Find cheap flights from Washington to Central America
Search hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Central America. Bundle your flight + hotel and save!
WAS — Central America
Feb 26 — Mar 51
Round-trip
1 adult
Economy
From?
To?
Sat 2/26
Sat 3/5
Good to know
Low season | September |
|---|---|
High season | December |
Cheapest flight | $26 |
Average price round-trip | $453 |
Good deal round-trip | $255 |
Good deal one-way | $97 |
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 4% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 12% increase in price.
Flight from Washington Dulles Intl to San Salvador El Salvador Intl
(avg. price over the last 2 weeks)
or less
or less
Top tips for finding cheap flights to Central America
- Book at least 2 weeks before departure in order to get a below-average price.
- High season is considered to be January, November and December. The cheapest month to fly to Central America is August.
- Morning departure is around 7% more expensive than an evening flight, on average*.
FAQs - booking Central America flights
Top 5 airlines serving from Washington to Central America
Scores according to KAYAK customer reviews8.3
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 29879 reviews
8.5Boarding
8.2Comfort
8.8Crew
7.9Entertainment
7.9Food
Airline reviews
Already 15 minutes late and then horrible experience after landing. Another plane was occupying gate and then mechanical problems with the gate. It really put us behind
Already 15 minutes late and then horrible experience after landing. Another plane was occupying gate and then mechanical problems with the gate. It really put us behind
Free Wi-Fi would have been better
Snacks were good and offered on each flight during the trip. I checked my carry-on bag on the final flight, because the flight crew asked for volunteers.
Cons: "Better business class seating, better food and in seat entertainment as it isn’t enjoyable watching movies on an iPhone."
Pros: "Alaska airlines staff from checking in to flying set the bar in service standards. I have never been disappointed with their professionalism and will continue to use their services exclusively when I can."
Cons: "Nothing."
Pros: "easy to travel. Thats it."
Cons: "better management of the lines and clearer postings of the lines to board."
Pros: "Crew. Service."
Pros: "The flight attendant was so amazing and observant that she noticed myself and classmates all wearing our alma maters sweatshirt and gave us the loveliest a shout out!! We were headed for our college reunion and had unintentionally been on the same flight. That was so much fun!!"
Cons: "Free headphones"
Pros: "Smooth flight, easy on and off."
Cons: "Staff could have paid a little more attention to what the were doing. Asked 3 times for apple juice and got orange juice. By time I realized what he had given me, he was gone ☹️"
Cons: "My 3 suitcases were missing"
Pros: "Kind crew and comfy seats."
Cons: "The seats were too compact, and the water tasted funny. Also IAD is not well equipped for snow."
Pros: "The crew was very good, caring and concerned."
Cons: "I don't think anything, this was another amazing flight with Alasks"
Cons: "More plentiful food selections? Everything served had dairy which I can’t do."
Pros: "Lots of entertainment options"
Cons: "Need a snack on a six-hour flight. Also, didn't receive drink service until a couple of hours in and was only served about 1/4 cup worth of soda. Disappointing"
Pros: "Short boarding, extra seat, arrived early"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "Modernized flight, no delays, military member service"
Pros: "On time and the flight crew kept everyone well in formed."
Cons: "The plane was too hot...way too hot...for most of the flight. The cabin crew was very polite but not very attentive. It took forever just to get a glass of water...plain water."
Pros: "The lady WHO assisted US at the Alaska Airline kiosk was very Helpful, she made IT easier for US to check in. There were a lot OF AirPort employers assisting us Go thru the scanners, IT was a breeze, IAD was very relaxingThank you very much"
Pros: "Crew was fine. Plane was fine. Boarding was okay, but late. They did give us an upgrade in seating on a flight to Salt Lske since they were late arriving at Seattle. The"
Cons: "Sat on ground for over an hour at Dulles A luggage problem wad the rationale. They was some inclement weather, but they knew it was coming and should have been prepared. Upon our late arrival at Seattle there was no one to direct or expedite our attempt to make our connection. There was no attempt to help us make our connection. Instead of arriving Helena at 3 pm., it was midnight."
Pros: "There was plenty of legroom, cabin crew came often for drinks, snacks and trash, power outlets easy to access (below tray table)."
Pros: "Every aspect of the trip was above our expectations, comfortable seats, delightful staff, good food and on time service."
Pros: "Bathrooms were relatively clean"
Cons: "Crew was rude and very unhelpful. Made smart little comments to many passengers."
Cons: "Sony handycam and cables were stolen out of my carry-on suitcase during TSA screening. on Sept. 29th, about 8:00 - 8:30 time frame. This was to be used for my Dad's full honors funeral service at Arlington Cemetery on Oct. 1. I had gone through Alaska Airline check in, then to TSA screening where the crime took place."
Pros: "Smooth no delay"
Cons: "Na"
Pros: "Very friendly crew. On time flight. New airplanes. Free movies."
Cons: "Please provide more meal options available for purchse."
Pros: "The plane was on-time. Boarding was easy. Flight attendants were very helpful. They helped passengers get to their seats, find places for their luggage. Entertainment options were good. Bags arrived within a reasonable amount of time"
Cons: "I wish they would provide more food options or at least stock a few more of the ones they have. The fruit and cheese tray sells out early making it a long flight without real food. I don’t consider chips and cookies lunch food."
Pros: "One beverage cart pass during a very long flight. No food available unless preordered. Not even the obligatory mini pretzels."
Pros: "Comfortable seating, tv screens in seat backs."
Cons: "Like when captain points out landmarks every now and then but this crew did not. Minor complaint if I had to have 1."
Pros: "Great plane. Nice to still have free entertainment to watch!"
Cons: "No complaints"
Cons: "Very good"
Pros: "The flight attendants were very friendly and attentive. The Red system makes the flight much easier. It has entertainment, you can order your food and keep track of the flight stats"
Cons: "The plane had problems delaying the flight by 3hrs. Alaska really should change how they load the plane. After all the special people (first class, mvps, etc.) then passengers without carryons then people with carryons. This would speed up the process and keep people from getting stuck behind people who are messing with their bags."
