Review of LATAM flight Rosario Sao Paulo in Economy

Airline LATAM
Flight LA8131
Class Economy
Seat 32F
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 02:45
Take-off 28 May 18, 18:20
Arrival at 28 May 18, 21:05
LA   #35 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 212 reviews
viajero90
By 623
Published on 21st June 2018
Hello everyone!
This is the first part of a series of reports from my last trip to Mexico this month. After a couple of years I had the chance to depart from my hometown airport instead of Buenos Aires. The other times, because of the destinations I chose there weren’t any quick connections, or the prices were extremely high. This time I found a great option leaving from Rosario, which was extremely comfortable. Last time I flew out from ROS was during the first week of operations of the route ROS-GRU on TAM (before LATAM era). This was the beginning of an exponential growth of international passengers leaving ROS.


The flights were:

- ROS-GRU with LATAM Airbus 321 YOU ARE HERE!
- GRU-MEX with LATAM Boeing 767-300
- MEX-CUN with Volaris Airbus 320
- CUN-MEX with Volaris Airbus 320
- MEX-GRU with LATAM Boeing 767-300
- GRU-ROS with LATAM Airbus 321

Let’s begin!

LA8131
Date: 28/05/18
Origin: Rosario – Islas Malvinas ROS
Destination: Sao Paulo – Guarulhos GRU
Dep: 18.20 (18.30 real)
Arr: 21.05 (21.05 aprox real)

On that day I arrived the airport like 2 hours before departures. My parents drove me. The day I landed back in Rosario, the transport authority launched a new express bus service connecting the airport, the bus station and city centre. A great option! During the ride I followed the plane on Flightradar24, it was coming from SCL (some days the route is GRU-ROS-SCL-ROS-GRU).

Entrance

photo 1

Soon as I arrived I went to LATAM counters, there was a big line. It was moving very slow. There were only 3 agents registering passengers. I had already checked in through LATAM’s app 48 hours ago, but there was only one line for all the passengers. There was only one counter for status passengers and for those with special needs. Almost one hour later it was my turn. The agent asked me my final destination and dispatched my suitcase.

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Departures hall

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There was still some time left for my flight’s departure. I went to the upper floor; there is a corridor with big windows with great views to the platform. The platform was recently rebuilt and enlarged to host more aircrafts. Slowly the airport is being improved. Soon they will start building a new passenger terminal. From there you could see a LATAM Peru Airbus 320. A few minutes later I spotted the LATAM Airbus 321 (PT-MXM) landing from SCL. Then they announced that this flight had arrived and they asked LA8131 passengers to proceed to the gate.

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I went to the ground floor to gate number 5. When you enter you pass through Airport Security Police (PSA) controls, and then through migrations. Once there you get to departures lounge. This area has a little tiny Duty Free shop, and a small cafeteria. This place is also being improved and enlarged. It was crowded, and too tight to hold the passengers of an A321. But I only stayed there less than 30 minutes.

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At 17.45 they announced the boarding process. First Oneworld status passengers and those with special needs and little children. Then people with seats on the front part of the airplane, then people on the back part. The passengers were mostly people from Rosario, connecting in GRU to other cities, especially in North America and Europe. There were also some 4-5 Chilean passengers coming from SCL and continuing to GRU.

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When the line was moving, the agents were controlling boarding passes and showed us the way to two busses. The way from the gate to the stairs to the airplane was like 150 meters. But safety is very important! Haha. Before the airport brought the busses, you just walked towards the airplane.

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I boarded on the back door. I like this because you can see very well the aircraft!

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My seat was 32F; thankfully the middle seat was empty.

Legroom

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Reading material

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At 18.30 we took off towards the north and then east. I had some nice views of my city’s lights.

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Flight path

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Aprox 45 minutes after takeoff, the FAs started serving the meal. It consisted of a cheese and ham sandwich, a bonbon (a tasty candy from Argentina made with peanut butter) and a drink (coffee, tea, soft drinks, water).

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During the flight the entertainment system through wifi was available on LATAM Play app. It has a nice selection of films, TV series, music, documentaries, and more. My favorite part is the flight map. This plane doesn’t have USB plugs, so I preferred to enjoy the flight without using much this app.

