6 reviews
Hello and welcome to another brand new series!
This series will cover my trip to South Africa, involving 11 flights (7 FRs), 7 airlines and many, many mistakes and unforgettable memories. I'll get to all of those as the series progresses.
But first, we start with the catalyst for this entire trip. I was browsing through Google Flights at 11PM, just slapping random places into the search engine and seeing what comes out (you know… completely normal behavior… right?) I do it occasionally when I'm bored and 90% of the time it yields nothing, but, if you're lucky, you get something special for that final 10%. That's how I stumbled upon this flight, going Lisbon-Maputo-Johannesburg for €345 roundtrip on LAM Mozambique. The fare isn't too special in itself (you get flights to Jo'burg for €300 somewhat regularly) but when it's on LAM Mozambique? That's what makes it special.
LAM Mozambique is the flag carrier of Mozambique and they re-introduced the route between Lisbon and Maputo in December 2023 after a 12 year hiatus. It's the airline's only long-haul route and since they don't actually have any planes capable of flying that route, they're wet leasing a Boeing 777-200ER from EuroAtlantic (a Portuguese carrier specializing in charter/leasing operations). So yeah, it's quite an interesting route and I had no idea what to expect going into it.
I aim to offset all of my CO2 emission from flights. All emissions are calculated using the ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator and I will be funding projects approved by The Gold Standard. The CO2 output for this flight is:
LIS → MPM → JNB: 554kg
Total for 2024 (so far): 1842kg
Here's the video version of this FR. It's got the same thing content wise.
The entrance to the airport - I just came off a flight from London, the arrivals area is very crowded behind me.
This airport actually have 2 terminals. T2 serves only LCCs (apart from easyJet) with the rest all departing out of T1. A free shuttle connects the two terminal together.
And here's the check-in area upstairs…
… it's technically 4 areas (lettered A-D).
Queueing for check-in. When I checked in, the staff member asked if I wanted my luggage to go to Maputo or Johannesburg, which is quite an unusual question considering I only have a 3 hour transfer. It did foreshadow a rather… interesting… time transiting through Mozambique.
Security took around 5 minutes and here's the duty-free area.
And there's also a food court. This airports reminds of Stanstead & Gatwick, my most hated airports. There's a lot of similarities: it uses the call-to-gate system (A.K.A the guess-the-gate system), it's very crowded and there's massive queues for everything. Unbelievably, T1 isn't that bad compared to T2. I flew out of T2 on my final flight of this trip (no FR) and it was so crowded I physically couldn't walk anywhere without getting pushed around - it was like walking around in Old Delhi in India (if you know… you know).
But it actually isn't my most hated airport (Stanstead still retains that prestige), mainly because you get some nice views of the apron - when your gate is announced and you can escape the mess that is the departures lounge.
See that plane on the left with the blue tail? That's our plane. Don't worry, I'll get a much better photo of her during boarding.
The non-Schengen gate area.
The terminal is quite unique here as it sticks out on either side of the parking stand. It means that you get really close to the planes - you can't really tell in the photo as I used my wide-angle lens on my phone. Anyway, here's a TAP Portugal A330-900 (CS-TUJ) heading to Belo Horizonte (CNF) in Brazil.
A photo of the seats here. You can see another TAP A330-900 with the 100th Aircraft sticker (CS-TUI) heading to Sao Paulo (GRU).
Flight time to Maputo will be 10 hours and here's our route.
And here's our plane parked on a remote stand:
Some information about our plane:
Type: Boeing 777-200ER
Registration: CS-TSW
First flight: 1 December 2003
Age: ~20 years
Config: C30/W24/Y239
Wearing the 30th Anniversary sticker, she was delivered to EuroAtlantic in August 2022. Before that, she flew with Alitalia for her entire life before being withdrawn by flag carrier in 2021.
Fun fact: This is my first time open boarding a wide-body since 2012. That was in Doha, Qatar when it was still the old international airport. I was 9 at the time and remember absolutely nothing except 'Wow! Big plane!'
EuroAtlantic didn't touch the cabin at all so to put it simply: we are flying on a LAM Mozambique flight operated by EuroAtlantic with an Alitalia cabin… simple!