Pros: "Not a lot"
Cons: "The crew was rude, they weren’t helpful. And they were talking bad about another customer infront if other customers"
Pros: "Even the baggage was excellent. My bag was on the belt before I got there"
Pros: "I like that we got in an hour before we originally planned"
Pros: "Very Friendly staff"
Cons: "unable to manage the reservation and select seats to put the 2 of us togehter"
Pros: "I’m an anxious flyer and flight wS smooth"
Pros: "Room on the plane so I could spread out a bit-not filled in my room. Free Gogo WiFi ."
Cons: "Everything was great"
Cons: "The boarding are the worst attitude mean grumpy staff I have ever seen will not recommend to any one"
Cons: "Ran out of entertainment pads"
Cons: "The new TV program choices. I miss the Direct TV live program choices. It made the flights go so much faster! The few episode choices was a huge disappointment. This was one of the things that made Virgin America flights special!"
Pros: "I have been flying for many years, and must admit that the flight cabin crew was incredible. Professional, attentive and on their feet for 95 % of the time. Thank you"
Pros: "Spacios seats and overhead bins. Staff is attentive and nice."
Cons: "Rough take off, but im sure its weather dependent since th weather weather was pretty sporadic."
Pros: "I would like to possibly see some better food options maybe for people who can not consume dairy. With the many different cheese platters, I was very uninterested. I had an early flight and thought I'd be able to eat something with a sort of substance. I was quite disappointed, I guess I'll have to be the annoying customer who brings chipotle on the plane next time."
Pros: "Great and fast!!"
Pros: "Good service. Good food options. Reliable flight. Easy check in & quick baggage pick up. Thx."
Cons: "Too much heat on flight."
Pros: "Nice flight attendants, and the flight on the way home was not overbooked, which was lovely!"
Cons: "One flight attendant told me not to pack my bag so much if I wanted to take it on the plane, and I had to check it at the gate. Once on board, there were bigger suitcases than mine on board. I was happy to do what they said, but it would be nice if they were more consistent about the bag sizes. I didn't have this problem on the way back to Seattle though."
Pros: "Free Movie selection; plag in devices"
Cons: "Nothing. Everything was great"
Pros: "Great flight. Pilot did great!!"
Pros: "Fantastic crew"
Pros: "Alaska airlines rocks! Flight was early too."
Cons: "Had to check carry on and go to baggage carousel delaying my getting out of the airport"
Pros: "Very friendly crew and the plane arrived in Costa Rica 30 mins early!"
Cons: "I have a JetBlue credit card and I’m very disappointed that membership to the credit card does not offer priority boarding or zone A or zone B boarding. I was in seat 6C and had boarding zone E! Every other airline sponsored credit card I own offers some form of priority zone seating; even Spirit!"
Cons: "Genial"
Pros: "Faster fly"
Pros: "Comfortable seating with lots of legroom; clean; ease of boarding and de-boarding; on time; nice variety of entertainment available ; everything was timely!"
Cons: "Some of the channels on the direct tv were not available throughout the whole flight; one flight attendant was not very friendly (she wasn’t rude either)."
Pros: "good snacks and this route (DCA-BOS) has the 2x2 seat configuration so no middle seats."
Cons: "I took this flight last week and this week and both weeks the flight were delayed a minimum of 1.5 hours"
Pros: "Nothing, because I missed a doctors appointment due to the delay and I spent the entire day traveling instead of the 3 hours it should have taken."
Cons: "Everything"
Cons: "Delay and they not even offer something to drink at the gate."
Cons: "NA"
Pros: "Crew was informative and nice"
Cons: "Snacks"
Pros: "Boarding was quick and crew was helpful."
Cons: "Just nothing extraordinary to note."
Pros: "Wonderful crew, very prompt schedule"
Pros: "Everything ran smoothly on this flight- on time , fast luggage delivery, cheerful flight attendants."
Cons: "Delayed 1.5 hours, in spite of good weather at both airports."
Pros: "I loved the snack options, the channel options, the seating arrangement, etc"
Cons: "technical difficulties made some channels blurrier than others, but I could hear just fine for the music channel"
Pros: "I was expecting cattle class legroom because of the price of the ticket. What a pleasant surprise to have room to stretch my legs."
Cons: "I really can't think of anything unpleasant about the flight."
Pros: "We left early and arrived early - unheard of most of the time."
Pros: "The most comfortable cushiony seat and lot of leg room is what I enjoyed the most on this flight"
Cons: "The flight was delayed by one hour had my pick up wait at the airport for one hour, which was not very much appreciated."
Cons: "The flight delay estimates were off and it was pushed back throughout the day. Staff members were going out of their way to ignore me when I was trying to switch flights and seemed to not be interested in helping. They kept telling me what I should have done with incomplete information rather than helping."
Pros: "Leg room, TV, all crew"
Cons: "Tray table was dirty"
Pros: "Captain kept us informed"
Cons: "We were Delayed several times. We finally boarded the plane,sat outbom the tarmac for over an hour and then turned around and went back to the gate. We were then told another flight crew would have to take us. We waited another 45 mins in the plane."
Pros: "First row seat was so comfy w lots of room!"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "Though we had to deal with Hurricane Florence, we really didn't feel the turbulence during the overall flight."
Cons: "Takeoff was delayed 1/2 hour on short notice with no explanation."
Pros: "For a short flight they even serve snack and drink. On time departure."
Pros: "Good entertainment"
Cons: "Four hours late"
Cons: "That our flight kept getting pushed back. Very annoyed"
Pros: "My flight was a little over an hour so it was quick, but the crew was great. We got complementary drinks and snacks despite the short journey. The plane had TVs on the seatbacks for those who like the entertainment!"
Cons: "My only complaint is the flight delay, caused by a malfunctioning AC, but that’s not the airline’s fault. The pilot got us there only 20 minutes later than scheduled despite being delayed by more than 30 minutes."
