CMK10

Great report with wonderful pictures! I like your photograph of "Fitzgerald Kennedy". Reminds me of when JAL BPs used to denote DCA as "Washington Ronald".

amolkold

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! There´s a bit of a delay with the next installments since I haven´t been able to upload pictures quickly enough due to internet connectivity down here. I should be able to continue within the next couple of days once I reach the U.S.

amolkold

I'll admit, this isn't as exciting of a part because (1) it's in coach (2) I fell asleep for most of the flight. Whatever.

After an ill-advised long night out (while slightly under the weather), I woke up at 5:20am, muy tarde for a 7am flight. I quickly crammed everything I could find into my bags, finding out later I forgot my TSA-approved check-in luggage lock. Darn. I quickly settled my bill with the hostel, short of $20/night, and ate a couple of bites as they had graciously made me tea and a couple pieces of toast. I ran outside the house’s complex to hail a taxi, something I wasn’t expecting to get done quickly at all at that time of morning. Ten minutes and six Peruvian Nuevo Soles later, I was at CUZ.

Only a few airlines fly out of CUZ, but it’s evident that LAN is the big player. At 5:50am, only my flight was checking in. The only lines are for bag-drop (short) and check-in (long), though I don’t know why anyone would voluntarily elect the latter line, as there are a few kiosks that print BPs, allowing one to go to security or bag-drop. From what I saw, there are no lines or ways to skip lines if one is a LAN/OW elite. To the left of the LAN counters is a PriorityPass lounge, but it wasn’t open at 6am.

Too tired and not as excited for this leg to use my real camera ... LAN check-in desk at CUZ


Automated check-in kiosks, worked with my BA confirmation code


While boarding was scheduled for 6:35am, security didn’t open until 6:15am. Again, I cannot say how great security works in Peru. After a quick ID check, I simply emptied my pockets and walked through the scanner, keeping my belt, shoes, jacket, and laptop where they were. I even had a 1L water bottle in my bag!

Interesting size BP, with passport behind for reference. The sticker is the "paid the airport tax" sticker, even though it's included when you purchase the ticket (my R/T for LIM-CUZ was 9K Avios + $13)


Flight: LAN 2019
Depart: Cusco (CUZ) – 7:05am PET – Actual 7:20am
Arrive: Lima (LIM) – 8:35am PET – Actual 8:25am
Duration: 1h30m (Actual 1h05m)
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Seat: 5L (Economy – Window)

Instead of zones, LAN uses rows. When boarding A319s with jetways, they board rows 12-24, then rows 1-11. While I heard something about OW Elite members on the recorded announcement, I don’t recall any preferred boarding. The method works, though, as soon as I boarded the aircraft, I was able to quickly put my bag in the overhead and get in my seat, to catch a few Zzzs.

Board by rows


Early morning at CUZ, but a lot of A319s around


Different snacks this time around. Ate a couple bites, then dozed off


We landed early at LIM, and after a short wait at baggage claim, I got a taxi at a registered Taxi Green booth at the airport. At first, I thought 45 Soles was a bit high, but the drive to Miraflores is a bit longer than I thought, and I didn’t have to deal with any potential shenanigans on the drive, unlike the return trip.

amolkold

I chose this hotel based on the neighborhood (Miraflores) and the fact that I had earned about 57,000 Club Carlson points from a Radisson promotion late last year for about $75. Hotel prices in the area started at around $150/night in the area, while the Radisson offered rooms for 5,000 points + $70. I elected to upgrade to a suite for $15 more, which was still a fantastic deal. The room comes with free wi-fi + free breakfast + drink voucher at the hotel bar. With Radisson’s “Triple Points Faster” bonus, plus Silver bonuses for the stay (status gift from another promotion) + booking online, I got close to 8,000 points from the stay, recouping the points payment and then some. Save $80 + net 3,000 points? “Please, sir, I want some more.”

Modern-looking lobby, while waiting just a minute for my room to be ready at the early hour


Rooftop pool


I had status matched to CC Silver during this promotion, and was able to check-in early when I arrived shortly after 9am. I had booked a tour with Bike Tours of Lima for 10am, so I quickly changed into warm-weather clothes and ran out to their offices down the street, so these pictures are after the room is a little “lived-in.” I forget the room number, but it was a lower floor on the corner.

Couch and desk, immediately after entering the room, past the bathroom/closet


View from the desk


View from the far side of the couch


Bathroom


I also received a welcome gift, though I don’t know what caused that (status? suite? for all guests?). The sweets were pretty tasty.

Welcome gift


I was originally going to skip the hotel breakfast, even though it was included with my room, as most hotels seem to have pretty mediocre ones. However, curiosity got the best of me, and I dropped into the Miso restaurant on the 2nd floor. My prior thoughts were wrong – this was an amazing breakfast selection. There is a buffet area with fruits, cheeses, and breads, along with drinks area. You can also order various dishes, mainly eggs, to go along.

