The Kasbah Chronicles (free) May 2024: A glimpse of my culinary and volunteer experience in the Peruvian Amazon, and beware of a bait and switch new airline scam

FREE Kasbah Chronicles: BEWARE Delta airline bait and switch; volunteering on a medical mission to the Peruvian Amazon; Le Cordon Bleu, Lima; in English and en français

Musings: Good morning:

I returned a week ago from my Peruvian adventure as a volunteer on a medical mission to the Amazon, and am still trying to process my extraordinary experience outside Iquitos, Peru, gateway to the jungle. More on all this later, from exploring Iquitos in a precarious tuk tuk or carrito, to learning how to make ceviche Amazonian style in at the unusual Mishquina Cooking School in Iquitos, and giving a presentation on Moroccan cuisine, in Spanish, to 50 students at the University of Le Cordon Bleu Peru in Lima.

S.I.A, Selva in Action, Peru, medical mission

Chef Pilar Agnini Najar, my “teacher”, gerente general del Instituto de Gastronomia ISTER: La Mishquina restaurant and cooking School, Iquitos, Peru

Cooking on the Peruvian Amazon: preparing paiche for grilling

Le Cordon Bleu campus, Lima, Peru, 1500 students and counting!

I am sending this notice in between regularly scheduled FREE Chronicles because I would like to warn readers of what happened to me on my last flight, May 15, 2024.

A NEW AIRLINE TRICK: Corporate Bait and Switch.

BEWARE IF YOU ARE TRAVELING THIS SUMMER.  Attention si vous prenez l’avion cet été.

Si vous  prenez l’avion cet été, voici ce qui peut vous arriver. Vous avez acheté un billet “business?” Tant pis pour vous, vous arrivez à l’heure indiquee, vous voulez votre boarding pass, la ligne aerienne (Delta, Latam) a revendu ou donné votre billet à quelqu’un d’autre et vous vous retrouvez dans “coach” après avoir payé un billet en business class.

Travelers using Delta airlines and its partners, Latam Chilean Airlines, BEWARE, a new scam:

I was scammed unaware last year with a Hidden Cities ticket and had to pay for a new ticket from Philadelphia to San Diego upon return to the US. This is the second time in less than a year that I get scammed by an airline.

This time, with DELTA/LATAM: I filed a customer complaint ON THE PHONE with a HUMAN BEING at Delta Customer Service dept. They replied in 2 days with no apology or explanation, and told me to wait 30 days to see a refund appear on my credit card. I am not holding my breath.

DELTA Customer Service dept:

I PAID for a full fare business class ticket, for the privilege of going to the Peruvian Amazon as a volunteer to help with a medical team.

I reserved a business class ticket from LAX to Lima/Iquitos and return, because I cannot remain sitting up for so long. My ticket cost over $3200.00 and included an insurance policy through the airline.  I checked in at LIMA airport 90mns ahead of time on WED May 15^th around 10:00 AM, when my flight was due out at NOON (Traffic in Lima is akin to L.A’s.) I couldn’t print out my boarding pass ahead of time since I had no access to the Internet in Lima.

I was told at the Premier desk check-in that “my seat was not working” (reserved and confirmed seat #3) and they had simply resold (??) it to someone else. WE WILL PUT YOU IN COACH instead, they announced. Even there, the seat (11 L premium economy) where they promised me a screen to watch movies, the screen did not work.

COULD IT BE BECAUSE I AM A SINGLE WOMAN TRAVELER and thus, more EXPENDABLE FOR THE AIRLINE? “Let’s just resell or give away her PAID business seat and push her into coach?” perhaps???

I REQUESTED A REFUND FOR THE FULL HALF OF MY TICKET from Lima to LAX.

BUT How is the refund determined? I am seeking a refund of HALF my business ticket (One way LIMA-LAX minus the Iquitos-Lima stretch which was not business)—more than the “$856.00 compensation” Delta tells me I should expect in 3 weeks. I will keep checking. and not holding my breath for a fair outcome.

The airlines are playing tricks on passengers to accumulate more income, including switching PAID business seats to a lower-class fare. THIS IS NOTHING LESS THAN MORE CORPORATE BAIT AND SWITCH

Bon Voyage but don’t hold your breath for service on American Airlines (aka The Flying Toilet, yes, coach cabin smelled when I flew back from PHILADELPHIA to San Diego in May 2023) or on Delta and its partners such as LATAM Chilean Airlines.