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "I came to the airport 11:30am asked to rebook for earlier flight which wasn’t possible unless 75$ charged. I decided to wait till 4:16pm departure that ended being 3:50 am the next day. Meanwhile it took several hours to receive water and pretzels, pizza finally came after 9 hr wait(which gave me heartburn). Ground crew disorganized feeding us excuses of weather (wx) which initially was a landing gear problem for first 1.5 hr delay then again WX and ATC not assigning a route(while other airlines departing no problem) then crew timed out then no plane & again waiting for crew...Seriously? What a management!!! Reading comments below this keeps repeating however this was about 13 hours delay. This company should quit!"
Pros: "Same as above"
Cons: "The second half of the flight the TVs didn’t work till halfway through the flight."
Pros: "I sat at the back of the plane and the flight attendants were great."
Pros: "Short flight food and entertainment not an issue for mr"
Cons: "Non stop"
Cons: "Flight was over an hour taking off and I did not get seats I chose."
Pros: "The flight was delayed due to some maintenance issues. Staff were friendly calm and helpful to the extent they could be with something out of their control. The company rerouted a different plane to take us since ours was going to be so late, turning a 2 1/2 hr delay into just a 1 hr delay. Boarding was super efficient, in flight service excellent. They comped us our headphones because of the delay, a nice touch. This is my 3rd great customer service experience with JB in as many months (the other 2 involved waiving charges to change flights, once gor me when I was suddenly ill, and for my cousin, when a changed circumstance made her need to travel on a different day, alone with 4 kids). Between Kayak and JetBlue app I got very frequent updates on flight status, but gate staff also were there and informed us in person."
Pros: "I passed out at takeoff and slept like a baby the entire flight home. Everything was great."
Cons: "I am Mosaic but my checked bag was the last to come off the conveyor belt. Just a little annoying when my ride is waiting on me."
Cons: "It only was a stinker because 40 min delayed which made me miss my bus home , so now stuck for an hour : ( . Flight and crew were fabulous !"
Pros: "The fact that there was barely anyone on the flight"
Cons: "Turbulence"
Cons: "I had a great flight! No complaints! I didn’t use I flight entertainment, so I can’t recommend either way. The food was good, but I did purchase it. Hence the 4 stars."
Pros: "Quick and efficient: boarding, service, connections = as good as it gets for the money."
Pros: "Flight was on time."
Cons: "Sound for entertainment system in a lot of Jetblue flights as in this one works poorly. Paying for luggage is annoying."
Pros: "No surprises."
Cons: "None"
Pros: "Crew"
Cons: "My husband & I were in Row 5 & in last boarding group. When we got to our seats, all of the overhead bins were filled all the way back to Row 8. So, we put our suitcases up there. When we landed, we had to wait for everyone to get off the plane to be able to go back to those bins. And someone had already exited the plane with my husband’s suitcase. Their suitcase was left. We spent an hour with Suitcase Services, but could not find out who took my husband’s suitcase. (No ID inside theirs) I recommend that you board lower numbered rows first so that people in the back rows don’t take the front bins!"
Pros: "punctual in taking off and landing, new planes, comfy seats in the smaller aircrafts, not cramped, I like that, friendly "cabin" crew. I like a lot."
Pros: "Service and comfort"
Cons: "Endless delays and extremely shitty boarding staff."
Pros: "Leg room."
Cons: "The 2 hour plus delay in leaving due to jet blue's poor management around crew rotation."
Pros: "Orlando's kindness"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "The staff was so friendly. They accommodated a bachelor party's request to collect wedding advice from fellow passengers on a napkin and recognized a few birthdays. The stewardess making the announcements was very genuine in her well wishes and being part of everyone's day."
Cons: "40 min taxi time but not much we could do about that."
Pros: "Friendly staff, love boarding from back to front. Clean plane"
Cons: "There were some delays taking off but the pilot was really transparent and it ended up not being severe at all."
Pros: "The stewardess was very nice"
Cons: "We had to deboarding the plane due to electrical reasons, which is unfortunate but I understand. However.. The pilot scared everyone when he said told us that we were deboarding and literally said "it's better to find out now while we are still on the ground because it could have happened in the air and that would not have been good". As someone who has flight anxiety that was not something that sat well. In addition we were not given any instruction on what to do at that point. Should we try to find another flight?.. Should we wait for the plane to get fixed?.. Are we all boarding another plane?... Everyone was confused and frustrated!"
Orden y organización
Clean aircraft timely departure and arrival
Is the decime time i don’t receive any help from you
Comida y entretenimiento
Pros: "No hay variedad en el entretenimiento."
Pros: "They gave us a pillow and a blanket"
Cons: "The earphones for the tv were weird"
Cons: "Rude check in employees, mediocre flight crew terrible food. Only good thing about the flight was the check in counter people at Asunción airport. The rest was so bad, will never flight with Avianca ever again."
Cons: "Excellent"
Pros: "The pilots landed quite peacefully and the airplane was clean"
Cons: "Food was disgusting. Not many options to choose from."
Pros: "No"
Cons: "The time"
Pros: "Everything I liked"
Pros: "Es impresionante lo que ha desmejorado Avianca en su clase ejecutiva. Un vuelo de más de 5 horas y la silla no reclina sino solo un poco y no hay donde apoyar los pies. La comida estuvo mala."
Cons: "Tienen que mejorar su servicio en ejecutiva y si les toca usar ese avión mejorar la comodidad de las sillas."
Pros: "For a several hours of flying the seat we’re fine"
Cons: "The crew service was very poor!"
Pros: "I like the service"
Cons: "It will be nice if there are healthy food options"
Cons: "More new movies."
Pros: "La atención"
Pros: "Just the fact that I’m glad to make it home."
Cons: "The entire flight ordeal. From beginning to end."
Pros: "I did not like anything about the flight"
Cons: "The service was the worst and they did not let us know that we were going to be late i had to run to my gate cuz I was worried i when back to be in inmigrantion and it took long and the gate."
