This trip is a continuation of my flight to GRU. I arrived into LIM on time and followed the Connecting Flights sign inside the Terminal. There were personnel posted by the security line to direct passengers to security for a second screening and back to the terminal. The process is pretty straightforward but it can back up if you are seating in Economy and you are one of the last passengers to get off the flight. TACA runs their connections at about the same time and that can further slow things down.
The inside of LIM airport is modern and there are nice restaurants and good shops. As a matter of fact, LIM is now the best airport in Latin America according to some thanks to the Germans and Fraport administration. LAN also did a strategic move by creating a hub here when Faucett and Aeroperu failed. I stopped by the Sumaq lounge and it was full to the brim, so I decided to walk around the terminal and visit the shops. Sorry I did not take any pics of the lounge. Pretty soon it was time to board the continuing flight to Sao Paulo and priority was given to connecting passengers from San Francisco.
FA's offered pre-departure beverages along with newspapers, magazines and a simplified version of the amenity kit without toiletries. To be honest I was surprised that an amentiy kit was even offered for an intra-South American flight of about 4:30 hrs. This kit just has eye shades, a pen, earplugs, and socks. I like that all their kits have pens, so you always have a pen handy for the forms.
FA distributing newspapers, magazines and simplified amenity kit
The flight was fairly empty and the seat next to me was vacant. Service consisted of a light snack which fit well with the schedule, although I would have preferred a light breakfast before arrival instead.
Pisco sour with nuts
Snack
After the meal my neighbor sitting across the aisle started snoring and I turned on the Do Not Disturb sign which appeared on my TV screen.
SAO PAULO
Sao Paulo is massive and likes big titles - Brazil's largest, most ethnically diverse city is also its main financial center ranking as the 10th richest city in the world and expected to occupy 6th place by 2025. However, it is also a place with huge social disparities and challenging urban problems - pollution, crime and traffic congestion being the main ones. Before coming to Sao Paulo, I had my concerns about crime here. When you read that it is common to have most SUV's bulletproof and that cars slow down instead of stopping at red lights at night in certain areas of the city for fear of carjacking, that voice in the back of your head questioning your decision to visit gets harder to ignore. Luckily nothing happened to me during my visit. I stayed with friends in safe neighborhoods and was vigilant whenever I went. There are some places where you should never let your guard down and Brazil is one of them. Crime aside, my experience in this country has been very rewarding and I have found Brazilians in general to be warm, open and helpful.
Arriving into Sao Paulo
When you approach Sao Paulo from the plane, you start to grasp the enormity of this place. Building specks dotting the landscape start to appear and as you descend, you start to see buildings stretching all around underneath. This massive concrete jungle extends for miles upon miles and suddenly you are overwhelmed by its sheer size. Eventually you realize that you are landing into one of the biggest cities in the world - an Alpha World City with an area that covers 588 square miles and with a population of 11,037,593 people.
Some interesting planes @ GRU
Arrival was on time and Immigrations and Customs was a breeze. However, my first impression of GRU was not very positive. It is a dull and utilitarian airport lacking any visual aesthetics. To makes matter worse it felt very small for being the airport of a major world city. It certainly was not representative of the caliber of the city it serves.
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Verdict
LAN Peru
8.3/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering7.0
Independent Sumaq VIP Lounge
6.8/10
Comfort7.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Services7.0
Lima - LIM
8.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.5
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.5
Sao Paulo - GRU
7.8/10
Efficiency8.5
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5
Conclusion
I usually don't like red eye flights because it does not allow you to enjoy the full extent of services of the cabin that you are traveling. Most meals are a simplified affair and interactions with the crew are kept at a minimum in order to allow people to rest. In addition, it's hard for me to get any sleep on a plane, so I keep myself entertained with books and movies.
Having said that, LP performed well on this flight and the FA's were polite and efficient. The snack was adequate and I appreciate the nice apple tart/cake for dessert. I seems that LAN tends to make an effort to serve decent desserts on lunch and dinner flights.
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Due to the departing time of this flight, I guess they want to maximize sleep for those who prefer to do that. I find it puzzling that on some flights that depart at this same time LAN chooses to serve a breakfast instead of snack.
I understand your point on the late snack vs. breakfast, but on such eastward night flights, I find it easier to catch initial sleep by skipping the dinner, rather than hoping that I would keep sleeping during breakfast. If breakfast is served, people start sorting their mess, moving around and are overall a lot more noisier, even if they do try to be quiet. On the other hand, anybody would have had dinner before boarding a flight departing that late, so the snack is really useless. Together to the pictures of the boundless urban sprawl, your interesting presentation of Sao Paulo is not very appealing. What do you like best : wait for ages through Immigration and for your luggage in a beautiful terminal, or go through a dull one like a breeze ? ;) Thanks for this report !
I think that there are always a couple of people who will refuse the snack at this departing hour. I wonder how many meals LAN boards in the front. This could actually save them some money on catering. It is assumed that a breakfast with protein like eggs would keep you awake for some time so I can see the argument for serving breakfast.
Sao Paulo is a huge city and my arriving pictures tried to convey the expansion of this big sprawl. As for GRU airport, of course I would prefer efficiency over aesthetics. The problem is that with its current facility, GRU feels crowded and is in need of a good renovation and expansion. I went through Immigrations and Customs because my flight was the only one at the carrousel at the time. I would hate to imgagine how this is like during peak hours.
Thanks for this report, I agree with lagentsecret catering is on the weak side and it would make a lot more sense to offer a full breakfast prior the arrival.
I had 2 flight in J with LAN and I was pleasantly surprised by the food, they are in french but if you wanna have a look: http://flight-report.com/en/report-1719.html http://flight-report.com/en/report-1953.html
Cabin is pleasant and I really like the duvet, it makes for a very comfortable bed yet a bit a narrow.
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16 reviews
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5 Comments
The collation seems to be quite light for a notwithstanding 4:30 flight
Together to the pictures of the boundless urban sprawl, your interesting presentation of Sao Paulo is not very appealing. What do you like best : wait for ages through Immigration and for your luggage in a beautiful terminal, or go through a dull one like a breeze ? ;)
Thanks for this report !
Sao Paulo is a huge city and my arriving pictures tried to convey the expansion of this big sprawl. As for GRU airport, of course I would prefer efficiency over aesthetics. The problem is that with its current facility, GRU feels crowded and is in need of a good renovation and expansion. I went through Immigrations and Customs because my flight was the only one at the carrousel at the time. I would hate to imgagine how this is like during peak hours.
Thx for your comments.
I had 2 flight in J with LAN and I was pleasantly surprised by the food, they are in french but if you wanna have a look:
http://flight-report.com/en/report-1719.html
http://flight-report.com/en/report-1953.html
Cabin is pleasant and I really like the duvet, it makes for a very comfortable bed yet a bit a narrow.
Thanks again ;)
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