Review of LATAM flight from Cusco to Lima in Economy

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

Introduction

We head back to Lima on a rather late flight from Cusco. This gives us a a whole extra day to explore this beautiful city, given our tight schedule.

The standard fare for a taxi from the historic centre to the airport is 30 PEN. Since our hotel is in one of the historic streets, we call a taxi which picks us up and takes us to the airport. It seems like our driver frequently drives to and from the airport, as the screen in the vehicle had Flightradar24 up.

The trip takes somewhat over half an hour, and we're dropped off in front of the airport, at the Departures area.

Departure: CUZ

The check-in area is quite empty at this time of the day; we have one of the last flights out of Cusco. Since we already have our boarding passes and we don't have bags to check, we head towards security.

Throughout the airport there are some decorations based on pre-columbian art; one of the main attractions of Cusco and its region. There is no queue at security control, and thanks to the light restrictions on domestic flights, it takes a minute to go through.

The waiting area is not very big, as usual for a regional airport. There are multiple seats, comfortably wide, on one half of the terminal. The other side has stores and other businesses, although many are closed at this time.

Scattered around the waiting area there are charging zones, with multiple outlet options to choose from. In case you don't have one of the standard outlets, the USB ports should do the work.

Boarding starts right on time, and gate agents are very strict with boarding zones. They use these in order to take bags of the latter zones down to the hold, as the plane is going to be rather full. Our cabin bags are part of this.

As we board, we cross paths with arriving passengers from another plane; it seems like the corridor from the terminal to the jetways connects all jetways together There is airport staff guiding passengers so the arriving and departing groups don't get mixed up.

Flight: LATAM Perú A319

The hard product is not really different from the incoming flight, but it does seem older; the padding feels rather worn down by use. The seat I was assigned at check-in was 13B, but thanks to a missing passenger on my left, I can take 13A, a window seat on the port side of the plane, as well as the privilege of an empty middle seat.

The seat is wide and legroom is pretty good, in part thanks to the skinnier seatback pocket made possible by a higher literature pocket. The seat is able to recline and has an adjustable headrest. Overhead there are individual reading lights and air vents.

We are held at the gate due to taxiway congestion, and when pushback starts, it goes on for a good while; considering the small airport. We depart from 10, flying through valleys to avoid the high peaks on all sides. The view is not as good, as it is dark and only the city lights are visible.

Airline: LATAM Airlines Perú
Flight: LA2094
Model: Airbus A319
Registration: CC-COY (Chile)
Age: 20 years

Shortly after takeoff, cabin service began. Today we get a piece of chocolate together with a cup of water; no other drinks available. While the chocolate tastes decent and free water can be a luxury in LCCs, this is a bit below what one expects of the more expensive airline flying this route.

During most of the flight there was light turbulence, though not enough to turn the seatbelt lights on. Furthermore, the cabin remained dark for a while, too. At least the flight had no setbacks; looking at FR24 it seemed like a couple of planes were diverting or turning back from CUZ.

Class: Economy Basic
Includes: 1x Snack.
Seat: 13A
Price: ~120 USD (Round trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): 16 USD (Cabin baggage)

We do land before midnight; 6 minutes ahead of schedule, but we stop on a taxiway. It seems like all gates are full, so we wait for around 20 minutes for our turn. Hopefully this will be one of the issues addressed by the new terminal.

Now this is surprising. This the moment I became aware that Spirit flies all the way down to Lima… While it sounds like an experience, I would not enjoy being the one reporting on it.

Route: Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) – (LIM) Jorge Chávez International Airport
Great Circle distance: 586 km
Flight length: ~730 km
Flight time: 1h 4m
Delay on arrival: +25 minutes (late)

Arrival: LIM

The bags don't take too long, being with us 10 minutes after parking at the gate. From there we get on a taxi and head back to San Isidro.

Thanks and Image Credits

Thank you for reading this report! I hope I'm not being too harsh with LATAM, as these are only domestic flights…
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Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24