Cons: "First flight delayed, which meant I missed the second flight. What should have been a 6 hour trip became 22 hours. After rescheduling first flight and getting to MIA at 2330, I learned my flight for 0455 was cancelled, which meant my bag that was en route was cancelled. Customer service via phone is completely useless (after a 30 minute wait time). They put me in a hotel and told me to get my bag in the morning when getting on my next flight to GUA. Got there @ 1000 and the avianca baggage office AND the ticketing counter aren’t staffed until 1130 am!!!!! Had to leave the country having no idea where my bag was, now stuck in GUA without it. I’m beyond exhausted and will NEVER AGAIN do business with avianca under ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. Terrible doesn’t begin to describe it."
Pros: "Boarding was easy- food was ok. Flight on time"
Cons: "The temperature during the flight was to hot Flight attendance were not friendly which is unusual for Avianca"
Pros: "Everything"
Cons: "Everything"
Pros: "Fast"
Pros: "Attentive service"
Cons: "Food sucks,"
Pros: "Only the price of the ticket."
Cons: "Lady at check in didn't provide proper "tag" for stroller. No consideration while traveling with kids, I was accepted to board with the last group."
Pros: "We booked a flight in December to meet my daughter and son in law in Cancun on Avianca. We have not traveled very much internationally and wanted to schedule our flights to arrive close to the time my daughter and son-in-law were arriving from Colorado to Cancun on their flight. We had booked this flight especially because of the closeness of the two arrival times. When we got to the airport to check in for flight we were told that the flight was overbooked and that we were being put on a Aeromexico flight that had to go through Mexico City with an arrival time in Cancun that was 4 to 5 Later than originally planned. My daughter and son-in-law were just about to board their flight in Denver to Cancun and had to scramble to arrange transportation to be able to meet us at the airport so that they didn’t have to wait for five hours in Cancun for us. We were only compensated with $14 that expired the same day to use in the airport for a wat later than originally planned. My daughter and son-in-law war just about to board their flight in Denver to Cancun and had to scramble to arrange transportation to be able to meet us at the airport so that they didn’t have to wait for five hours in Cancun for us. We were only compensated with $14 that expired the same day to use in the airport for lunch. We will never use Avianca again it was a terrible experience all around. Although Aeromexico was a fantastic airline and the service was excellent with them. I would highly recommend Aeromexico if you were thinking about traveling in central America or Mexico."
Pros: "Checkin staff very helpful and quick boarding. Infligjt staff polite and professional"
Cons: "No much leg roon."
Pros: "faltando una semana antes del viaje la aerolinea me envio un correo electronico diciendo q mi vuelo habia sido cancelado., que tendria q salir un dia antes o esperar en otro pais no mi final destino por mas de un dia.,.. es inconsebible q suceda esto., compre mi ticket por adelantado desde septiembre y me encuentro a dias de viajar con esto., que irresponsabilidad de esta aerolinea., despues de llamar por mas de 5 veces con 5 diferente personas... por fin llegamos a un acuerdo de cuando me podria ir... el dia original era 18 de diciembre estoy programado para viajar el 23 y con la persona q hable mi itinerario es Mia-SanSanvador-Tegus... en el WEB dice MIA-Nicaragua-San Salvador - Tegus... voy a recorrer practicamente toda centro america para llegar a mi desdtino final... nose a quien echarle la culpa... a KAYAK"
Pros: "Food. As usual with avianca was amazing."
Cons: "The staff. Completely unprofessional. Flying executive from SJO to JFK with the Costa Rican staff was amazing. This one compared, was deplorable."
Cons: "The flight was delayed for more than an hour at Dulles. When we arrived in Bogota, at 9:40 we had time to catch the connecting flight to Montevideo which was scheduled to leave at 10:20pm.... but instead we stayed in the tarmac without moving for over 45 minutes. There were over 30 passengers that were to take that connecting flight, so the airline had plenty of reasons to wait for us. Instead the airline, AVIANCA, chose to leave all of us stranded in Bogota for 24 hours. We will have all type of problems because of this we had hotel reservations as well as car rental reservations that may be lost because we didn't showed up. By the way according to one of the passengers whose husband travelled on the same flight the day before. The same thing happened to him 1 day earlier."
Pros: "Christian the flight attendant was amazing!"
Pros: "I loved the in flight entertainment that reminded me of JetBlue."
Cons: "The flight was delayed out of JFK for some unknown reason (definitely not weather or missing plane since it was the first flight of the morning). Several passengers were told their connecting flight would definitely be held for them. A few of us asked for a guarantee because we would rather pay to rebook another flight than get stuck, and the gate attendents at JFK said it was certain we would make our flights. Once we got to El Salvador we were told they never intended to hold our flights. Avianca agents there told the handful of us going to Cancun we we're rebooked on Copa Airline and would have to go to Panama first, then Cancun, and arrive around 10 pm instead of 11 am. Other passengers were stuck in El Salvador for even longer. For our trouble, they only offered a $70 voucher for Avianca which is essentially useless to most of us since it has extensive restrictions. On top of this, the plane seating was small and the food was terrible. When we got switched to Copa there was at least slightly more leg room and better food. Do not fly Avianca!!"
Pros: "Can't beat all the free amenities this airline offers that the big brand airlines charge for."
Pros: "Speed and punctual"
Pros: "Flight attendants were great!"
Pros: "Boarding, plane, entertainment were very good."
Cons: "During a six hour international flight, we only saw the crew once, when they served the not very good food. Actually, bad. After that, nowhere to find something to drink or a snack. It just seemed impossible to get someone, since the back of the plane was full of people all flight."
Pros: "The counter officer was great, the service inside the airplane was amazing. Overall a great flight. I love how Kayak send you reminders about the flight status and anything related"
Pros: "Everything! Service, staff, food, amenities"
Cons: "they cancelled flight without giving us warning and we had to fly out following day on different airline"
Pros: "Great trip. Boarding was efficient. Small plan for a long trip. Seat was comfortable, but on an A319 for a 5 hour trip is stretching it. Either way the crew was great and the service was good."