Menu


From the buffet


Buffet selection


As for Lima – I’ve often heard of the city as just a “stopover point,” as in, “you only go to Lima because of flight schedules. Use it as a jumping point for other cities in Peru/South America.” I’d never been to Lima, so I wanted to stay a bit, but at the same time, didn’t want to stay too long. However, I easily could have stayed maybe one or two more days here. It's a nice city in some parts. The only better Lima I can think of is Adriana.

I started off with a tour from Bike Tours of Lima. I did the Bay tour, $30 US, which went through the neighborhoods of Miraflores, Chorillos, and Barranco. There were 2 others on the tour, one of which was a Dutch gentleman who had been in Lima for a while and strangely chose to take the tour. Needless to say, he was rather unhappy, since he had already seen everything, but I think the bike tour is a great way to get to know different parts of Lima, especially at the beginning of a trip.

My guide gave me map of the area, and I used the next 24 hours or so to wander around Miraflores and Barranco, touring the Huaca Pucllana ruins and trying out the various restaurants and eateries around the area. Let's just say, I'm not too big a fan of Ceviche (raw fish with citrus juice, popular in Lima).

Setting out on a 4-hour bike tour of the city


Foggy Lima coastline, yet it never rains


Still foggy, now in a different hue


One of the best smoothies I've had, at La Lucha Sagucheria on Parque Kennedy


Huaca Pucllana, pre-Incan ruins, now surrounded by tall Miraflores buildings


Coming up next: Easter Island!

amolkold

I was able to get a 2pm late check out from the hotel, and wandered around Miraflores for a few hours. While it is a nice area, I soon got bored of wandering around, and after a quick dinner, decided to head to the airport at 7pm rather than my planned 9pm.

I got my stored baggage from the front desk. They offered a car service for about US$30 but that seemed kind of expensive to me. I looked in my wallet and found I had only 50 Soles (US$18) in cash left, which should be enough for a taxi. The front desk rep helped me flag down a taxi and found a driver who at first asked for 60 Soles. I got him down to 50, which was more than Taxi Green, but what would I do with orphan Soles?

I’ve heard the horror stories of Lima taxis, and tried to be as cautious as possible, starting with keeping my entire luggage, including backpack, in the trunk. I surreptitiously pulled out the 50 Soles from my wallet and kept them in a separate pocket, away from my USD and EUR, and kept my cell phone in my hand, just in case.

At first, the driver seemed pretty amiable. We made small talk in Spanish, and realized some minutes into the drive that we had actually spoken earlier in the day at the ruins in Miraflores. He had asked if I needed a ride and I had responded, “Prefiero caminar, gracias.” We had a laugh and realized how small the city is. On that same tour, I met a retired gentleman who had attended my high school back home 46 years before myself. What a small world.

With a view of the sunset over the Pacific, we made our way to LIM. I still kept an eye on where we were going, just to make sure the driver didn’t try anything funny. Upon arrival at the airport, he got my bags out of the trunk. I had the S/50 in one hand and was contemplating giving a small tip in USD, as he seemed nice during the drive. But when I handed over the cash with a “bueno, cincuenta,” he burst out in anger – “no! sesenta!” Sorry, buddy, just lost your tip. “Me dijo en el hotel cincuenta, seńor. Adios.” Good thing I already had my bags. Next time, I’ll take the hotel’s car. What a sour note to leave a country on.

Put off by the incident, I rushed into the terminal and found the LAN business line. Check-in took all of about 4 minutes, and it wasn’t until the end that I realized that I’d conversed with 3 agents all in Spanish. I did my high school teachers proud. I had checked-in online at 48 hours, but was unable to get a window seat at all, as I wanted one on the left side. Fortunately, the agent gave me 1L, the bulkhead starboard window. Oh well, at least I’ll have a view. “La pasilla no está ocupada,” she must have said, because I didn’t realize until boarding that I’d have the aisle seat empty.

Business class check-in, under the large departures board


Again, I cannot say how much I love security procedures in Peru. As this was an international flight, I did have to follow the liquids and laptop rules at security, but I still kept my shoes on. I had a quick run through immigration, where I was able to see the agent’s screen due to the placement of his monitor. Now I know what shows up when they swipe my passport … glad to know I’m not on any INTERPOL lists. Off to the SUMAQ lounge opposite Gate 17.

Lounge invitation


Rather blurry picture of the entrance


At first glance, this lounge seems nice. A lot of seating for a large bank of evening departures, well-stocked drinks bar, business center, and even an outdoor area (albeit with no real view). However, power ports are nowhere to be found save a few spots along the wall and in the business center. As I had arrived when many flights were leaving, all the seats inside were taken, so I sat outside. Too bad it was filled with smokers. Yech.

The only picture "in" the lounge I was able to get (actually, it's the outside area)


There are 4 SUMAQ wifi networks, but no one seating area of the club seems to have a signal with fast enough speed. In fact, I found better coverage via a free network on the concourse. What a pity for the lounge. I also tried to get a few Zzzz’s in the “quiet room,” but there was such a large amount of noise coming from the main lounge that there was no point.

