Review of TAM flight Sao Paulo Santiago in Business

Airline TAM
Flight JJ8072
Class Business
Seat 3F
Aircraft Airbus A320
Flight time 04:30
Take-off 24 Dec 13, 16:35
Arrival at 24 Dec 13, 20:05
JJ 43 reviews
Bo
By 6522
Published on 16th April 2014
photo IMG_20131224_101840

Welcome to my flight trip report. This report will cover my flight on Christmas eve from Sao Paulo to Santiago de Chile. This trip was booked in September as a part of my EWR-GRU-SCL, LIM-IAH-EWR for the winter. I thought it was a nice idea to use the $2000 business class fare available through UA to sample the regional premium product offered by TAM since JJ hardly ever release any premium cabin award to partners (although this has changed since March this year as a result of LAN take over). The booking process was a bit complicated as united.com was unable to offer routings through GRU but rather was forcing the fare on Copa via PTY on 737s, which is not a great deal given the aircrafts' domestic configuration.

I arrived at GRU transfer desk (actually just a gate) from my incoming UA flight about 4 hours before my flight on JJ. Lacking a visa to enter Brazil, I had to stay airside for my transit. I had a little trouble in locating a place to get my onwards boarding pass since there was no signs whatsoever about transfer desks. I had to convince the security agents manning the transfer security to allow me through without a boarding pass. Once cleared, I found my way to a staffed gate and requested my boarding pass. JJ has cut cost to give supermarket receipt type boarding passes even for international flights. Once this is issued, I was on my way to the newly renovated TAM lounge in terminal B.

photo IMG_20131224_152553

The business class/*G lounge is one level above the departures level. The area hosts many lounges including AA, DL, JJ, as well as a specialized lounge only for LH/LX F and HON passengers. JJ also has a small F lounge on the other side of the terminal building.

photo IMG_20131224_153145

The LH/LX F only lounge


photo IMG_20131224_102514

For some reason it took a little bit work to convince the agent to let me into the lounge. I am still a bit confused over this since it is pretty obvious to me that a TAM J boarding pass should be sufficient for lounge access in any given case. Pictured is my carry on while awaiting agents to sort it out.

photo IMG_20131224_102818

Once inside, the lounge is not crowded at all. I settled in the middle section and the only other occupant was a couple in the TV room.

photo IMG_20131224_102859

The lounge has been recently renovated and looks very modern and clean.

photo IMG_20131224_102918

The lounge has windows, but they are all closed off and it seems like the owner did not really want pax to see outside - maybe not a very pretty view.

photo IMG_20131224_102936

It was during local meal time (around 2pm) but the lounge did not have any hot food. Some nice snacks though.

photo IMG_20131224_102941

Lots of local wines

photo IMG_20131224_103001

Finger sandwiches.

photo IMG_20131224_103444

I very much liked the small piece of bread on the plate. I don't know what it is called and did not see it again during the rest of my trip.

photo IMG_20131224_103220

The lounge is decorated with some interesting old pictures of TAM's operations.

photo IMG_20131224_142101

Departure board in the lounge. It's a pretty busy evening with international departures.

photo IMG_20131224_153341

I decided to leave the lounge a little bit early and do a little bit spotting in the airport. I don't frequent South America and GRU, like IST, has lots of interesting carriers.

photo IMG_20131224_153910

AZ going to FCO. I hope you guys stay in business until I fly you in September.

photo IMG_20131224_154108

Push back

photo IMG_8295

Spotted this rare bird. I have always wanted to fly the southernly trans ocean routes, namely SCL-SYD-JNB-GRU. However they are all extremely expensive and hard to come by :(

photo IMG_8297

AV at GRU

photo IMG_8296

Waiting area in the airport. The terminal is not in its best shape and the cafes are outrageously expensive.

photo IMG_8298

Another look

photo IMG_20131224_154231

Back to the gate area. Boarding was almost ready to go.