Pros: "Food, crew"
Cons: "Audio system is old and did not play audio stations, just the video, which is displayed in a few small screens."
Pros: "NOTHING"
Cons: "My passport was not due to expire for the NEXT 4 months AFTER my come back day The lady from Avianca didn't let me board due to my passport expiring 4 months after my return day. I had to pay for a 24 hours expedite / rush passport. ALSO, once I got my new passport (17 hours later) I was told that I had to pay $170 penalty for moving my departure day and $680 because I had to adjust to the new ticket price. At that point I decide to buy a new ticket with a different airline. AVIANCA SUCKS!!! They are NOT very accommodating at all. Will not recommend this agency and I WILL NEVER ever again will use their service."
Pros: "price, on-time, food, entertainment system"
Cons: "Inferior seat-backs have no storage for water bottle and person items like books. What's with that?! If meant to increase legroom, not satisfactory solution."
Cons: "I can not request upgrade for my wife, because we had different code locators. I bought my ticket after my wife. I dicided to request a downgrade."
Pros: "The flight was cancelled at the last minute due to a broke plane in San Salvadore. However, the staff booked us on a flight with Copa Air. They were extreemly professional, kind and accomodating. Thank you very much. The Copa flight was outstanding service and comfort."
Cons: "My flight from El Salvador to Bogota was cancalled, so I waited at airport in El Salvador 7 1/2 hours and on the return I got to the counter at 4.05am for a 5.00am flight, with just check in luggage and they would not let me check in, so I had to stay in Bogota an extra night and pay a change, fee so basically everything was very poor"
Cons: "Purchased a round-trip in and out of El Salvador. On the return to El Salvador, ticket agents made me purchase a one-way return to the United States, claiming that I would not be allowed to enter El Salvador otherwise since I do not have residency there. Despite repeatedly explaining to them that I had done this multiple time before on other airlines, and that immigration in El Salvador does NOT ask for proof of return, they would not let me board unless I purchased a return ticket to the United States. As expected, I was NOT asked for ANY proof of return when entering El Salvador. The Avianca staff was uninformed, wrong, and rude. They showed no interest in listening to us or helping us solve this problem. I will now have to call and cancel this ticket, and fight to get the $25 ticketing fee refunded. Do not expect great service from Avianca."
Cons: "How is it possible that in a 5 hours flight I was not able to watch tv?!!!! I asked help three times to the flight attendants and they didn't even come to my seat to check my problem, I had to walk to where they were three times to ask them for help. They only said " we are going to reboot the tv" that didn't work at all. I was completely miserable and bored. They didn't help me; they never come to my place to check if the problem was solved or not."
Pros: "The service was good, the employees were so polite and helpful."
Cons: "There was a large couple that boarded the plane at the last moment, the flight attendant escorted them to their seats which was right next to me. I got up so they could sit down and they covered half of my seat. The flight attendant saw this but still told me to sit back down. I tried to explain to him that the lady was sitting on top of my seatbelt and halfway on my seat. I was told again to sit down. Trying not to cause a problem I just tried to sit down. My entire right side was in Constant contact with her entire left side of her body. Once we got started taxing the flight attendant walk by I stopped him and explain to him there's no way I could do the entire flight sitting like this. Luckily there was an extra seat that he was able to move me too. My issue is I do not understand how this was not prevented so that it would not be an issue. There were plenty of seats available they could have told her and her husband who were both very large they had to buy two seats. Or there was business-class seats available that they could've been put in."
Pros: "Crew was exceptionally nice. Live DISH TV unexpected and appreciated."
Cons: "Great"
Pros: "Smooth flying!"
Cons: "Better & more snacks.....no ice?"
Cons: "Gate agent did an excellent job getting everybody on the plane in Atlanta"
Pros: "The crew was amazing and polite."
Cons: "Nothing needed to be done"
Cons: "Not having a delayed flight."
Pros: "Crew did a great job communicating what was happening while we were delayed"
Cons: "Compensation for our time or schedule mishaps."
Pros: "The crew rocked!!!! Professional and fun. We enjoyed the music."
Cons: "WiFi didn’t work well. Still great flight."
Pros: "I like being able to charge my devices"
Cons: "Better movies"
Pros: "Yes the crew was amazing"
Cons: "Stop being LATE!!!!"
Pros: "Crew was very kind and entertainment was good when available"
Cons: "WiFi in all flights"
Cons: "The ticketing counter gave very bad guidance for when I arrived, thus refusing to allow me to check my bag. And insisting that I had to cancel my skymiles ticket and purchasing a new ticket. Show up at least 2 hours before at DCA for intl flights, employee incompetence could cost you $$$$"
Cons: "Virgin Atlantic has had better days. Living off of a long gone reputation. Great staff but old and worn out planes. Code sharing has done them no favors!"
Pros: "It was quick"
Cons: "Horribly shaky. Thought I was going to throw up. The male flight attendant came off as rude. Just happy I got off the plane alive because it was rough"
Cons: "Better ? Impossible!"
Pros: "The plane was very new and clean; entertainment options and food were very good; it was a good flight."
Cons: "At baggage drop-DCA: Charged me for a bag when I had a status that allows 1 bag free; she would not listen, made me pay for it in order to check my bag and then told me to go over to customer service and ask for a refund."
Pros: "Arrive early. On time departure."
Cons: "My row 34 D did not have entertainment - had to move to another seat and row."
Pros: "The flight"
Cons: "The flight"
Pros: "Baggage came quickly. Flight was on time."
Pros: "Boardin process was Ok"
Cons: "Due to several issues we were delayed in 3,5 hours"
Pros: "Arrived"
Cons: "Delta changed our seat assignment and our seats sucked"
Pros: "Easy boarding process, on-time departure and arrival and extremely comfortable!"
Cons: "NA"
Pros: "Meal was provided at no additional charge. Pilots were informative on weather conditions. Good crew service."