After a brief survey of the food options, I realized how lacking they were. I’ve seen better options in a Delta Sky Club. The one cool feature is an orange juicer, in which you can place 3-4 whole oranges and watch the process through the machine’s window. I tried taking a video shortly before leaving, when the lounge was empty between flights, but got yelled at by the lounge attendant. Although I don’t think the only other person in the area, a loudmouth on his cell phone talking about “a major deal,” was too concerned about his privacy. I left the lounge soon after, seeing their multiple awards on the way out. Who voted for these guys? What a lousy lounge. I’m surprised LAN doesn’t have their own lounge for what is one of their main hubs.

Since LA 848 boarded at Puerta 22, I was able to see all of LIM’s international concourse. Count me impressed with the offerings here. Again, I’m LAX-based, so it’s easy to impress me. I liked the terminal more than the SUMAQ.

I don’t have pictures of the terminal, so here’s a random shot of my Thai Airways (*A) amenity kit with my Delta GM (ST) bag tag about to fly a LAN (OW) flight. Apparently, my loyalties lie nowhere.

amolkold

Realizing that 12:15am was probably much earlier than LAN intended, I didn’t get to the gate until about 12:25am. No activity. Not even a gate agent. This wasn’t looking good. Gate agents turned up shortly and commented that it would just be a few minutes, even getting a few pre-boards (a family with a young baby and stroller, plus a woman with a cast) to the front. However, when a slew of pilots and FAs turned up at 12:45am, I knew what would occur. The gate agents kept the “we’re boarding soon” BS going, but I could tell. C’mon LAN. I’m tired. I planned to be onboard by now. I want to get in that aluminum tube and fly to the most remote airport on Earth. For goodness sake, the Delta flight to ATL is leaving 15 minutes after this one and it has already completed boarding. You’re going to let THEM beat you??

Nobody’s here …


I made friends with 2 young Japanese passengers behind me in the J line, exchanging grins at our predicament. Why is it that when I’m in Y, I’m delayed on the plane, but when I’m booked in J, I’m delayed at the gate? A brash man soon entered the line, and nudged the 2 Japanese girls aside … “excuse me.” They held their position. Good on them. I have no clue how they got into J (miles or cash), but either way, don’t let ignorant oldies push you around. They make an ... of u and me.

Soon after this episode, 1:15am hit. Obviously the plane was not leaving. My Spanish may not be perfecto, but I heard the gate agent say the words “problemas tecnicas,” as did the British gentleman next to me. We chuckled and took seats in the gatehouse, as the screen changed from 1:15 to 2:10. I debated heading back to the SUMAQ but decided against it. A few of the passengers in the gatehouse make their own versions of flatbeds in the waiting area, and I noticed that the 2:10 disappeared from the gate screen. Uh. Oh.

On time


Not on time. Also, no time.


Flight: LAN 848
Depart: Lima, Peru (LIM) – 01:15am (PET / GMT -5) – Actual 2:30am
Arrive: Easter Island/Isla de Pascua, Chile (IPC) – 06:50am (EASST / GMT –5) – Actual 7:10am
Duration: 5h35m (Actual 4h40m)
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seat: 1L (Premium Business – Window – Bulkhead)

Fortunately, though, boarding commenced close to 1:45am. Muy bien. I had found a seat near the “Preferente” line and was able to board first in the J cabin, although this were the best picture I could get of the cabin as other passengers quickly followed (I try to limit shots of strangers in my pictures, golden rule)

View from 1L


My flight attendant introduced himself to me and asked if should I fall asleep, I wanted to be woken up for dinner. For some reason, I assumed this would be a breakfast flight, given the very late departure and semi-morning arrival. I was about to say no until I felt a little rumble in my stomach, from the lack of any good food in the SUMAQ lounge, and told him, “yes.” I was given a Chilean immigration card, amenity kit similar to the one on JFK-LIM, a ramekin of nuts (a bit warmer than the ones at JFK), and a pre-flight drink. I chose the champagne over the Pisco sour.

Champagne


Given that this LIM-IPC flight had just started the week prior, and that they were offering Y/J tickets on this route for $400/$800 o/w for later dates, I’m not surprised that the flight seemed rather empty. Of 28 available J seats, about 17 were taken, with only the center bulkhead empty. Each single traveler got a window and an empty aisle. The economy cabin seemed less than half full.

No need for a privacy divider when the next 3 seats in the row are all empty


We made a quick pushback, and my theory of LAN FAs being rather lax went out the window when I reclined my seat just a little bit only to have my FA come and ask me to place it in the “locked” position. I have to say, the seat is rather uncomfortable in the fully upright position. As soon as he left the cabin for his jump seat, I re-reclined my seat just a tad. I’m such a rebel. After a quick takeoff roll, we turned right and entered the area above the Pacific Ocean. Better get used to this view for a while.

