Wishing everyone a very happy 2016 with many flights to report this new year!
This flight started a day before with the crossing from London LHR to Miami aboard BA A-380 in Club World. Report will come later today.
My day started early in Miami as I had some quick shopping to do before heading back to MIA. I was booked in AA flight 972 with non stop service to beautiful and tasteful Lima in one of their refurbished Boeing 767's that normally operate this route together with the International configured 757's.
I had already selected seat 2A ( I do love seating on the left side ) and being just in front assured me of getting drinks and meals first!
I checked in very quick with a friendly lady and then proceeded to the departure area. I discovered (with my dismay) that the Admirals Club was going for some renovations, so they created a temporary lounge in an open area. Now, as we all know what are the quality levels of the general north american carriers lounge I will go directly to the flight portion as I don't want to discuss much about processed cheeses, veggies , cookies and vouchers for ''premium'' drinks.
Temporary lounge @ D15
737 getting ready!
Boarding started as stated in the BP. Departure gate was D4.
My first impression of the cabin was very positive. It looked elegant and spacious. I was welcomed by the Peruvian cabin crew serving AA flights from Lima to Miami and vv. together with some select Latin American destinations. I was served on today's flight by a great lady from Lima that was part of the first class of AA Lima in 1990. 25 years of service, pretty amazing!
Getting settled…
Now, here comes the nicest part ever! I am glad to report that AA has done a big improvement on their service to Lima, now the full International Flagship service has been introduced on this flight that used to see a much more discreet offer for many years.I guess competition is strong to Lima as LAN has a decent Business Class together with Avianca on their A-330's and connecting airlines like Delta and United offer their full premium service to Lima from their hubs.
Here is a look at the menu offered for today, please take note this flight will only take 5hours and 20 minutes and they do offer a full lunch together with an impressive snack service before landing.
Proper champagne has finally been introduced, no prosecco anymore or cheap sparkling from California.
Amenity kit was also given , I got the US Airways heritage one. Collection completed!
Push back in time and we headed to runway 9…
Take off and made a right turn towards Key Biscayne, Cuba, Grand Cayman,Panama, Ecuador and Peru
Tablets were handed out together with BOSE QC15 headphones. The tablet had some great content including famous tv sitcoms,movies and games for the little ones.
Lunch service started with the usual peanuts and my preference of a decent australian white
Amazing appetizer A little overcooked beef but the sauce helped to make it juicer and more tender, the dish was pretty good
Argentinian red malbec
Amazing winter caribbean weather (No CB's around!!!)
The best part of the meal, ice cream sundae with everything!!!
After lunch I had a long talk with the cabin crew in the galley, mostly the big differences in service from some american cabin crew members that we all know what I'm talking about. I only wish that the peruvian crew flew all my AA sectors! hahaha everyone was sweet, very well educated and prompt to refill drinks, bread and in general any desire even after meal service was completed.
An hour before descent the snack was served. I was impressed with the selection of serrano ham(that is not cheap at all in the USA). Quality was excellent , you can note that it doesn't have any fat and the quality of the mozzarella di bufala was outstanding too. The antipasto was served with a bruschetta which was very fresh and nicely presented with chopped tomatoes.
We started descent at 20:40 local peruvian time and made the approach and landing in runway 15. Lima Jorge Chavez Airport was awarded once again the Best South American airport in 205, go figure why? It is well known the airport is very congested (capacity built for 12million pax/year/current at 17million pax/year) and according to the State the construction of the new runway 15R and the terminal 2 will start late this year , there has been considerable delay on the project due to the capacity of the State to take over the private land next to the airport in Callao and transfer it to the private operator that is Fraport aka Lima Airport Partners - LAP.
Gate 19 - Iberia's newest livery A340-600 and KLM Boeing 777-300ER back to Europe at the same time (21:30)
Immigration control was quick and baggage with Priority label was delived after 10 minutes of wait in the baggage claim area.
See more
Verdict
American Airlines
8.5/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering8.5
American Airlines Admirals Club (Concourse D)
2.0/10
Comfort2.0
Meal/catering2.0
Entertainment/wifi2.0
Services2.0
Miami - MIA
6.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness4.0
Lima - LIM
8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
AA proved they can do great when they want to. It is sad though that stantards are not the same within the same carrier and varies a lot between bases and age groups. Lima based crew was fantastic, everyone was properly dressed and groomed, very professional and educated interaction with every single passenger.
AA has improved their catering and wine selection and it really took a smile from me to see that this route is treated with such an exellent dedication, specially because of the relatively short duration of the flight.
I will return back to Europe via Dallas in the 757. That means DFW base crew and sadly I will again run my expectations low...
Thank you everyone for reading, please feel free to contact me for any doubt or feedback!
GC.
1 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Hi Giancarlo330, great report, definitely a nice read for me, since I am planning on taking exactly the same flights (LIM-MIA on AA +MIA-LHR on BA) in business later in the year! It is good to see that AA product in this route has improved and it is now competitive. For AA's refurnished 767's, certainly beats LA's old 767's in terms of hard product from what I can see. Neither can I believe how LIM has been denominated The best airport in south America once again. It is really frustrating and I think even harmful, since LAP keeps advertising that... Without willing to get into politics I think both parts are failing there. Obviously the Peruvian Government for once again failing to do their work on time, but also LAP for having a laid back attitude against bureaucracy and inefficiency. Now it is pretty normal to have more than half an hour wait for takeoff. Cheers!
Hi 767, if possible try to get AA 767 and do confirm the configuration to the new CIP 767 before booking as I understand that starting June they will send the old configuration back, and of course try to avoid the old 757 (even though they have angle lie flat is not as comfy). Concerning LIM , go figure...its what it is...keep waiting ;)
I've also enjoyed my flights on AA's retrofitted 767 in J. You are so right about AA being so inconsistent with service between hubs and routes. For example, I've often found Miami based crews to be less friendly that those based in other hubs. I haven't seen a report on the LIM-DFW flight on the 757 with NGBC seats. I'm doing this flight in a few months so was looking for a report on the 757 in J. IAD-DFW-LIM vv had the best schedule for me, better than via MIA. but it meant 757 instead on 767 both ways. In your opinion, where are the best seats on the 757. I chose row 1 on DFW-LIM as I heard there was more room in the 1st row.
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3 Comments
Cheers!
767traveller
Have safe travels,
GC.
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