Pros: "The service was excellent from boarding to inflight operations everyone seemed happy and made a honest attempt to be helpful and create an enjoyable experience for me and my Travel Partner."
Cons: "Plane was late coming in and my departure time was 30 minutes off schedule."
Pros: "Staff was friendly."
Cons: "During boarding, the sign wasn’t updated after Zone 1. I was watching the board from a distance while on the phone, waiting for Zone 4 to come up. Fortunately, I heard them say “final boarding” over the intercom; otherwise I could have missed my flight."
Pros: "very friendly crew"
Cons: "Delayed flight"
Pros: "great crew, very nice and helpful often looking for ways to serve people. More leg room. I had a free upgrade to exit row seating. Food was prettu good for a flight of that length."
Pros: "The in-flight movie was very much appreciated."
Pros: "Good in general."
Cons: "No wifi, no leg room"
Pros: "everything is fine except th nickel and dime."
Cons: "Why do airlines charge you an arm and a leg to fly then force to 1. Check a bag, or 2. Get a drink, or 3. Get a seat in an exit row or worst of all now 4. WIFI IS NOW A STANDARD ON PLANES BUT PASSENGERS MUST PAY?!?!"
Pros: "Very grateful they moved me to an earlier flight when mine was delayed due to weather. Impressed with entertainment options."
Pros: "Helpful DCA counter personnel, cabin crew and comfy aircraft. On time both ways!"
Pros: "Movie selection and cable channels"
Cons: "My connection was abruptly changed, it took a long time to straighten out, but they eventually did."
Cons: "The male flight attendant my section was very unpleasant to the elderly passengers in my area and just left me very uneasy about the flight"
Pros: "Flight attendant gave me the can of Diet Coke and extra pretzels when requested. The entertainment was excellent, the TV screen in the seats. Good choice of TV shows"
Cons: "Seat size"
Pros: "Quick service - uneventful."
Pros: "Happily, the flight was completely non-eventful."
Cons: "The food and snack choices are quite limited."
Pros: "Excellent service, God flight"
Pros: "Customer services"
Pros: "I board sky priority or sooner so it always goes well."
Cons: "Delta could do a little more to align people behind the right zone pillars when lining up for boarding. Passengers especially those not used to flying or flying with Delta are always confused. Maybe some stripping on the floor could help or pillars at the front and midway back."
Pros: "Great service very courteous crew. Smooth takeoff and landing."
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "Comfortable flight, plenty of leg room and I live the individual chargers at each chair."
Cons: "When I pay more for a direct flight, I expect my flight to be non stop. Delta changed my flight and added a layover but I didn't receive any recompense from the airline. Seems very odd."
Pros: "Good experience overall. Pleasant staff. Movie features were wonderful and helped pass the time."
Pros: "I'm always happy when I get a Delta flight that has the in flight entertainment. Good selection of tv shows, movies and music. Makes the time go by fast"
Cons: "Can't really think of anything I don't like the"
Pros: "The service. The plane (seemed like an international plane). Food options. The service and the service. There was a problem getting on, they allowed premium members to board but when I got to the plane, I was scolded by the cleaning crew lady (maybe the Mgr) that they were not ready and that she had informed 'them' of that and that no one is allowed to board while they are cleaning."
Cons: "Spent $25 on Main Cabin Preferred when I thought it was Economy Comfort. Did not really change my experience and i'm out $25."
Pros: "Not much"
Cons: "Delays"
All went well thank you
Ok
healthier food option
Cons: "Everything was great"
Pros: "The Punctuality"
Cons: "No comments"
Pros: "on time, good seats and leg space"
Cons: "I wish Copa has more flights in US"
Pros: "Na"
Cons: "They always change the gates, also too many disorders in the gate previous the boarding process, the process it is not clean. They took hand baggage aleatory to send to down and do not ask if we have fragile stuffs there."
Cons: "Same thing from previous flight. The crew is not capable to attend passengers traveling with toddlers or kids. We had an emergency on board with a 3yo and the plane had no emergency kit for children. The seats for toddlers and children are not adequate for their height or weight. Seatbelts don't fit a child. They travel in such uncomfortable seats and conditions. The aircraft was a 190, too small to make passengers feel comfortable, and this is how Copa always manages their flights to all cities in Central America. Very poor service and old aircrafts. People are paying for a quality service not to be treated like cattle. You need to improve your services."
Pros: "On time and good flight"
Cons: "Food"
Cons: "Really took 3 hours at airport. Lines"
Pros: "Quick and easy boarding process. Hassle free flight."
Cons: "The chicken wrap was terrible!"
Cons: "Staff was rude, bad customer service"
Pros: "Fast flight"
Cons: "Check in process of copa was terrible. Check in clerk and manager wouldn’t let me take my stroller and check it at the gate. Had to leave it outside of the airport. Traveling with 2 small children."
Pros: "Flight was great and crew was very nice as usual."
Cons: "When I got to Guatemala I was told I couldn't check in unless I had a ticket leaving Costa Rica. I have never had a problem with this in the past. I had to have someone purchase a ticket last min out of costa Rica so I could check in. When I got to CR they didn't even ask me for my ticket or proof"
Pros: "The crew was wonderfully attentive. My only complaint is the narrow ley room."
Pros: "It was just fine"
Cons: "Boarding was chaotic, food was poor."
Pros: "Na"
Cons: "Na"
Pros: "Smooth flight; flight attendants were courteous and attentive; limited entertainment; screens were too small."
Cons: "The beef stew was too salty; dirty bathrooms"
Pros: "was on time"
Cons: "terrible, waiting in one gate , then we have to go to another gate take a bus under the rain, fullof people luggage, , gave us terrible seats in the back small plane. the bathroom was not clean at all"
Pros: "Nothing really"
Cons: "Boarding process in Panama is very disorganized"
Pros: "Lo mejor fue la atencion de la azafata colombiana el avion era peque aunque prefiero q sea de 2 butacas de cada lado ... Lo mejor fue el precio Kayal gracias."
