When are the AV 787s in service ?

Old Mar 24, 2015, 8:21 am
  #46  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,227
Originally Posted by KenInEscazu

Some say that it is still dangerous, but I can't get any specifics. I asked my regular taxista in Medellin, and all that got me was a sales pitch for him to go and be my personal escort. "Muy peligroso," is all he would say.
Yeah it's still dangerous. The locals are very very careful about crime - particularly not hailing taxis off the streets.

I think it's worth checking out for yourself. There are virtually no tourist sites but the San Antonio neighborhood is on the rise with some interesting shops and restaurants and the area around La Ermita along the river has been cleaned up and is worth a stroll. As everywhere in Colombia I've found the locals muy amables. Certainly more welcoming and outgoing than Bogotanos. (To the extent such stereotypes are ever valid.)
Kacee is offline  
Old Mar 24, 2015, 5:22 pm
  #47  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MDE
Programs: AA-PLT, HH-GLD, PP
Posts: 1,511
Originally Posted by FlyingIsCool
Going back to the original topic of this thread, Avianca's 787 is on LIM-BOG AV24. I'm on it in J in mid May.

It's a short flight; less than 3 hours. Why would they put the 787 on this route?
AV did announce that there would be familiarization flights within the Americas. Not unlike UA, which flew the 787 between IAH and ORD/LAX for a few months after they received their first ones.
coolcoil is offline  
Old Mar 24, 2015, 5:25 pm
  #48  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MDE
Programs: AA-PLT, HH-GLD, PP
Posts: 1,511
Originally Posted by JohnnyColombia
Hi KenInEscazu

I'd say Cali has very little going for it. It is unattractive, it looks like a child ate an already ugly city then sicked it up again. There is very little to do there, look for tourism information and there is a bronze cat, that's about it. It's noisy and uncivilised, Cali is the Colombian capital of salsa, hearing salsa makes me want to fight with people. Go out on a Saturday night in the upmarket area near the cat and you'd be forgiven for thinking you were the only person that had that idea, there is nobody there, it's dead. The people are uncultured and overly proud of their crap town. A lot of the caleas have an abnormal amount of plastic surgery, they have a misguided vanity, the place is a toilet, I wish the earth would open up and swallow the dump. It's hot and dusty, and did I mention it is ugly?

As for safety, it is one of only two places in Colombia that still ranks in the top 20 cities in the world for homicides. The second place, which is higher ranking is Palmira, where CLO is. That on its own would not turn me off a place. I have never been murdered in Cali, it at least has that going for it.

On a positive note, the Hampton Cali is dirt cheap, with an MVP code and a weekend rate it can be had for about $35 per night, the supermarket over the junction is just fine. Obviously the taxi drivers cannot find the Hampton, what with it being a nine storey building cunningly hidden right next to all the other major hotels. I go to Cali because I have to occasionally for work, I could not imagine my going there voluntarily.
But other than this, what do you think of Cali?

Maybe if AV announced a 2X daily BOG-CLO on the 787 you would change your mind!

I will note that whenever my extended Colombian family discusses potential vacation destinations within the country, Cali is never on the list.
acodan likes this.
coolcoil is offline  
Old Mar 24, 2015, 5:56 pm
  #49  
Ambassador: LATAM
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,624
Originally Posted by coolcoil
But other than this, what do you think of Cali?

Maybe if AV announced a 2X daily BOG-CLO on the 787 you would change your mind!

I will note that whenever my extended Colombian family discusses potential vacation destinations within the country, Cali is never on the list.
I don't much care for 787s. I resent that my window shade can be controlled centrally. Next flight is a day flight on QR. If they dim the windows then I will be displeased.

Fortunately, Colombia is full of great destinations so you need to have racked up about 40 vacations before you need to scrape the barrel and go to Cali.

I am actually surprised that a caleo has not randomly googled Cali insults and signed up to FT to pull me up on my previous post on the basis that Cali is the best place in the world.
JohnnyColombia is offline  
Old Mar 24, 2015, 5:59 pm
  #50  
Ambassador: LATAM
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,624
Originally Posted by coolcoil
AV did announce that there would be familiarization flights within the Americas. Not unlike UA, which flew the 787 between IAH and ORD/LAX for a few months after they received their first ones.
It's a pilot hours thing too. The original familiarisation flights BOG to BAQ were deemed too short to get hours up. It's only one hour. LIM BOG is about 2 hours 40 so a bit of an improvement.
JohnnyColombia is offline  
Old Mar 25, 2015, 2:19 pm
  #51  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: TX
Programs: UA 1K, 1.1MM
Posts: 300
Back on the topic of Cali, per Tripadvisor, Cali is #5 of the top 10 destinations to visit in Colombia

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travelers...s-cTop-g294073
FlyingIsCool is offline  
Old Mar 25, 2015, 2:39 pm
  #52  
Ambassador: LATAM
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,624
Originally Posted by FlyingIsCool
Back on the topic of Cali, per Tripadvisor, Cali is #5 of the top 10 destinations to visit in Colombia

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travelers...s-cTop-g294073
Trip Advisor smoking crack again
acodan likes this.
JohnnyColombia is offline  
Old Jun 11, 2015, 6:03 pm
  #53  
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DEN
Programs: Double OWE (AA EXP, QF Plat), FI Gold
Posts: 1,887
I'm on flights 97 and 98 later this month, with seat 1A on the overnight. Any reports on noise, etc?

Thanks!