photo IMG_20131224_155854

I was asked to show a return ticket at gate which I thought was odd. Nevertheless I showed it to the agent and boarded seconds after. Onboard the aircraft felt refreshing and full long haul pillow/bedding was provided. I appreciated the nice and thick blanket but the pillow felt way too large for this recliner seat.

photo IMG_20131224_192823

Regarding the seat I also liked the headrest adjustment features which greatly enhanced my comfort.

photo IMG_20131224_192833

Leg room is 39'' and pretty good for this 3.5 hrs flight

photo IMG_20131224_161441

A printed menu is provided. Because of the iberia meal hours this 4-8pm flight will have a snack served and thus a one-tray service.

photo IMG_20131224_170130

We soon took off. Curtain up front was soon closed. The crew member working the front cabin came out and introduced himself to every passenger personally and wished us enjoy today's flight.

photo IMG_20131224_170113

I quickly flipped through the inflight magazine provided and found it a pleasant reading. TAM's magazine is of probably the highest quality of print of all airline inflight magazines. Advertisement were moderate. Though it was in Portuguese and Spanish only.

photo IMG_20131224_170355

LANTAM's network map

photo IMG_20131224_173732

It looked beautiful outside. Meal order was taken at this time.

photo IMG_20131224_174745

This snack is warm and I suppose this could qualify as lunch on a 3.5 hrs flight on a North American carrier.


photo IMG_20131224_183341

Coffee was much needed at this point. I really liked the cup they served coffee in.

photo IMG_20131224_195245

About an hour after our snack the plane started to fly over the Andes. The captain informed us that we were just a little bit west of Mendoza.

photo IMG_20131224_195424

Most passengers took out their cameras and started taking pictures. It was a very clear day.

photo IMG_20131224_183911

A final water refill was provided before landing.

photo IMG_20131224_201726

Touchdown at SCL. A number of years ago my bag that was suppose to go to SLC got tagged to SCL and DL said it ended up here. I'm sure it's long gone but I still made an inquiry at the airport.

photo IMG_20131224_201941

Awaiting to deplane.

photo IMG_20131224_203728

Recent arrivals. SCL is not a particularly busy intercontinental hub. Most flights in and out are LA/JJ group flights with a solo DL flight and some AA flights arriving in the morning. UA mainline doesn't serve SCL anymore and Copa's 737 is not desirable for a 7 hours trip from PTY. I think LX used to fly SCL-GRU but that has been discontinued. AC's EZE service still stops at SCL though. On the upside, AF has its CDG flight and QF moved its SYD-EZE to SYD-SCL 3x weekly. As AR is about to discontinue EZE-SYD, the only southern transpacific flights will be LA SCL-AKL-SYD and QF SYD-SCL. I can see this getting very expensive really fast.

photo IMG_20131224_203745

Baggage retrieving area.

photo IMG_20131225_070814

Immigration was pretty fast and I watched a number of Americans shocked by the $160 reciprocity fee (abolished earlier this year as Chileans no longer need a visa to enter the USA). I took a taxi for the city.


Toursim bonus

So this is a touristic trip. I was just on vacation. Here are a few photos!

photo IMG_20131228_135820

This is the upscale area of Providencia. I was very surprised by this as it looked so much like LA and southern CA. The car culture was similar too. I have been to BsAs a number of times and saw both the nice (european) and not so nice sides of the city. I was somewhat expecting a similar set up as BsAs but I was totally wrong on this one.

photo IMG_1403

I lodged at the Park Tower. It is essentially an enhanced quality attachment to the Sheraton. It was a very nice hotel at a pretty good location. Chile is a prosperous country but the hotels industry somehow didn't catch up to speed. It was a little bit difficult in locating a nice hotel that is not so out of the way (conventions centers in most cases).

photo IMG_1400

View of the city taken from my hotel room.

The next day we went for a walk in centro which was very nice. I liked the national drink a lot! Please see below for some pictures.





WHAT'S NEXT:

I will post SCL-IPC-SCL and my quick tour of Easter Island soon (Y). I will also post EWR-GRU (J) and LIM-IAH (J) on UA in the next months or so. Those are all coming from the same trip this past winter.