Cons: "No es un servicio sobresaliente"
Pros: "We had the exit seats so there was leg room! The crew was very friendly."
Cons: "There wasn't any entertainment and the seating area for where we we're boarding was so packed we had to sit on the floor"
Pros: "Provided food- even on short trip from Panama City to Bogotá."
Pros: "Excelente servicio, a tiempo. Ayuda para un abordaje rapido, ya que habia mucha gente."
Cons: "Una de mis maletas fue abierto y me parece peligroso, ya que por dicha traía candado en la parte grande. Esto puede tacharlos de compañía no segura."
Pros: "The aircraft was a new 737-800 series with an entertainment center, the meal was decent and the crew pleasant and professional."
Cons: "Copa does not permit one to make a seat selection at the time of booking - the seats assigned to us upon checking werenot together and in the back of the plane. As Silver customer with United Airlines I would hope for a better choice or what then is the value of the Star Alliance? I likely won’t fly withCopa again. Also, they did not offer hot tea as a beverage selection."
Pros: "Airplane crew was friendly. The flight departed on time."
Cons: "We traveled with an infant who sat on our laps. We were never asked about the infant traveling until we went to check in at the desk and were told we needed to pay taxes for the baby at a rate of 10% of the cost of the ticket. But because we were doing it on the day of the flight, 10% was almost $200! We did not receive good customer service from staff, who simply told us we "should have known to investigate this." We have never been asked to do this when flying with a baby before! This was after an hour and a half of already waiting to check in our bags. We were waiting so long and dealing with this issue for so long that we almost missed the flight! A terrible experience. Also, the web check in line took even longer than the line of people who had not checked in online beforehand! It was so slow, it added to us almost missing our flight. It was a waste of time to check in online, especially since they gave us new boarding passes when we checked our bags in anyway. We also had trouble finding both of our reservations, even though we booked them together as a family, so we ended up with seats that were not together. When we had an issue, we were given an attitude by the staff checking us in."
Pros: "Boarding wa son time and smooth"
Cons: "The food was low quality and qith not taste, both flights were really bad. Alao entertainment was poor"
Pros: "My first time flying with Copa and I really enjoyed it. The staff was kind, the on flight meal was great and I really liked the entertainment device for each person on the back of the chairs."
Cons: "Nothing!"
Pros: "The people were friendly and professional. Everything was as expected. The ticket cost was about 200.00 more dollars than the other discount carriers but they did not include any baggage. When I compared apples to apples and looked at the 2 bags I wanted to check the price was within 20 dollars ant the Copa flight was at a better time. The Copa flights had food service and the meal was good, chicken and pasta. Would it have been worth 10.00 at the airport? Yes it would have been. 1 meal each way would more than make up the difference. All in all the flight worked out to be at a better time with friendlier service and an equal or better value for my total cost. The flights were on time. Nicely done."
Pros: "Crew and newer aircraft"
Cons: "Food could have been better in business."
Pros: "Connecting flight with a meal!"
Cons: "Nothing."
Pros: "It was nice to be able to watch movies - but the selection of good movies was limited."
Cons: "Seats were too cramped."
Pros: "The staff"
Cons: "No vegetarian options granted :( the planes are dirty."
Cons: "No explanation was given"
Cons: "El aeropuerto internacional de Panama es sencillamente horrible y extremadamente caro y ni siquiera wifi free hay para los pasajeros que como yo tenemos que hacer escala. La señal para llamar por teléfono usando mi propia proveedor. Es un aeropuerto del siglo pasado que ya es hora COPA que tiene su centro de operaciones pongan de su parte para hacer más placentero la estadía en ese aeropuerto; aeropuertos como el CR o el de Bogotá no más sale uno del avión y hay excelente wifi que le permite a uno estar en contacto con la familia."
Cons: "I went on the site and mentioned I was vegetarian, but I guess the 'snack' wasn't big enough to warrant a veggie option. I had to run from one flight to another, and my previous one only served breakfast, so it would have been really nice to have a veggie option. I put poor on entertainment because there was none, but it was a short flight, so not a big deal. Rest was great!"
Pros: "roomy seats, excellent food, very pleasant flight attendants--i would fly Copa again in a heartbeat"
Cons: "The crew kept bumping Into me since I had an isle seat more than normally."
Pros: "Planes are clean and crew is nice"
Cons: "Overall they are a poorly organized airline, they will over sell their tickets and then expect you to give yours away. Boarding was messy."
Pros: "One of your crew members went above and beyond to help a family that was sitting next to me. That kind if service was unexpected and a huge help to the family. We were all impressed. They were all very cordial and polite."
Cons: "Never answered the numbers I called when I got to the airport ended up having to rent with another company"
Pros: "Food was awesome, attendants were pretty nice, and it was a great first international flight experience."
Cons: "I was a little cramped on the plane."
Cons: "seats and plane were old. Business class seats need an upgrade badly. They should discount the tickets if we're made to fly in 25 year old seats. Business class service was rushed. It was like the goal was to get your items up and collected early so the attendant could disappear for the remainder of the flight."
Pros: "La tripulación tenía tan buen actitud! Todos eran muy amable. The crew had a very friendly attitude. All were very kind!"
Cons: "Entramos al avión 20 min tarde. Nos pusieron esperar en el avión, completamente full de pasajeros, 30 min sin aire acondicionado (en panamá, donde hace TANTO calor)! Después, tuvimos que esperar en la pista unos 20 min más, todavía sin aire acondicionado. Finalmente, pasamos casi todo el vuelo con los platos vacíos de la comida en nuestras mesas. JUSTO cuando el piloto dijo "prepara para aterrizar", pasaron corriendo para recoger la basura. En total, fue un vuelo muy incómodo. We boarded 20 min late. They made us wait on the plane, a completely booked flight, for 30 min without air conditioning (in Panamá, where the temperature is insufferable)! Later, we had to wait on the runway another 20 min, still lacking air conditioning. Finally, we spent almost the entire flight with our empty meal trays sitting in front of us. RIGHT when the captain announced "flight crew prepare the cabin for landing", the crew ran through to pick up the trays and trash. In total, it was a very uncomfortable flight."
