Review of LAN Peru flight Buenos Aires Lima in Economy

Airline LAN Peru
Flight LA2424
Class Economy
Seat 35A
Flight time 04:50
Take-off 08 Jan 15, 08:15
Arrival at 08 Jan 15, 11:05
LP 16 reviews
viajero90
By 2958
Published on 29th January 2015
Hello everyone! This is the first report of one of my many flights on my last trip to Colombia. I hope you enjoy them!

My whole itinerary was like this:
EZE-LIM-BOG (with a 13 hours layover!!)
BOG-CTG-BOG
BOG-LIM-SCL-EZE (in brand new interior on Boeing 767 and Boeing 787)

So here goes the first leg…

LA 2424
Date: 08/01/15
From: Buenos Aires – Ministro Pistarini EZE
To: Lima – Jorge Chavez LIM
Departure: 08.15 (08.35 real)
Arrival: 11.05 (11.00 real)

So, this day I came to EZE on a transfer van from my city like 4 hours before my flight. They drove me to the entrance of Terminal A. I had already done my check-in on LAN’s website 48 hours ago, and chosen my seats when I booked the flights.
I went to LAN’s counters, where they printed my boarding passes and dispatched my luggage. I asked the agent if she knew if I could leave the terminal on my LIM 13 hours layover. She said there wouldn’t be any problem but maybe I had to pay a fee. I already knew this, because I had made plans for all this free time, because I didn’t want to be locked at LIM. She also said I could ask LAN’s land staff at LIM once I’ll be there.

EZE at 04.30 am
photo 20150108_042919

Then I went through security and migrations. At security they were quite slow…there was a huge line until they came up with the great idea of opening another scanner. At migrations there was a big line too, but they were quite fast. I waited up to 5-10 minutes. When I got to the agent, we realized that my flight’s gate wasn’t printed on my boarding pass (I really don’t know why they need this information). So she went to talk with her supervisor for a few minutes and when she came back she just stamped my passport, so I left for the boarding area.
I walked through Terminals A and B (which are connected)

Avianca’s A330 just landed from BOG
photo 20150108_045913

I took an elevator to the upper floor, where all the VIP lounges are located. There are five: Aerolineas Argentinas, Star Alliance, American Airlines & Iberia, Amex’s Centurion and LAN (&TAM). There is also a VIP lounge of the company, who runs the airport Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, but it’s located on the ground floor and they have privet security and migrations facility. Even they have and own duty-free shop.
So I went into LAN’s lounge. How could I enter? I had some LANPASS km which were to expire in some months. With this km I got my CTG flights, but with the few km that were left I couldn’t get many. So I used 4000 for a voucher to enter to this VIP lounge. It’s important to say that that it doesn’t matter which company you’re flying to enter the VIP lounge this way. When I got there, the agents asked me which company I was flying because they only announce LAN and TAM flights. As I was flying LAN Peru, there wouldn’t be any inconvenience.

LAN VIP Lounge entrance
photo 20150108_073529

Once I got there I tried to relax…as I was coming from a 4 hours van journey. I served myself something to eat and drink, and searched for a nice spot to sit. There weren’t many people inside. Most of them were Brazilians who left when a TAM flight to GIG was announced.

photo 20150108_050525photo 20150108_050557

My first ‘Appetizer’
photo 20150108_050850

Computers area
photo 20150108_053526

Newspapers and magazines from many countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, USA, etc.
photo 20150108_052142

My pre-flight breakfast
photo 20150108_062410

Sunrise at EZE
photo 20150108_060709

At 7.35 am they announced that my flight was about to start boarding at the Terminal A. This VIP lounge is located at the middle of Terminal B, so I took my hand luggage and started walking towards the other side of the airport.

LAN Boeing 767, CC-CZL
photo 20150108_074142

Boarding call
photo 20150108_074438

When I got to this area, most people were seated, but some were already queuing to board. At 7.50 am they announced the boarding for LA 2424 (Operated by LAN Peru). First, Premium Bussiness passengers and high status LAN and Oneworld frequent passengers. Then people who need special assistance and passengers with children under 2 years old. After that, Economy passengers seated in rows on the back part of the plane (me!) and finally passengers with seats on the front part. This form of boarding was repeated exactly the same way in all my LAN flights. The only difference was that in LIM and SCL they split Economy boarding in three groups when the aircraft is a 767 or a 787.

My seat, 35A.
photo 20150108_075155

I boarded and got to my seat. I was a bit disappointed that this 767 didn’t have the new interiors, but it was OK. The seat had PTV with remote control, on my seat there was a head-set, a pillow and a blanket. It was pretty comfortable for a short flight.

photo 20150108_075501

At 8.10 boarding finished and they announced we will be taking off soon. All the crew was Peruvian I think. Also they announced that we could use all electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptops only if they are on ‘flight mode’.
A few minutes later, at 8.35 we took off and headed northwest. The captain said will be landing in Lima at 11.