I have some pictures that could translate into a few trip reports of now discontinued flights taken in 2011-2012. I won't post all of them so please voice below in the comments section which ones you would like to see the most:

1. AZ FCO-PEK Classica Plus
2. AF PNH-BKK Business
3. KL BKK-TPE Business
4. DL DTW-HKG Business
5. UA IST-EWR Business


Also, over the summer I'm booked on BA004 JFK-LCY, a BA 787 in J, an Air Algerie widebody (767) in J, QR CMN-DOH, DOH-JFK, and CX EWR-HKG RT in Premium Eco. Hope you will enjoy :)













See more

Verdict

TAM

6.1/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi2.5
Meal/catering4.0

TAM Business and First Lounge

6.9/10
Comfort6.5
Meal/catering6.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services6.5

Sao Paulo - GRU

5.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access4.0
Services3.0
Cleanliness4.0

Santiago - SCL

9.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Overall the flight was a solid experience. I would defiantly want to fly with TAM again. Now that they are in OW I hope to use my BA AVIOs for some no fuel surcharge ex-BRS redemptions. Cheers :)

Information on the route Sao Paulo (GRU) Santiago (SCL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Sao Paulo (GRU) → Santiago (SCL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est LATAM avec 7.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 4 heures et 13 minutes.

  More information

12 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 105995 by
    AirCanada881 1616 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR. Your photos are absolutely stunning. I've always wanted to go to South America but am afraid of safety concerns...

    Business class product most acceptable for a medium haul flight. thanks again.
  • Comment 106004 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this rare report with great tourist bonus and pictures.

    I like to collect boarding passes and I hate this practice of issuing supermarket receipts. When I flew JJ domestically, I thought that this was only the case on intra-Brazilian flights, but as your report shows, that is not the case. However, I believe that you still get a regular boarding pass if your flights start outside of Brazil, (eg. from the USA or Europe).

    Portions seem a bit deficient and I have always wondered about the mismatching aspect of JJ's chinaware. I guess they could be interpreted as original but to me they lack the elegance and consistency of a premium cabin look.
    • Comment 292616 by
      jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
      I believe that your suspicion about not finding cheese bread in Macau might be right. In SFO I have never seen pão de queijo in Chinese bakeries that also carry Portuguese tarts or pastel de nata.

      In general, Asians palates don't usually have an appreciation for Western cheeses, preferring much milder versions if they consume it at all. In addition, pão de queijo is made with cassava or corn flour, which are ingredients that are native to the New World and considered exotic outside of their native land. I'm a bit surprised that Brazilians have not adopted pastel de nata and now that you mention it I have never came across it while visiting there.

      I wish you luck in your quest in Macau. In this era of globalization you might get an unexpected surprise and perhaps you might run into a Brazilian baker that has moved there.
    • Comment 292509 by
      jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
      The piece of bread you had might be pão de queijo or cheese bread. They are very addictive. ;)
    • Comment 292565 by
      Bo AUTHOR 15 Comments
      Thank you. I will try to hunt for pão de queijo when I go to Macao later this year. I suspect that it might be something Brazilian rather than for the Lusophone world though as I have never seen it in Portugal. Also that Brazilians tend to not know what pastel de nata is.
  • Comment 106069 by
    lagentsecret 12186 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR

    Beautiful pictures

    The lounge food's offer is very poor

    So is the onboard catering, not appetizing at all

    I prefer the comment before the pictures :) it's easier than having to roll back to look at the picture again after having read the comment

    Great tourist bonus

    I'd like to see the UA IST-EWR flight

  • Comment 106081 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6658 Comments
    Thanks for sharing! Great report with good pics. Definitely a solid product for medium-haul business class.
  • Comment 106106 by
    Alcam 2068 Comments
    Thanks for the report here.
    What is the name of the company with the red / orange livery you describe as arare bird?
    VEry nice pictures indeed

Login to post a comment.