Another photo of the tray table and IFE.
On each seat is a bag with a blanket, an amenity kit (which we'll look into later) and a pair of headphones.
The legroom is decent although there is that annoying IFE box which does reduce the amount of space you get quite a lot.
First views out of the window with another TAP A330-200 (CS-TOP) heading to Fortaleza (FOR), Brazil. Yeah, there's a reason why Lisbon's the main European hub for flights to Brazil.
I forgot to mention, we boarded 1 hour late due to "operational reasons", that delay reason will come up a lot on my return leg.
Pushing back 1 hour 25 minutes late.
Takeoff!! Bye bye Europe!
Climbing through the clouds.
One last photo before nightfall.
Lets have a look at the contents of the seatback pocket, which includes an air sickness bag…
… an a safety card. No inflight magazine on this flight (although LAM's Q400s does come with one).
Photo of the amenity kit. I'm very surprised that LAM gives out amenity kits, although I didn't get one on my return, so I'm not sure what's going on there.
Shortly after that, the crew came around with dinner. Now, I'd say I'm quite good at juggling airplane food around a tiny tray table, but this one? I admit defeat, so I'll photograph the main, eat it, then worry about what's in the box.
Ohh boy… where do we even start? There are two options, fish or chicken. I chose the chicken because the fish smells horrible, it's so bad you can smell it from the galley. To say it's underwhelming an understatement. It's basically a chicken breast fillet with 6 potatoes completely unseasoned apart from that tiny bit of gravy on the right. The only positive I can say about this is that it's edible - you won't enjoy eating it, but at least it won't make you sick.
Alright, having finished the main, I can put the container on my lap and open the box. I have no idea why they gave out a box rather than a tray, it makes it so annoying. It includes a bun, some jam/butter/salad dressing, a mousse…
… and this. I'm not sure if it meets the criteria to be described as a 'salad' but… sure. And yes, it's completely unseasoned. I guess they want you to add the salad dressing yourself, which will probably still end up tasting terrible. Needless to say, I didn't bother and left it.
Oh and by the way, they didn't give out a spoon, so you have to eat the mousse with either a knife or fork, which is just frustrating especially when it's so runny, as the photo shows.
I actually don't know how to review that meal. It just isn't in the same category of 'bad' as most airline meals that can be described that way (cough cough Lufthansa). The only word that can truly describe it is 'grim'. Also I'm not sure who's responsible for this, EuroAlantic or LAM, either way, they most definitely approached Cateringpor (the company that made this) and asked for the cheapest possible meal that is edible.
Anyway, lets have a look at the IFE before I go to sleep. The IFE uses a single-jack, which is the same as the headphones that's given out. Interestingly, however, they also gave out a double jack adaptor. The last time I got one of those was on Hainan Airlines in 2015. I still carry it around with me and use it on my own headphones so it's very nice to have a spare.
There is a grand total of 15 movies and about the same number of TV shows consisting of popular Western/Hollywood options. Despite the small selection, it's not too bad as it's all fairly recent popular movies so you'll at least find something interesting to watch/rewatch.
There's no route map available unfortunately.
Oh by the way, that IFE software is the same as you'd find on Norse Atlantic.
After that I slept for 3-4 hours and watched a movie.
Sunrise somewhere over Zambia.
Shortly after, the crew came around with breakfast. It's 4 slices of kiwi fruit, a croissant and a piece of chocolate bread. I would say that this is terrible considering that it's a 10 hour flight but looking at the quality of dinner, I'm just happy to get something that's edible.
Descending into Maputo.
Nice views of the Komati River.
On final approach over Maputo.
Welcome to Mozambique! We arrived 1 hour late.
(Below is a fairly long paragraph detailing my transfer here at MPM, TL;DR at the bottom).