Nothing but ocean


Dinner service began shortly after takeoff, and was placed on one tray so as to expedite the meal service and allow passengers to sleep. I turned on “Unstoppable” on the IFE, a pretty lousy flick that I still decided to watch all the way through. Here's the menu, with what I ordered asterisked. The wine list is the same as before (see JFK-LIM part) and I have abbreviated the wine suggestions (because I'm lazy):

DINNER

Salad greens with seasonal vegetables

Entreés
Grilled filet of beed accompanied with mushroom sauce, potato Gaufrette and sautéed asparagus
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

*Chicken stuffed with Mascarpone cheese and almonds, with white asparagus sauce, accompanied by mashed potatoes
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Malbec 2007

Prosciutto salad, tomato confit, hearts of palm and assorted lettuce
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Torrontés 2011

Desserts
*Passion fruit and lemon verbena pannacotta
Fresh seasonal fruit

Express dinner service on one tray


Tea as a nightcap while I finish this movie


Lights were turned off during the dinner service, so I ate with my reading lights on. Soon after, I reclined my bed fully. Since J was about half-full, I was able to put a duvet on the bed and then use another duvet as a blanket. I still had a pretty good sleep, given that it only ended up being a little over 3 hours.

Two duvets are better than one


The old-style moving map. It's is the only reason I know where Abuja is.


Around 6:50am, lights were turned back on in preparation for landing. I eagerly opened my window shades only to see that it was still very dark outside. Drat. I had really wanted an ‘A’ seat to see the island upon landing, but given how dark it still was, any window seat was useless. A center seat would give as much view. I guess I’d have to wait for the outbound.

As the airport’s runway (10/28) literally starts at one side of the island and ends on the other, the approach was one of the darkest I have experienced, given that we were over a dark and cold Pacific approaching an equally dark island. We touched down close to 7:10am, only 20 minutes behind schedule after a 75-minute delay. Given how tired I was, and that I had to wait for my friend from Santiago before doing anything on the island, I wished this flight lasted longer. However, it would have delayed the aircraft’s next leg to SCL.

We made a quick U-Turn at the end of the runway and headed back toward the main terminal building, parking at, well … gate 1? It’s really just “the spot where you park the plane.” A stair-car approached door 1L, where we quickly de-boarded and felt the island weather for the first time.

Early arrival


Stair deboarding


Despite the blurs, I wasn't the only one taking my time, taking the moment in


After a little Adobe love


There are 2 pathways once you de-board, one for “transit” (I assume for passengers continuing onward to PPT) and one for Easter Island. There is a kiosk where you can purchase Rapa Nui National Park / Orongo tickets for $50 USD, a $10USD discount. I skipped this, but realized later that this was a fantastic deal, and would recommend everyone to take advantage of this one-time opportunity on the island. Just note that the ticket lasts for 5 days from the date of purchase, not from date of first entry. Oh well, hope others can learn from my mistake.

Given that I was one of the first passengers off the plane, I was able to go through immigration very quickly, since it’s not just the only international flight … it’s the only flight at the airport (I later learned that given IPC’s remote position, a plane cannot takeoff from SCL/LIM/PPT until the runway at IPC is clear because the nearest diversion airport (GMR) is about 1600 miles away). The immigration officer asked none of the “purpose of your visit” mumbo-jumbo – they know what you’re here for.

Taking the LIM-IPC flight has 2 amazing benefits:
1)You get a flippin’ awesome Chilean passport entry stamp that says “Isla de Pascua.” Of course, you can always get an unofficial Easter Island stamp at the town post office, but not the official one.
2)If you’re a citizen of a Visa Reciprocity Fee country (like the U.S., U.K., and Australia), this fee is not collected at IPC. If you return to SCL, you fly IPC-SCL as a domestic flight, and will not have to pay at Santiago.

Had I routed LIM-SCL-IPC (or xxx-SCL-IPC), I would have cleared Chilean immigration at SCL, which would have gotten me a boring Santiago stamp AND cost me $141 for entering Chile at SCL via air. Not so at IPC.

Coolest. Passport Stamp. EVER.


I walked over to the bag carousel (let’s call it Belt #1), retrieved my baggage, went through an easy customs check, and headed outside to meet my hotel owner for the short ride into Hanga Roa.

Belt #1. Of 1.



Alrighty then. I'll continue later on this week. Three more segments in LAN J to go! (I already flew them, but I'm now realizing how much effort it takes to do one of these).

amolkold

There’s always a great debate when it comes to “how much time should I spend on Easter Island?” It’s an understandable question; given the island’s remoteness and general difficulty in reaching it, you’d want to stay long enough to take in everything in one visit. At the same time, there is so little to do on the island outside tourist activities that too much time would force the Rapanui to open a mental asylum for over-estimators.

While the answer to that question could launch another debate, if one were to ask me, my answer would be: “No less than 3 full days, no more than 4.” Given flight schedules, this could vary by person. I ended up having 4 full days in-between 2 half-days with flights. Going back, I would definitely have booked my return to Santiago a day earlier. However, it helped that my visit unintentionally coincided with the Tapati Festival, a yearly tradition that takes place from the start of February until the middle of the month. There were daily shows, activities, and competitions amongst the natives that helped downtime quickly pass.