At 20.30 we started turning around over Sao Paulo, and the captain announced we were about to land.

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At 21.30 we landed punctually.

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My seat row

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The airplane was taken to the platform near Terminal 3 and we disembarked through stairs on the front door. We were taken by bus to the Terminal building. I could spot far away an Emirates Airbus 380 which is the only one that operates in South America on a regular basis. There I followes the way to connections…

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Coming soon: GRU-MEX flight on LATAM Boeing 767-300
See more

Verdict

LATAM

7.5/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering7.0

Rosario - ROS

6.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services3.0
Cleanliness7.0

Sao Paulo - GRU

7.3/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

It was a nice short flight. I really love departing from my city without travelling to Buenos Aires first (we are almost 300 km away). The meal was ok for a 2.15 hours flight. And the entertainment system they offer is really great. The only bad thing is that they don’t have USB outlet to charge your device.

Related

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 451402 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.
    The sandwich is a little disappointing on 2,5 hour flight (compared to AR or AM), but with LA offering BoB on many flighs, it's still better than nothing.
    I like the tones of the cabin.
    • Comment 451418 by
      viajero90 AUTHOR 106 Comments
      Thanks for the comment!
      I think that a free sandwich for a 2.5 hour flight it's fine...I can't pretend to get served a full hot meal on a such a short time...maybe in another era haha!
  • Comment 451404 by
    Pilpintu TEAM 997 Comments
    Hola!! Tanto tiempo!

    I had the chance to depart from my hometown airport instead of Buenos Aires

    Eso me da mucha envidia. Mi aeropuerto local tiene un solo destino!! :(

    Then people with seats on the front part of the airplane, then people on the back part.

    Qué suerte tienen en Argentina! Aquí en Chile era así hasta hace poco, pero ahora Latam nos pone a todos en una sola fila y el embarque se vuelve lentíiiiisimo. Caos total. :'''(

    There were also some 4-5 Chilean passengers coming from SCL

    Por supuesto! Somos el alma de la fiesta! XD (Cuida tu billetera!!) XDDD

    bonbon (a tasty candy from Argentina made with peanut butter)

    Súper populares en Chile también. Los fabrica Arcor, verdad? Y ahora hay de coco, pero no los he probado todavía. Hace años Arcor compró la empresa de caramelos más importante de Chile (Dos En Uno), pero mantuvieron la marca para que la gente siguiera indentificándose con los productos.

    Gracias por compartir. Te cuento que en julio voy a estar viajando por Argentina. De Valdivia voy a ir en bus a Bariloche, y desde ahí volaré en Andes a Buenos Aires y a Puerto Iguazú. Estuve a punto de incluir un vuelo en Flybondi a Rosario o Córdoba, pero sería un itinerario muy apretado. Así que te dejo a ti el privilegio de escribir el primer FR de Flybondi! :D
    • Comment 451419 by
      viajero90 AUTHOR 106 Comments
      Muchas gracias! Me alegro que te haya gustado el reporte.
      - La mayoria de los aeropuertos del interior argentino tienen un solo destino...Aeroparque :( de a poco eso va cambiando :)
      - Que lindo ir a Bariloche en invierno! Mi ultima vez allá fue en 2008, en el tipico viaje de fin de curso que hacemos los argentinos. Ojalá Flybondi llegue a Rosario! Hasta ahora no hay nada anunciado, pero no nos vendría nada mal tener una lowcost operando acá!
      Saludos!!
  • Comment 451408 by
    AK 1085 Comments
    Thank you for sharing ! It must be so much better to leave from your home city instead BA.... I am looking forward to see the next flights !
  • Comment 451525 by
    joaointhesky 68 Comments
    Thanks for the report mate! This kind of flight is very important for Argentina's smaller cities. On July 3 Azul starts a three-weekly POA-ROS route with the E195s. Two days before, I'll be on the inaugural POA-COR operation. Just can't wait!
    I'm already looking forward to your next reports.
    Gracias!

    João

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