Review of LATAM flight from Lima to Cusco in Economy

This flight concerns the old (until 2025) LIM terminal.

Introduction

Between the Christmas and New Year celebrations we will visit the Cusco region. Due to the high popularity of New Year festivities in Cusco, even when booking with decent time (90 days in advance), our options were limited to rather expensive and inconvenient flights.

We fly LATAM despite JetSmart being a cheaper alternative because JetSmart would not accept any of our credit cards.

It is a dark morning at Jorge Chávez, where we arrive over two hours ahead of time according to the recommendation by LATAM. As public transportation in Lima is still developing, we arrive by taxi. We booked a service from "Taxi Satelital", the travel time was under an hour and the cost was 75 PEN (~20 €) from San Isidro.

Departure: LIM

The airport is fairly empty. Since we only have cabin bags, we head straight to security control. Here is where domestic and international passengers are split; security restrictions are more relaxed for domestic flights. For example, liquids are generally allowed. Due to this and the early hour, there is no queue for security and the control takes a couple of minutes.

Today we are assigned a bus gate, so we head to the downstairs waiting area. There is a good number of seats, but charging options don't seem too plentiful and at peak times the area might be prone to overcrowding. At least there are no armrests, so people can sleep on the seats.

Boarding starts on time, and the gate agents are quite strict with boarding zones. Us in the latter zones are made to check our cabin bags in due to lack of space. After around 5 minutes on the bus, we arrive at the A319 that will take us to the mountains.

Flight: LATAM Perú A319

Today I booked the seat 15A, a window seat on the port side. This is because on final approach to CUZ, planes take a left turn between the mountains, and I want to see what views this offers. The seats are very wide, and legroom is great for a short flight. The padding is alright but a bit old. Recline is also possible, but I do not make use of it. There also is an adjustable headrest.

The seat in front has a storage pocket, which has plenty of space due to the literature container above the tray table, which contains a safety card with some necessary information, as the safety demonstration was done only in Spanish, so people who do not speak it only were reminded to read the card and got no demonstration.

There are no charging ports. Overhead there are individual reading lights and AC vents.

We depart at 4:58 from 16L. As we climb, I get a nice view of the city lights of Lima. Closest to the camera and extending below the wing, is San Isidro district.

Airline: LATAM Airlines Perú
Flight: LA2003
Model: Airbus A319
Registration: CC-BCD (Chile)
Age: 13 years

15 minutes after takeoff, I received my snack. It consisted of a quinoa bar with raisins and "chocolate-flavored covering" with a cup of water. No other drinks were available. The quinoa bar was light but tasty.

Class: Economy Basic
Includes: 1x Snack.
Seat: 15A
Price: ~120 USD (Round trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): 25 + 8.10 USD (Cabin baggage + standard seat reservation)

As the sun rises, we are treated to some great views of the Andes peeking through a sea of clouds.

Route: Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) – (CUZ) Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport
Great Circle distance: 586 km
Flight length: ~730 km
Flight time: 1h 5m
Delay on arrival: 0 minutes (on time)

Below is a 10-minute recording of the descent and landing in SPZO. We land on runway 28, which is the only allowed direction for landing; due to the high terrain on the other side. Similarly, takeoffs must be performed from 10.

Arrival: CUZ

The pilots perform a great landing, and a short taxi later we leave the plane through stairs. Now that we're in Cusco, we are at around 3.4 km (over 11 thousand ft.), so the air pressure is even lower than in a pressurized plane cabin. One can really feel it after some minutes on the ground, walking feels like heavy exercise!

From the stairs we head directly to the terminal building, no buses required. The walk to the baggage area is pretty short, but there is virtually no sound isolation so one can hear loud engines of planes taxiing to their gates.

There are restrooms on the corridor to the bag area and in the area itself. Like the airport, the baggage collection area is quite small but enough for the amount of passengers at the moment. It might get crowded as this is only the first flight of the day. Around 5 minutes of waiting later, our bags arrive and we head outside the airport.

Outside, there are many people offering taxi services. The usual rate to the popular areas in the city of Cusco itself is 30 soles (~7.70 €), so make sure to agree to a price before boarding a taxi. You might get to bargain for a lower price, but don't count on it. Just make sure you don't pay more!

Our next stop is Ollantaytambo, a town nestled between prominent mountains and the origin of our train to Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu town. Thus, our taxi drops us off at Pavitos street, where most vans to Ollantaytambo are located. For just 10 soles (~2.60 €) per person, we can enjoy a bumpy but scenic hour and a half ride to the main square of Ollantaytambo.

Thanks and Image Credits

Thank you for reading this report! The Cusco region is very beautiful, especially if you appreciate mountain landscapes. But do not underestimate the low air pressure at these altitudes! Towns and cities in the Andes can be at altitudes similar to European mountain peaks; Chinchero town (where a new Cusco airport is being built) is at around the same elevation as the Aiguille du Midi.
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Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24