I arrived at my hotel early Sunday morning, early enough to eat breakfast with guests who had just woken up. The island is rather dead on Sunday, and given that my friend was not arriving from SCL until the later afternoon, I decided to catch up on sleep and look at photos of my trip up until then. There was no Internet access at my hotel, as one had to walk a short bit down the street to a Wi-Fi store to communicate with the outside world. Even then, the store is open only a few hours a day and few hours at night. Neither cell provider had good service for outsiders (as I write this on my 4th day here, my phone just received a slew of text messages after getting a small bit of Movistar signal). If one really wanted to get away from the world, this would be the place.

Remote


The main town on Easter Island is Hanga Roa, just a hop from the airport. One can actually walk from IPC airport to the main square in a doable amount of time, though most hotels will provide a car transfer or taxi. Before my friend’s flight arrived, I walked to the airport from my hotel, which took about 15-20 minutes. Between the hotel and the town, there is a LAN office that is open until about 4:30pm, and is useful for reconfirming and checking in for flights, given the lack of communication/internet options on the island. On the same road as the airport is a gas station that has fairly good exchange rates for USD to Chilean Pesos. Most places on the island will take USD, and might even have better prices in USD.

Traffic en route to the airport ... many horses on the island


LAN Office on the way to the airport from town


My hotel was the Hotel Orongo, a selection based entirely on price. It turned out to be a decent hotel, with a plentiful number of rooms for 2-3 people, some with A/C, some with mini-fridges, some with both, some with neither. All guests got a continental breakfast, though after a few days, bread/instant coffee/fruit/cheese/ham got a bit old. However, the location was brilliant, as it was on the main road that goes through town, with easy access to restaurants, the tourist office, and general stores. To walk to the main bay took only between 5-10 minutes, and walking around at night is rather safe on a small island. The hotel's owner is a bit eccentric, but it didn't get in the way of anything.

Typical room at Hotel Orongo (not my room, but next to mine)


If selecting a hotel, I would try to get one either on the main street where mine was (Atamu Tekena), or on the two other streets that make up the main town plaza square (I don’t recall their names).

Although the island is small, motor vehicles are quite necessary to get to different parts. The town is in the southwest corner of the island, while main attractions such as the Rono Raraku, Tongariki, and Anakena Beach are on the East and North sides, respectively. There are an abundance of rental cars, costing anywhere from $50-125 per 24 hours, depending on quality and transmission. Our hotel owners were more than happy to call us taxis in the event we needed one.

My friend’s flight from SCL arrived around 4pm, and we were back at the hotel before 5pm. I used the daylight to take pictures of the unique airport.

LAN 767 behind bars


Returning from the other end of the runway


My attempt at an Airliners.net photo


Outside the main airport entrance ... none of these are the correct time


Given that we were there during the festival, an exciting competition was about to start in the middle of the island: the Haka Pei. Competitors race down a very steep hill on banana-leaf sleds, reaching speeds of 80-100kmph. The one who goes the farthest down the hill wins. We got a taxi for the 2 of us, round-trip at about CL$14,000, or $30 USD. The trip took about 20 minutes each way from the hotel, given that there are only a few roads on the island, and renting a car was not an option at the time.

From afar, I couldn't tell these were people. It's a huge hill


Quite a turnout


One of the more "clothed" competitors


The aftermath


Amazingly tasty island pineapple


Dinner that night was had at Au Bout du Monde, a Belgian-run place close to the main bay, with a 2nd-story patio that gives amazing views of the sunset. It will set you back about CL$15,000-20,000 per person ($33-$45 USD), so not cheap, but the prawns with mango sauce are out of this world. For other nights, we ate at other eateries, most of which have set prices for meals, ranging from more agreeable prices like CL$6,000-10,000 per person ($14-$18 USD).

Sunset from Au Bout du Monde


Our first full day, we arranged a tour for myself, my friend, and two other guests at our hotel. Our guide’s name was Sebastian, and he was wonderful. The cost per person was CL$30,000 (Chilean Pesos), about $65 USD each, in addition to park tickets ($60USD, unless you buy them on arrival at IPC for $50USD, and $10USD for children). While the price seemed steep at first, I soon realized it was a great value, as our guide drove us around the island and took us on a tour that hit about 80% of the things to see. He was adamant that we leave before 9am, so as to beat large tour groups, and his suggestion was brilliant. At stops such as Hanga Te’e, Akahanga, Rano Raraku (the main quarry with the most famous moai statues), and Tongariki, we were all by ourselves, possibly maybe just one other small group alongside. This added to the magic of Easter Island, as we were able to enjoy the splendid beauty in almost total privacy. As we were leaving Rano Raraku, we saw how loads of tour busses had arrived to heavily populate the park. Damn tourists.