I've always wondered when constructing these crazy, stupid itineraries if anyone else is insane enough to do this before. I kinda have this mini-goal of constructing an itinerary so bizarre that the staff/locals have never seen. It's obviously not something I think about when coming up with trips but I'm curious if I can do it one day. Turns out, achieving that goal is a lot simpler than I imagined, all I had to do was to transit through Maputo. Here's what happened:
So I had around 2 hours here before my next flight to Johannesburg. When I exited the jet bridge, there was a very kind member of staff holding a transit sign. She then directed me to immigration and told me to wait for her at baggage reclaim, which I wasn't expecting at all. Luckily, I do get visa-free entry into Mozambique, although you have to wait in a separate line so they can double-check your itinerary and pay the entry fee before heading to immigration and get your passport stamped.
The staff there was very kind to allow me to go to the front of the queue (after I told them I was transiting). The immigration officer looked at my 2 boarding passes, asked me if I was staying here (obviously not) and if I was going direct to Johannesburg (obviously yes). He then spoke to another person for a minute or two before informing me that I don't need to pay the entry fee or get a visa/stamp - a nice surprise! I was then led through immigration by the transit lady (who had to spend another minute explaining to the officer stamping passports why I don't need a stamp) to the baggage reclaim area.
It was at this point that it became very clear that I'm the first person (at least recently) to have done this, so I was super concerned if my bag was going to Johannesburg or if the crew just dumped it all on the baggage reclaim belt without checking the tags. Sadly, the lady didn't give me any time to check so I had to trust that the ground crews knew what they were doing.
And here we are at the check-in area. It took around 30 minutes for me to get here. The transit lady basically led me here and left so I'm (technically) in the country illegally, which is probably a loophole in the system.
TL;DR - I'm the first person to transit through Maputo internationally, the staff had no idea what the rules regarding international transfers are. After 30 minutes, I'm allowed through immigration to the landside area with no visa or entry stamp.
But no, the story isn't over yet. After I checked in (again) and passed through security, I now had to explain (in English) to another 2 immigration officers why I don't have an entry stamp in my passport. I basically stood there for 10 minutes repeating "no stamp, transiting from Lisbon to Johannesburg" and waving my 2 boarding passes while they flicked through my passport for the 10th time. It was only after I explained (and translated) every letter on my boarding pass that it finally clicked and they allowed me through. I was so relieved… until I realized that I had to go through the same thing in 2 weeks when I'm leaving. But that's a problem for future me to worry about.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that story. I'll end the FR here, I've got a couple domestic flights here in South Africa so thanks for reading and see you there!
P.S. Yes, my bag did arrive safely to Johannesburg, to my relief!
A rather disappointing flight with LAM Mozambique/EuroAtlantic. Obviously I wasn't expecting a lot going into it (charter airlines aren't known for their service) but I would've expected a bit more than this, especially on the catering side. Lets start with the positives: seats are comfortable with fairly good legroom, the IFE is fast and responsive and an amenity kit is given. The negatives? Food is terrible, it's bland and barely edible. IFE is very limited, but at least you have it, right? All in all, would I recommend them? No. If you are going to Maputo, I'd suggest going with TAP Portugal and their brand new A330neo.
Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) - Very crowded with very little to no spare seating. It's got a lot of duty-free stores and a food court but it's a fairly unpleasant experience overall.
Maputo International Airport (MPM) - Staff is very nice and friendly. My itinerary did confuse them quite a lot, but they tried their best. Aside from that, a small airport that gets quite crowded when a wide-body arrives.
12 Comments
It clearly changes from the usual suspects to SA, as it's the very first report showcasing MPM on a longhaul flight. And let's be honest, this experience is worth more than what the grades suggest. How was the load factor? Looks like an empty seat (or 2 ;-) ) next to you. With all the money saved for that trip, you can afford a nice restaurant at MPM or in Jozi.
So you became an avgeek at 9yo? Or after? ;-)
Transit is doubtless surreal, thanks to your flight choice you taught that staff in Mozambique a new procedure - haha
Many thanks for sharing - looking forward to more
The load factor was around 70%, I got lucky and got a spare seat next to me (just the one though). To be honest, I feel like most of that rating is because of my terrible return flight (no spoilers but lets say I... involuntarily... extended my stay in Joburg for a few days and had to sit in a boiling hot plane for 2 hours after that) but yeah... I actually didn't save that much with this flight, I came from London so had to pay for return flights to Lisbon and I (very annoyingly) found flights on Kenya going LHR-JNB for under £300 shortly after booking. But, as I said, it was a great deal to fly LAM/EuroAtlantic though.
