Travel on TACA to Roatan

[adjuster-jd]

There are some super prices on flights to RTB on United then connecting to TACA, stopping over in El Salvador and continuing to Roatan.
The route has an early morning departure from Washington DC leaving for El Salvador around 4 AM and getting to Roatan (after a rather short connection) about 10:30 AM.

Anyone have experience on this route? Someone in my group purchased that flight for $363 round trip - Cleveland to Roatan. It's a great value but I have no experience with TACA.

Thoughts?

 

[RTBDiver]

No experience with that route but have Flown TACA many times to Roatan both direct from Miami and also Miami/sps/ceiba/Roatan. In all my flights with them I only had one piece of luggage that was late and that was on the mainliand route. I have flown Delta for a while now due to the fact i fly on points but if i were paying i would not hesitate to fly TACA for a better deal

 

[cap10]

I have always loved TACA when they use to fly out of Houston. Never had any problems with reservations or luggage issues. They gave free liquare drinks to all passengers for free and a cold sandwich. Just don't fly into Tegucigalpa, Honduras airport in wet conditions.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

I have flown TACA many times with no issues but my flights were always direct to Roatan...you mentioned a short connection in El Salvador....how short?? You may want to check TACA to see if any other flights after yours that goes to Roatan...in case you miss your short connection there....

 

[castaways01]

Anyone have experience on this route? Someone in my group purchased that flight for $363 round trip - Cleveland to Roatan. It's a great value but I have no experience with TACA.

Thoughts?

That's an awesome price. We use to call TACA "Take A Chance Airline" but they have gotten much better over the last few years. Now that they have some competition, customer service has also gone up a notch (by 3rd world standards).

I fly TACA at 3-4x a year no to the U.S. Also used them several times to Costa Rica from both the U.S. and Central America. Taken United-Taca to Denver. Its a love-hate relationship but I keep coming back to them because they run good deals and don't charge for luggage. They also tend to be more lenient on weight limits.

I've had "delayed" luggage several times (longest was 3 days) on connecting flights, mostly when switching to the smaller planes from San Pedro Sula - sometimes they can't fit all the bags esp. when divers are on the flight. I once had a cancelled flight in San Salvadore due to "mechanical" issues and they put everyone up in a decent hotel after hours waiting at the airport. There have been some other problems, but they can happen with any carrier these days.

Fly TACA - Be adventurous. Put redundant tags on all your stuff (also put the info inside the bags as well with both destination and home info), carry cameras and ultra expensive stuff in a carry-on, have patience and enjoy the free booze!

 

[castaways01]

.
Anyone have experience on this route?

Sorry, forgot to mention in my previous post that this route SAL-RTB is a new one for TACA that begins on Nov 15.

 

[adjuster-jd]

The layover in SAL is 1 hour 10 minutes. Hopefully that's enough time.

 

[DocYates]

I had always heard of them referred to a TakeAChanceAirlines (TACA), but I have flown them selveral times on mission trips into Honduras, and have never had a problem with them. The plane was new, and the aircrew seemed professional and friendly. I would not hesitate to use them again.

 

[georoc01]

We flew them for the first time last year and one of our bags didn't make it. After much work and assistance from Anthony's Key Resort, we were able to get it shipped two months later. Fortunately the only thing missing in a bag full of dive gear was an umbrella. When you call their help line, don't bother to select english, no one ever answers the phone.

That was flying through San Pedro Sula, not El Salvador. It would have to be a great deal for us not to fly direct through Houston next time.

 

[RTBDiver]

That was flying through San Pedro Sula, not El Salvador. It would have to be a great deal for us not to fly direct through Houston next time.

Many of the problems people report were when connection at SPS and an airbus300 full of divers and full luggage then had to fly to roatan on a small twin prop plane, there just wasn't the room for luggage. I believe from El Salvador your still on a big plane so this may not be an issue at all.