Hola


Rano Raraku


Tongariki


Free community BBQ at Anakena Beach


Our guide’s knowledge was also incredible, and I was able to learn a lot, certainly a lot more than just renting a car for $60 and driving aimlessly around the island. Hell, the amount of things we hit in one day would have probably taken us two days on our own, and washed away any price difference. I’d highly recommend using a guide to see these sights on the further coasts. Yes, the cost is high, but it’s worth it. Plus, it’s Easter Island, unless your diet is cheese and shrimp empanadas, you’re going to be paying out your @$$ for everything. Getting a guide for one day is a good use of your money.

For the second day, our hotel friends got the same guide to climb Poike, a volcanic hill on the Northeast shore. Given that it was a tremendously hot day, and that Poike has very little shade, my friend and I decided to use this day to relax and walk along the western coast, just outside the town. There are a few moai ahus (statue platforms) as well as the museum. The museum is a couple $ USD and is a great way to learn about the island, though a lot of it was explained by our guide the previous day.

continued in Part 2 due to 20 photos/post limit

amolkold

On our third day, we reunited with our fellow hotel guests to go to Orongo and Rano Kau on the southern side of the island, just on the opposite side of the airport from the town. My plan of attack was to take a taxi up the hill, so as to beat some of the crowds and to avoid walking up the hill, as we were all a bit tired from previous days’ activities. For 4 people, it was a very reasonable CL$10,000 ($21 USD) total for a one-way taxi from the town to the top of the Orongo mountain, some 1600 feet above sea level. A round-trip would have been 16,000 CLP, but we decided to hike down (and I’m glad we did, as we got some spectacular views). The park ticket allows one access to the Orongo as well as the main Rano Raraku Park.

The crater


Less ocean, more crater


Don't step on the petroglyphs. Also, don't piss on the petroglyphs.


View from Orongo toward town, with the airport in-between


Along the trail on the western coast (forgot the name of it)


We made it back to the town around 2pm, just in time for 48 hours before our flight. The LanChile office is on the way to town from Orongo/IPC airport, so we were able to check in for our flight and confirm our seats (luckily, I had memorized the two 6-letter confirmation codes, as they were practically branded into my brain from weeks of obsessively checking and re-checking itineraries at home).

Day 4 was the day I wish I had booked our return flight to SCL. While we still had a few things left, like souvenir shopping and a boat/snorkeling trip, they were things that easily could have been done on earlier days. There was a big parade for the festival that day and I spent time watching the floats, but as I heard the LAN flight depart from the airport just down the road, I longed to be on that plane. I had already done what I came to the island for – to see the moai and to experience its beauty. These could easily be done in 3 full days, by arriving Sunday evening and departing Thursday early afternoon. The overpriced island and the incredible sun were just getting to me this day.

Hot sun over the Pacific


One of the floats in the Tapati parade


Day 5 was our final day, and the night before, I had realized that I hadn’t yet visited the Ana Kakenga, or the “Cave of 2 windows”, formed by an old lava tunnel. I woke up early to hike there, leaving around 7:30am and reaching in just over an hour. It is an amazing piece of nature, and definitely something I’d recommend visiting if on the island.

Cave you have to climb down to get to the windows


From the inside


One of the windows




After returning from my hike, I quickly packed and ran a quick errand of buying a postcard and sending it to my sister, an avid traveler like myself. In doing so, I got a quick unofficial stamp for my passport at the Post Office, just for posterity.

The free stamp from the Post Office/Correos

NYBanker

What a wonderful report. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this. I really enjoyed reading it.

amolkold

Given Chile’s relatively small size, it’s cool to be able to fly a 4+ hour domestic flight with international J product.

With a departure of 2:05pm, LAN recommended that we show up to the airport at 12:05pm. Yeah … not gonna happen. We were out the hotel at 12:05pm, and waited 20 minutes to get a taxi to the airport, mostly due to a misunderstanding between the hotel owners and ourselves. We didn’t have a taxi until 12:25pm and it took, with traffic, a full 4 minutes to reach the airport! Quel horreur!

Even for a domestic flight to Santiago, there is a quick “pre-customs” check to make sure you are not taking fruits from Rapa Nui away. We had some snacks that were brought from Santiago that had to be discarded, despite their mainland origins.

This flight was booked solid, so both Y and J lines were full, although J was quite shorter. There are a few shops in this part, but we went through security. Pockets empty, bags through the scanner, that’s it. Took 1 minute for 2 of us. Excellent.

The highlight is from security checking us in against the flight's manifest, since it was the only flight out that day. Pristine island, but no pristine BP (doesn't matter in the end, you only keep the BP stub)


I warned my friend that I was about to “geek out,” since I’m a plane-ophile/J-ophile, and hinted at something along the lines of, “I’m writing a sort of … ‘report’ on this.” She simply responded: “You can geek out. I’m going to conk out.” The "terminal” at IPC is simply just a semi-outdoor waiting area with some shops. I bought a shot glass for my collection, while making small talk with other tourists (it seemed that everyone I had met on the island was on this departure).

The plane after its inbound from SCL


Not every airport has this view


Salón VIP, not open for a domestic flight


Around 1:30pm came a call for boarding. Our tour partners from the hotel, whom we had spent a lot of time with on the island, asked us where we were sitting. I stayed awkwardly silent, while my friend responded with, “toward the front.”

