Hi all, this is my very first trip report, inspired by the TR I´ve seen here. Please excuse me for the not high quality pictures as they were taken with my smartphone, also please feel free to leave a comment.
When I travel to other country it is always important for me fly the national airline, and Colombia was the next country on my list, so Avianca was the perfect choice. I knew that Boeing 787 is connecting MEX and BOG, but, at the time of booking I wasn´t able to catch that flight. After looking and looking on Avianca´s webpage, found the flight 73 operated by Boeing 787 on my departure day and was booked inmediately.
That day, I arrived to MEX 2 hours prior the flight, so I headed to the check- in counters and apparently the vast majority of the passengers had gone to gate 26, wich was assigned to my flight. Check-in was such a breeze and as I really wanted to be sure, I asked to the lady if was the 787, she checked on her computer, and smiled to me while saying that I was going to be flying in an aircraft with the brand new smell. She kindly helped me with the wrapping of my travel back pack and wished me a pleasant flight.
The check-in counters.
With my BP in hand, ready to go.
MEX is a long corridor, airside, with expensive Duty Free shops, bars and restaurants IMO, always avoided by me so I go straight to the gate.
At the gate nothing but chaos, and at 13h40 a line was formed (of course, by us, economy passengers :P ) ready to board. The agents were enforcing priorities by groups in order to board the aircraft and thankfully this was respected, also behind the counter, a security check was conducted and passengers were selected randomly. No dogs this time :P
Finally Boeing 787! I was really happy. Registration N781AV. The purser welcoming the passengers, and I did not feel welcomed!
3-3-3 seat distribution, and I have to say, at first, felt a little cramped. In the seat was placed a kit with a blanket, earphones and pillow, mine was missing so I asked one to the F/A.
Don´t you like this beautiful and massive wing of this trendy jetliner?
I´m always without any problem with the seat pitch,as long as the in front passenger don´t recline the seat, so I think it was good.
This is what you can find inside the seat pocket. The magazine is very good, edited mainly in Spanish tough.
To be honest, I never watch movies when flying, so I´d rather see the flight progress, and realize that I´m flying over places I will never be at or I´ve been, which I found fantastic. Bad news for me: the music selection was not that appealing.
The moment to leave Mexico caught us and we were airborne after a very powerful take off, there was condensation over the wing and turbulence at the moment, after 1 hour the service was started, a hot and scented hand towel was offered, right after that the F/A asked row by row if BOG was the final destination and handed the Colombian landing card. Afterwards Duty Free service was offered by handing the catalogue and saying to passengers that this service will be available after meal. Was conducted by one lady, so, it was a dedicated service.
When the meal cart reached my row, I was at the rear galley, so I rushed to my seat, but the F/A already passed by, we were next to 3L door, and she asked my politely where I was seated and if I wanted to eat anything. Of course no menu handed, the choices were beef or enchiladas, so I went for the latter.
The enchiladas wasn´t what I was expecting, but I did finish my meal, the salad was very tasty and the bread cold. I wanted to save the cookie but got lost and I couldn´t taste it.
And then, the drinks cart arrived and I ordered water and whisky, which was refilled and refilled.
Classic Boeing 787 view :)
After the meal trays were collected, the crew activated the mood lighting in clear blue, so, the passengers could have a siesta while entering to South American soil, some turbulences were announced by the FO, but much of the people were sleeping, so not a big deal. I noticed that the turbulences are lighter compared to other jetliners. This was the point where Boeing 787 showed me what is made for, pleasant flights in a relaxed atmosphere that makes tou forget if you have a hotel reservation waiting for you, or if you have to go to the bus station to board a bus for the next 15 hours. Definitely a great way to fly.
At 18h55 the descent was informed to passengers, lights came out, and people was getting ready to arrive, it was dark now and turbulence hit us while descending through the layer of clouds over Colombia.
To disembark: Bussines Class passengers, Economy Class passengers (main cabin), Economy Class passengers (rear cabin). This Duty Free seat is new to me, I´ve never seen something like that, never occupied in-flight by the crew.
I thanked to the crew for their outstanding service, and went to the Passport check and the lines were inmense, including Colombians travellers, I had to wait like 30 minutes there, and finally the Officer just asked how many time I was going to stay and wished me a good journey.
I left the Airport in a private taxi service offered there, after beign nicely ripped of by the agents offering it.
