the low cost answer for the right flight shopper. It can be an added experience to rent a car from our friends at Budget Baja, and drive the approximately 3hrs north to La Paz. There are two routes to choose from, both take about the same amount of time, although different in length. The East Cape route or the Los Cabos route offer safe, well improved two lane highway. The route along Hwy 19 through Todos Santos even offers about a quarter of the trip on new 4 lane roadway. It is a pleasant drive, we like to call it the Baja Sur Loop. You can stop in either Todos Santos or Los Barriles for a bite to eat and to unwind from your flight. However, on the day of this article, the best LAX to Baja Expedia flight price, for a weekday, 2 week advanced purchase was $25 more for Los Cabos than La Paz. I have to admit, that is the first time I have found that to be true.
One certainty is that Los Cabos offers a wider variety of inbound cities including Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego and Chicago.
Airfares have jumped dramatically in the last few months, as the airlines struggle to hold it together. Sandwiched between a rock of high fuel prices and a hard place of a sagging economy, we may yet see further adjustments in the fares and flight schedules in the coming months.