Pros: "I was looking to fly to Costa Rica and found a price offer for $70 through Volaris. I thought this was a good deal until I looked at the baggage policy. Turns out you have to pay for each bag,bringing my luggage total to $50. Thats when I noticed Copa Airlnes had the same price for airfare plus two free bags! I was sold. Overall great service!"
Cons: "Almost missed my flight due to flight being changed to a different gate than what was written in my ticket."
Pros: "Thank you for offering food, but something's without meat would have me flying copa every time!"
Cons: "No hubo buen entretenimiento ni alternativas y en el viaje de vuelta faltó el café en un viaje de cuatro horas y cuarenta minuto"
Pros: "Staffs were so kind and professional."
Pros: "Give out head phones and the food is not bad"
Cons: "Plane was late and took too long to board so that when we we t to take off we had lost our spot then waited for 3 hours to get going, about 90% of the passengers had a connecting flight which they obviously missed and then they blamed the weather. Sent us to a hotel in a ridiculously disorganized fashion for which they had 3 hours plus flight time to prepare for. New boarding passes were a mess and had to wait a long time to get mine printed cause they forgot to. In the morning in order to save money they sent us on a stupid early bus so that half of us could be sent back to the airport, so that meant we missed breakfast and the 2 hours plus of sleep."
Pros: "On time is the most important feature of COPA. The other is that COPA remain as a full service compared to most that cut services more and more."
Cons: "Sometimes price are quite high that makes flying COPA impossible, way too high"
COVID-19 information
Safety measures for airlines flying from Washington to Central America
Airlines flying from Washington to Central America have enacted additional safety measures and adjusted policies to better accommodate travelers. Policies vary by airline.
Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights from Washington to Central America
Mandatory masks
Masks required on board, masks provided on flights from Washington to Central America
Social distancing seating
Middle seats unavailable to book on flights from Washington to Central America
Pre-flight testing
Testing for antibodies, testing for symptoms for flights from Washington to Central America
Flexible cancellations
Waiving of change fees. Search flexible flights from Washington to Central America
Book cheap flights from Washington to Central America
Recent round-trip flight deals
5/23Mon
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
5/29Sun
nonstopAvianca
4h 10mSAL-IAD
$120
3/17Thu
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
3/23Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 16mSAL-IAD
$121
3/7Mon
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
3/24Thu
nonstopAvianca
4h 16mSAL-IAD
$123
5/7Sat
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
5/20Fri
nonstopAvianca
4h 10mSAL-IAD
$124
3/15Tue
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
3/23Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 15mSAL-IAD
$125
3/19Sat
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 25mIAD-SAL
4/3Sun
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 22mSAL-IAD
$133
5/3Tue
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 25mIAD-SAL
5/10Tue
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 22mSAL-IAD
$134
2/22Tue
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 25mIAD-SAL
3/3Thu
nonstopMultiple Airlines
4h 11mSAL-IAD
$142
2/20Sun
1 stopFrontier
8h 40mBWI-SJO
2/22Tue
1 stopFrontier
8h 45mSJO-BWI
$144
2/20Sun
1 stopFrontier
8h 40mBWI-SJO
2/24Thu
1 stopFrontier
8h 35mSJO-BWI
$149
2/15Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
7h 29mBWI-SAL
3/1Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
7h 57mSAL-BWI
$154
2/10Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 53mIAD-SAL
2/12Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 07mSAL-IAD
$157
3/1Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
6h 20mBWI-SAL
3/15Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
9h 18mSAL-BWI
$157
2/25Fri
1 stopUnited Airlines
17h 47mIAD-SAL
3/10Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 07mSAL-IAD
$162
2/7Mon
1 stopAmerican Airlines
12h 13mDCA-SAL
2/14Mon
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
13h 54mSAL-DCA
$163
2/24Thu
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
10h 12mDCA-SAL
3/3Thu
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
10h 35mSAL-DCA
$166
2/19Sat
1 stopDelta
19h 05mDCA-SAL
2/22Tue
1 stopDelta
7h 15mSAL-DCA
$177
5/7Sat
1 stopVolaris Costa Rica
6h 21mIAD-SJO
5/16Mon
1 stopVolaris Costa Rica
6h 21mSJO-IAD
$204
3/9Wed
1 stopCopa Airlines
16h 07mIAD-SJO
3/14Mon
1 stopCopa Airlines
10h 26mSJO-IAD
$221
2/14Mon
1 stopJetBlue
6h 36mDCA-SJO
3/7Mon
1 stopJetBlue
8h 24mSJO-DCA
$281
Search by stops
Search by airline
Search by price
Recent one-way flight deals
5/18Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$26
2/22Tue
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$33
2/19Sat
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$36
3/17Thu
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$38
4/3Sun
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$39
2/19Sat
nonstopAvianca
4h 25mIAD-SAL
$40
2/6Sun
1 stopFrontier
8h 42mBWI-SAL
$48
2/19Sat
1 stopSpirit Airlines
6h 06mBWI-SAL
$49
2/6Sun
1 stopFrontier
8h 42mBWI-SAL
$50
2/8Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
7h 29mBWI-SAL
$53
2/1Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 53mIAD-SAL
$56
2/1Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
8h 53mIAD-SAL
$59
2/1Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
17h 35mDCA-SAL
$59
6/19Sun
nonstopVolaris El Salvador
4h 21mIAD-SAL
$60
4/5Tue
1 stopDelta
7h 45mIAD-SAL
$61
4/4Mon
nonstopVolaris Costa Rica
4h 21mIAD-SAL
$71
2/2Wed
1 stopMultiple Airlines
21h 35mDCA-SAL
$73
5/17Tue
1 stopCopa Airlines
12h 57mIAD-SAL
$78
4/25Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
8h 26mDCA-SJO
$108
2/14Mon
1 stopJetBlue
6h 36mDCA-SJO
$113