Dear All,
Wondering what happened with my old nickname of ''GIANCARLO330'' now I will be known as a 4 engine ''GIANCARLO340'' :-)
Just a quick report involving a relatively new service that started in May 2016 from London Gatwick to Lima Peru by British Airways. The route operates 3 times a week during Summer and reduces to twice a week during Winter Season. The aircraft operating this flight is a Boeing 777-200 ER with 48 seats in Club World, 24 seats in World Traveller Plus and 203 in World Traveller.
Check in was a Breeze at Lima, after a friendly chat with the check in agent I headed to the SUMAQ VIP Lounge for a light snack and a refreshing Pisco Sour.
Lima New Duty Free Area
Open Bar at Sumaq Lounge
Boarding started on time by Gate 19, a friendly crew gave me the welcome at door 2L and pointed me to my seat at the mini cabin of Club World.
Welcome Drink, as usual bubbles ( Henriot Brut )
Lima , as usual very busy…next to us an Avianca Ecuador A-319 and an Air France Boeing 777-300 ER non stop to CDG.
Menu was handed out for Dinner and Breakfast.
Door were closed on time and the aircraft taxied to Runway 15, after 25 minutes waiting for clearance because of traffic we took off and made a right turn towards the NE, Flight time of 11hrs50mins.
Dinner service started as standard BA Club World fare.
Remembering my Greek Summer Holidays :)
Movie time and sleep!
Good Morning Europe!
Lovely trip report! I traveled that same route (LGW-LIM-LGW) and the LIM to LGW flight was quite empty! Glad to hear that the flights are doing quite well. Cheers!
Hi Sebastian, this has been the third time I have taken this flight to Lima and all of them it has been completely full in Economy/Premium Economy and a solid 70% in Business. I also noticed plenty of cargo in the holds from and to London. Cheers!
Thanks for replying! Really appreciate it, Sorry to bother you again, but i just got the news that BA flights to Lima werent doing well, thus canceling their flights next winter and only winter, meaning they would only operate between April to October. May I get your thought on this? Best Regards
https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2017/03/23/british-airways-cancels-winter-flights-lima/
Hi Sebastian, thanks for your comment. I have taken this flight 3 times already and I have seen the loads are pretty well as also I could notice a good amount of cargo going to and coming from London. Cheers!
Nice report! The Sumaq lounge is ok, but I wish LATAM would open their own lounge at LIM, being that it is a hub, that was all oneworld airlines can use it. The Sumaq lounge just gets too crowded.
I found it odd that BA decided to make LIM an LGW destination, which really limits connections, but it seems that the flights have been full, so they must be doing well. I get that BA feel LIM is a "leisure" destination, but one would thing there is also a potential for quite a bit of Business traffic that would prefer LHR, considering the size of Lima.
Thanks for sharing this FR on this new route! P.S. your previous account Giancarlo330 is still active. You can use the password recovery function on your My Account page, or send us a message via the Contact us button.
Thanks Kevin! I tried but i never got the link on my e-mail. Yes, BA decided LGW because they consider LIM as a leisure destination and they leave the important Business traffic to IBERIA via Madrid. The high 48J configuration of the 777 based in LGW also helps with the high demand of Business Class leisure travel of passengers originating in the UK. This flight is meant for the UK-Peru high demand tourism market. That should explain the BA strategy for Lima.
All the best!