Taking off
photo 20150108_083440photo 20150108_083534photo 20150108_083614

As I was really tired from my night journey, and I didn’t sleep much at the lounge, I tried to sleep as much as I could on the plane. I think I just woke up for the breakfast service. It included a ham and cheese toast, fruit, crackers, jam and butter. To drink: Juan Valdez coffee, tea, juice and water.

Breakfast aboard
photo 20150108_093044

At 10.30 Peruvian time, the captain announced we were on our descent to LIM. Some minutes later I could spot all the ships neat Lima’s seaport.

photo 20150108_124554

Minutes later, at 11 we landed. The plane was taken to the south side of the terminal, they put the jet bridge and we shortly disembarked. As I was sleeping when they handed in the migrations forms I asked the chief FA for one.

photo 20150108_125535photo 20150108_130027

When I left the aircraft I met a lady from LAN ground staff, I explained to her my situation. She said I could leave the airport if I wanted. The only thing that matters to them as an airline is that I come back in time to board my next flight so I don’t lose my connection. Again she told me about the fee.
So I went through migrations. The agent was very cheerful to me. She even recommended some places to have lunch in Miraflores neighborhood. She also told me that LAN Peru passengers don’t need to pay any fee. So she told me to try passing security (where they scan your boarding pass codes) without paying anything. Only pay the fee if I needed to.
So I went through customs with my backpack, as my big luggage was taken by LAN’s staff. I will receive it on my destination. So I found myself on the ground side of the building. I took a cab and headed to Miraflores district!
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Verdict

LAN Peru

8.4/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering8.0

LATAM VIP Lounge

9.2/10
Comfort9.0
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Services10.0

Buenos Aires - EZE

6.5/10
Efficiency7.0
Access2.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Lima - LIM

7.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access2.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

It was a very good flight. I slept most of the time because I was really tired, and I had a very loooong day coming. I enjoyed the experience at LAN’s VIP lounge; it was also my first time in an airport lounge. So…this was the first of my flight reports on this trip. I hope you had enjoyed it ;)

Related

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 128118 by
    Qantas4perth 21 Comments
    Thanks for the FR !
    BTW i recommend Aerolineas Argentinas for travel in South America (to Ushuaia notably) or GOl, (for Brazilian destinations from Rio) but LAN stays a good airline to fly on.
  • Comment 128128 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this first report in a series.

    I guess you can never get away from alfajores when you are in South America.

    LAN is a decent airline. That sandwich looks huge taking the entire dish. I like the touch of having a real glass on the tray to elevate the dining experience a bit.

    I've heard that San Isidro is very nice too and is next to Miraflores.

  • Comment 128130 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6658 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this new South American report! The LAN lounge seems pretty decent, but then again, most lounges are decent by my US lounge standards :-P Either way it's a good deal to enter without status for only 4000 miles. That cabin looks pretty modern to me with new style overhead bins and seats with IFE--you say that you would have like the newer cabin...LAN has a 767 interior even newer than that one? I hope to get to try LAN at some point now that I've switched my flying to oneworld. They really do seem like a good airline. Looking forward to the next reports!
    • Comment 309586 by
      viajero90 AUTHOR 106 Comments
      Thanks!!
      Yes! LAN has renewed it's Boeing 767 interiors to match the new one inside their Boeing 787. It includes brand new PTV with touch screen and a more modern IFE system. I dont know why but there is a difference on the comfort of their seats. The 767 new seats are way more comfortable than the 787 (it makes the difference on long haul flights).
    • Comment 309591 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6658 Comments
      Wow, fancy. didn't know that. People often complain about 787 seats being uncomfortable in a 3-3-3configuration--it's probably because the seats are tight and narrow.
  • Comment 128138 by
    Numero_2 TEAM BRONZE 10410 Comments
    Thanks for sharing.

    The lounge seems average. At least it was a quiet place to relax.

    Onboard the seat looks comfortable.
    Having a PTV for such a flight is indeed interesting.

    Meal service is pretty nice, with a real glass on the tray. Was there metal cutlery as well ?
    The drinks options are quite restricted.

    I didn't understand the issue about paying a fee to be granted to leave LIM ?

    See you for the next leg.
    • Comment 309585 by
      viajero90 AUTHOR 106 Comments
      Hey! I'm glad you liked it!
      There was metal cutlery, but there wasn't much to be cut, just a sandwich hehehe
      The fee I thought I had to pay wasn't for leaving the airport. It is for re-enter, like a boarding-fee. It's supposed to be included on the air ticket, but as I was voluntarily leaving the airport I was said to pay it. But thanksfully LAN Perú passengers do not pay any of this taxes.
  • Comment 128536 by
    flywunala 155 Comments
    Great FR. Thank you for the moving map pic, which is now posted on the dedicated FLICKR page https://www.flickr.com/photos/129399630@N06/

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