See more
Verdict
Avianca
9.6/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi9.5
Meal/catering9.5
Mexico City - MEX
8.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access7.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5
Bogota - BOG
8.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
This was my first flight with Avianca and the second flight on Boeing 787, I must point that the service provided on this route is very good, with polite crew, clean aircraft,and on time performance. It is obvious that operations between these countries are high. Amenities like the hand towel are a plus in Economy, the lavatories were kept clean at all times and at least one F/A was seen around the cabin checking passengers. Also, when the F/A button was pressed, in less than 3 minutes a F/A was asking you what she could do for you. Yes, I´m very impressed by this crew. I would definitely fly Avianca again.
2 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Pleased to see a trip report from AV and the 787. The Economy product of Avianca hardware speaking is more than OK compared to other fellow american companies but the software (meals and cabin crew service) look below standard. Generally speaking I haven't heard good comments about Avianca Colombia's crew, before Efromovich took hand of Avianca Group , the airline had one of the worse reputation on the whole South America concerning service...and I don't think the old cabin crew from old Avianca is not working on the new Avianca but with the Dreamliner instead of the old 757's. The meal looks very bad for a 5 hours or so flight to BOG. Compared to LAN which offers something better probably on a similar route (LIM?) in general South American airlines catering wise look very inferior compared to european or middle eastern carriers...light years inferior.
Glad you enjoyed my report Giancarlo, I´ve seen yours and I liked the pictures as well. I think you are right regarding the meal quantity. Last summer took a couple of flights with LAN (SCL, GRU) and as you pointed out quality is what you find in their service. Will post 4 more reports this weekend including LAN Colombia. Thanks for the feedback.
I'm glad that you found AV to be nice, I usually find it bleh. As Giancarlo330 has said, latin airlines are a long way from what airlines from other continents offer in the soft product area. After trying CM and AM, I have to say that sadly the norm is rather mediocre. But I beg to differ on AV, it isn't the best airline around...but it has surely come a loooong way from how it was on its pre-Efromovich days.
The 787 is a huge improvement in some respects to the A332, but I reckon I'll take a long haul on the airbus rather than the boeing.
Compared to AM on the same route, both airlines have their pros and cons it seems, you can check on a future FR I'll write.
I've never seen BOG's inmigration area so crowded!!
Thank you Chibcha (this is something related to Colombia?, for your feedback and must tell you, I can´t wait to read your AM report. I guess high season was present during my journey. I hope AV can do better in the near future, but I can´t complain at anything. ¡Gracias por leer, saludos!
Thanks for sharing your first report with us! Lot's of good details and glad you enjoyed your flight. The AV 787 seems to offer an overall good experience.
Bienvenido Jonathan y gracias por compartir este primer reporte con nosotros.
Glad that you had a good experience with AV. I personally think that if you speak Spanish the treatment from the crew tends to be better. At least that was my experience when flying Latin American carriers and IB.
Sorry to read that you were ripped off by the private taxi service. I hope the rest of our stay was uneventful.
Flight-Report is a free website hosting more than 500 000 pictures and 17 000 reviews, without ads, this website can't exist. We understand that ads can be annoying, this is why we only display a maximum of 2 non-invasive ads per page.
To continue using Flight-Report, we invite you to add Flight-Report to your blocker's "white list".
#81 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
119 reviews
7 Comments
Thanks for your first flight report! Well done!
Giancarlo.
I'm glad that you found AV to be nice, I usually find it bleh. As Giancarlo330 has said, latin airlines are a long way from what airlines from other continents offer in the soft product area. After trying CM and AM, I have to say that sadly the norm is rather mediocre. But I beg to differ on AV, it isn't the best airline around...but it has surely come a loooong way from how it was on its pre-Efromovich days.
The 787 is a huge improvement in some respects to the A332, but I reckon I'll take a long haul on the airbus rather than the boeing.
Compared to AM on the same route, both airlines have their pros and cons it seems, you can check on a future FR I'll write.
I've never seen BOG's inmigration area so crowded!!
Gracias por compartir, saludos!
Welcome to Flight-Report!
Glad that you had a good experience with AV. I personally think that if you speak Spanish the treatment from the crew tends to be better. At least that was my experience when flying Latin American carriers and IB.
Sorry to read that you were ripped off by the private taxi service. I hope the rest of our stay was uneventful.
Login to post a comment.