“Oh. We’re in the back. Where in the front are you?”

“The front front.”

Indeed, a semi-awkward moment seeing as how they were a couple decades older than us, until they realized I had mentioned using miles for this trip. I explained how a trip to Lima, Easter Island, and Santiago was the same price as a simple trip to only one of those destinations. One of them noticed the Gold Medallion and FlyerTalk tags on my backpack and let out an, “aha, you must have a lot of miles.” Well, not after burning ~500K AA/US/UA/DL miles in the past couple of months for myself and family .

We headed toward the gate, and they followed us into the Preferente line, before realizing where we were and exclaiming, "oh bloody hell!"

Gate 1. There's only 1 gate.


A better version of a blurry pic I took on the inbound. (1)"How was Easter Island?" (2) "I don't know, I just transited the airport."

amolkold

Flight: LAN 842
Depart: Easter Island (IPC), Chile – 2:05pm (EASST / GMT – 5) – Actual 2:00pm
Arrive: Santiago (SCL), Chile – 8:50pm (CLST / GMT – 3) – Actual 8:25pm
Duration: 4h45m (Actual 4h25m)
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seats: 5A/5C (Premium Business – Window/Aisle)

As expected, the J cabin was booked solid, 28/30 (the last 2 were for the off-duty pilots who flew the inbound). And as expected, my partner-in-travel conked out, putting the seat in an almost flat position during boarding, before bringing it up for takeoff, and putting it back down afterward, waking up only for the lunch service. We were offered the same pre-flight beverages, and since I’d had a few Pisco sours on the island and that the champagne was the same as the previous flights, went with the usual. We also received an amenity kit, though smaller than the ones I had received on previous flights, sans Bvlgari bag and lotions.

Celebrating our return to civilization


3 of my 4 windows in Row 5


A lot of the other passengers on our flight were much older than us (I hinted at my age in the introduction), and it's easy to get to know the rest of the tourists on the island since there are not that many at once. We got a few odd looks given our age and the average age of the J cabin. So for that - thank you, FT.

I noticed that the FA serving our side of the plane was my same FA from JFK to LIM. I told her I recognized her, and upon seeing my camera out, she recognized me as well. “I read the menu in advance this time, no worries.”

With a very short taxi (the runway is literally next to the “gate”), we had to wait for the safety announcement to finish while waiting at the end of the runway. As soon as we were up, I got out my laptop (to write this plus look at/edit photos), and turned on the King’s Speech on the IFE.

The eastern shore, looking north toward Tongariki


Became cloudy shortly afterward. Clean your windows, LAN!


Time to multitask


An Academy Award-winning movie and a moving map. From a flat-bed. All I need.


A lot of blue, on the screen and out the window



It took about 90 minutes for the lunch service to start. Given that I had made a diet of empanadas and overpriced fried food on the island, I was looking forward to the salad. We were seated in 5 A/C since they were the only 2 seats together at the time of booking. Because of this, we were the last to be offered lunch, since the center seats are situated a bit forward of the window seats in the same row, and the off-duty pilots in 5 J/L had already eaten. Fortunately, only the lamb was gone by then, so we both got our option of the salad. Instead of the recommended wine, I went with the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet, which I had enjoyed on a previous leg. Here's the full menu:

LUNCH

Salad greens with seasonal vegetables

Entrées
Lamb leg, stewed in mint and rosemary, accompanied by potato and Camembert cheese gratin
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Syrah 2008

Pan seared tuna with Provenzal dressing, broad bean mash and onion confit
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Torrontés 2011

*Sesame chicken salad, Portobello mushrooms, roasted peppers, grilled zucchini and assorted lettuce
Master Sommelier's suggestion: Malbec 2007

Desserts
*Cherimoya mousse with honey tuile and passion fruit sauce
Fresh seasonal fruit

My salad (yummy) ...


... with a side salad. The mousse balances it out


You can't take this on a plane. But they'll gladly give it to you.


Our FA, Alejandra, provided excellent service in both Spanish and English. I mentioned that my friend had just moved to Chile to spend a year there, and was speaking more in English than I was. “Tienes que hablar más en espańol,” I told her; when our FA heard that, she said, “Oh, I have been speaking English. Bueno, solamente en espańol.” Our FA even obliged to take a few pictures of us - although I am getting used to flying trips in J, I’ve only flown it by myself before so it’s a novelty to be able to share it with others.

After lunch, the FAs closed window shades with about 2h40m of flight time left to SCL. I got to lie down while finishing the King’s Speech (an amazing movie; I tend to watch Oscar winning flicks on planes). I also ordered a couple more glasses of the wine -- LAN FAs are not proactive in asking if you'd like anything, but with a bit of passenger initiative, they'll happily honor any request.