I've flown regularly since I was 6 months old going between the UK and China at least twice a year. I guess I became an avgeek when I was a baby haha, my first memories are all in an airport being fascinated by the planes.
Yup, it was pretty crazy, especially when I was 'exiting' the country and had to explain my lack of stamp, I was genuinely scared they weren't gonna let me through for like 5 minutes. It seems like they've gotten used to transiting passengers by now though, since it was much smoother when I was leaving.
Thanks for reading!
What a unique livery and airplane!
I hate when this happens, one of my pet peeves. Happened the other day 😂
The story of transiting Maputo is hilarious. I guess I need to be prepared as I am flying in a few weeks there. Cannot wait to follow along with your trip as it is an interesting one. LAM was an airline I was considering for the trip due to the cheaper fares over TAP and TK. Thanks very much for sharing and this was very helpful. After the dreadeful food I’m not sure LAM is the way to go.
Thanks very much for sharing!
Regarding the transfer at MPM, it seems that they're much better prepared now (I was on one of the first flights), when i came back, there actually was a few passengers transiting and the staff seemed to understand the procedure by now. Although you still have to pass through immigration and explain the lack of a stamp.
I'm not too sure about their fares now, I did book it during a promotion when they first announced the route but yeah... I'd much rather pay a bit more for TAP or TK than deal with the terrible catering and the reliability (as you'll find out on my return flight).
Thanks for reading!
LAM seem to often have to wet-lease aircraft on this route. I assume they have technical issues with their small long-haul fleet.
I'm not surprised at all about the lack on content on the IFE, but wow...all those movies are like a decade old! haha. I mean I love Interstellar, but I've already seen it a bazillion times.
Yikes, the catering looks like a trip back in time to the dark days of the pandemic! Serving a meal in a cardboard box in 2024 just looks super cheap...plus the portions look tiny. That's not a lot to eat on such a long flight.
Wow, the 1st passenger to transit internationally through MPM (or at least in a long time)...that's pretty cool...and nerve-wracking at the same time considering it caused to much confusion. I'm really surprised to hear that considering that LAM sell Intl connections.
Very cool report as always! Thanks for sharing!
I don't think LAM have any long-haul planes. This is their first long-haul route for 12 years and it was only introduced in December. And, well, I think it's pretty obvious how little I know/watch movies since the selection didn't seem that old to me... although I've not seen most of them so I wouldn't know haha.
Yeah, I was really surprised when I realized I was the first. I was expecting at least one or two transiting passengers with me (this itinerary was booked on LAM's website) but it seems like 75% of the people are Portuguese and the other 25% Mozambican. As I mentioned, it's a new route so I presume international transfers weren't a thing before.
Thanks for reading!
The catering is a joke, I've never seen such a thing !
Transiting in Maputo was an experience you'll remember for a long time.
Are your going to report the return flight ?
Yes, there will be a FR on the return flight however it won't be out for a while (it's the last FR from this trip).
Cheaper to dump the boxes than to clean the trays. It really is a poorly executed version of the Chinese carrier domestic/regional catering model, which at least have better sized boxes to fit on the tray table along with the main. The catering looks pretty basic and unappetizing, which is not surprising for a charter airline. The arrival meal might appear small, but some US carriers offer less for the arrival meal of a TATL.
Yeah, Lisbon is pretty bad although unbelievably T1 isn't as bad as T2, where they cram 10+ LCC flights in a tiny building designed for not even half that...
Ahh, right. Not surprised it's another cost-saving technique, just wished they'd made is smaller so the whole thing fits, especially considering how little there is inside.
I've seen 6-7hr TATLs where tiny snacks were given out, but I really hope something more would be given out for a 10 hour flight? Then again, I wouldn't be surprised considering all the cost-cutting airlines have done post pandemic.
Thanks for reading!
At least on UA, the mid-range TATLs from ORD/IAH or IAH to South America in the 8-9.5h range only get yogurt and small packaged granola bar. West Coast should get a 2nd hot meal.
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