Last edited by zpaul; Jun 17, 2015 at 6:57 am
zpaul is offline  
Old Feb 29, 2016, 12:07 pm
  #54  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 41
Id like some input on deciding which airline to use for my Aeroplan award redemption from MAD to LAX on Nov 13/14. The TK flight will route MAD-IST-LAX with the transatlantic leg on the 777 (travel time 22.5 hours) and the AV flight will be MAD-BOG-LAX on the 787 the whole way (20hr15min).
I've heard that TKs J product is pretty solid, food especially, and I'd get to check out the TK lounge in IST which I hear is pretty awesome. On the other hand, AVs 787s are pretty new, though I haven't been able to find much about the J product in terms of reviews. I know it's herringbone but I don't know anything about the service, etc. anyone have any opinions? Thanks!
strongdentist is offline  
Old Feb 29, 2016, 4:40 pm
  #55  
Ambassador: LATAM
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,624
Originally Posted by strongdentist
I haven't been able to find much about the J product in terms of reviews. I know it's herringbone but I don't know anything about the service, etc. anyone have any opinions? Thanks!
Well I flew BOG GRU on a a wide-body this month and then came back from MVD on two AV formerly Taca Per narrow-bodies via LIM. All in J

BOG GRU is an overnight flight and I was going to spend the day walking around SP so I decided to get a business seat to avoid missing a night's sleep.

I have previously said that Salvadorean Taca flights are much better than Avianca proper and my recent experience did not change that much, apart from to add that service culture on Taca Per (Now Avianca Per) is also much better than actual Colombian Avianca.

Nothing major but the whole experience BOG GRU did nothing to change my opinion that AV does not "do" business class "attitude."

1) I was given a menu, all very fancy and AV is actually one of the few companies that can get a decent meal out of BOG. It's miles ahead of IB. The FA came around to ask me if I would like to choose something from the menu. I said I will have the turkey please, she said it's not turkey it is chicken breast. I said well I will have that then please. She gave me it. It was turkey.

2) Some beverage shenanigans, I told a friend of mine that it was not unlike flying in his pub. His pub also suffers from mediocre service. I asked for a scotch, it came, albeit about an hour later. Then they also brought me a glass of water. I drank both and then reclined my seat for a snooze. 3 hours later I put it back upright and both empty glasses were still there next to my seat.

3) The same time I woke up I noticed there was a lot of chattering going on at the back of the cabin, well we cannot choose our cabin companions and I guess noisy people chatting all night is a risk we take. So I went to the bathroom and realised the chattering was not the back of the cabin but actually the crew in the galley. I was in row 1, they were literally 2ft away. On the way to the bathroom I asked politely if they would mind being quite, what with it being a business class service and people were paying to get some sleep. They didn't, they moved to the other side of the plane from where I could still hear them and then for the rest of the flight, they looked at me as if I had just raped their family pet or something.

4) Reminiscent of when I flew Y from LIM to BOG and we had a very bumpy landing where the crew had forgotten to clear dinner trays and we all got a light coating of tagliatelle, on my BOG GRU flight, we landed without waking up the guy in the window seat on the other side of row 1. So he was pretty much horizontal when we landed at GRU. It is safety oversights like this that make me clench my buttocks whilst flying AV

If you have the choice of AV or TK then it's perfectly beyond me why anybody would choose the former
JohnnyColombia is offline  
Old Mar 1, 2016, 12:47 am
  #56  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,227
Originally Posted by strongdentist
Id like some input on deciding which airline to use for my Aeroplan award redemption from MAD to LAX on Nov 13/14. The TK flight will route MAD-IST-LAX with the transatlantic leg on the 777 (travel time 22.5 hours) and the AV flight will be MAD-BOG-LAX on the 787 the whole way (20hr15min).
I've heard that TKs J product is pretty solid, food especially, and I'd get to check out the TK lounge in IST which I hear is pretty awesome. On the other hand, AVs 787s are pretty new, though I haven't been able to find much about the J product in terms of reviews. I know it's herringbone but I don't know anything about the service, etc. anyone have any opinions? Thanks!
AV "wins" are (i) direct aisle access, (ii) surprisingly excellent AVOD.

TK is better in pretty much every other respect. In particular, the food and the IST lounge are really as good as business class gets. The seat is also more comfortable (though no direct aisle access). If you don't mind the backtracking to IST, I would definitely fly TK.
Kacee is offline  
Old Mar 1, 2016, 10:02 am
  #57  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 41
I'll be flying with my SO, so the aisle access thing wont be a big deal, as "cool" as the new herringbone seats look, most of what I've read seems to suggest that TK has the better product overall.

Thank you Johnny and Kacee! Your personal experience/input has helped me make my decision. Cheers!
strongdentist is offline  
Old Nov 22, 2018, 12:36 am
  #58  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 415
Row 8

Is there any experience in row 8. I know it is just behing business. How is it seperated? Is there restricted legroom - or plenty of legroom, i.e. can a person sitting in 8A enter the easily the aisle, ig 8B and C are occupied?
Thanks
H.J.Simpson is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2018, 1:38 am
  #59  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Programs: Lifemiles, AAdvantage
Posts: 181
Originally Posted by H.J.Simpson
Is there any experience in row 8. I know it is just behing business. How is it seperated? Is there restricted legroom - or plenty of legroom, i.e. can a person sitting in 8A enter the easily the aisle, ig 8B and C are occupied?
Thanks
It has plenty of space due being physically separated by a wall, like the extra space you'd have on Row 1 in any Airbus (in non US domestic config).
Etheereal is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.