I've come to the point where I've decided - I LOVE THIS BED. I discovered that if you hold the “flat bed” option on the control panel, it doesn’t go truly flat, but only to a bit of an incline. However, you can lift the seat up even more by using that specific button on the control panel to make it truly flat. The duvet is incredibly comfortable - my friend was joking that she still had to buy a comforter for her new apartment in Stgo and was debating just stealing a couple of duvets from the plane (don't worry, they stayed onboard).

A mix of relaxers and nappers


Once again, we started approach into SCL much earlier than I would have hoped for, about 30 minutes early. Like previous flights, the IFE was shut off (with an automated message warning) before landing. Unlike previous flights, the FAs made an effort to collect headphone, pillows, and blankets (the latter 2 if we didn’t want them).

Mainland ho!


I'm a big fan of sitting just in front of the engines (when wing-mounted )


Sunset over the Chilean Coastal range


The LAN Premium Business Ahu


After landing, we had a short taxi with a longer wait at the gate to be towed. Our FA pulled some three unaccompanied minors from coach and brought them to the curtain between Y and J, right behind our seats. I could see their eyes light up upon seeing this cabin, my guess being that they boarded at IPC from the rear and didn't see this part of the plane then. One of the children scampered to the windows in front of my seat and had a look of awe that looked familiar.

I’d flown UM internationally on UA and LH, and once transcon on AA; I still remember that transcon, since I was just at the cusp of being the age of not being required to fly UM, but missed the cutoff by a few days. I had to board early but since only F had been cleaned, I got to wait in “Captain Kirk’s Chair” for about 10 minutes. I then got to sit in J for a few minutes while they boarded F. I guess I’ll get to sit in AA transcon J for more than a few minutes later in the trip.

Our FA began to apologize and asked the boy to come back, but I told her, “It’s okay, I was like them once.” I motioned to the children in broken Spanish and hand signals to sit in our seats and try them out while we got our bags from the overhead bins. They obliged and had some fun – did I just create 3 new FlyerTalker-itos?

After de-boarding, we waited in the terminal to say goodbye to our hotel friends from the island; one was continuing onward to LIM, while the other was flying back west to AKL (talk about an out-of-the-way connection!). Apparently, the agent at IPC had chosen not to place Priority tags on our bags, even though everyone else in the J line had received them. Hmrph. We had to wait a few more minutes, not much, but still, the bags should have had the tags.

amolkold

My sole reason for being in Santiago was to spend time with my friend, who had just moved into the city just before coming to Easter Island. My first night at her apartment was her first as well. Award availability meant that I could spend either a few days there, or a few weeks there. I kept checking for more availability, but couldn’t extend my trip, and so didn’t go to Valparaiso, Vińa del Mar, Mendoza, or other places. Being a city person, Santiago is definitely a great city to spend a few days, but it’s a shame that I didn’t get out of it to other towns for longer. However, I have decided that I will definitely return to Chile one day, once I have a bit more time. I’ll figure out how to add those other other towns to Puerto Montt and Ushuaia, Argentina, in the south. I just have to figure out how to get around the pesky Chile & Argentina reciprocity fees (again).

One thing I would recommend for anyone going to Santiago is to take advantage of Free Walking Tours (tips appreciated), 2x everyday at 10am and 3pm starting at the Plaza de Armas Cathedral. It's about 4 hours, but our tour guide was amazing and gave us great recommendations for things to do and places to see.

Some pictures from a few days in Santiago below:

Cathedral at Plaza de Armas


Lots of graffiti around the city, some better looking than others. This across from Pablo Neruda's house, La Chascona.


Funicular going up the Cerro San Cristobal


Virgin Mary at the top of Cerro San Cristobal


Fountains at Cerro Santa Lucía


Pastel de Choclo at Galindo in Bellavista


We also went on a winery tour at Vińa Casa Undurraga, about 35 minutes drive from Estacion Central (a lot of buses serve the road the winery is on). Being the only 2 English speakers there that day, we got a private tour by a lad who was actually younger than us, barely 20. However, I've been on winery tours in Napa Valley with my parents and in France while I studied abroad there, and this tour was far better than any of those. Being a science nerd, I like to learn about the processes different wines go through in their making. This tour didn't disappoint. If you go to SCL and want to go on a winery tour, I'd recommend this winery - it's not in the city, but not too far out.

Feels like CA


Got to taste the different grapes


The bottles of 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon served on my LAN flights once resided here


And a free glass to boot!

amolkold

(Aside) This segment was originally booked in Y, a few months before the trip. Why whY U ask? I blame it on award availability! I booked ex-LIM with AA since they have a cheaper rate from that part of South America and I had more AA miles and less BA points. From the SCL-LIM flight, it was either fly J at 9am only to have to wait for 12 hours in LIM, or fly Y at 9pm and connect directly to my overnight flight. Why pay 20K Avios for a 3+ hour J flight 12 hours before you want to leave when you can pay 5K + a few $ for the flight that continues on to your final destination?

But there was also a second reason – I (incorrectly) assumed that the flight would be on one aircraft, and wanted to see the look on the crew’s face when I sauntered up from Row 40-something to the front of J during the LIM layover, just so they could ponder who exactly I was. I had something of the sort happen to me on a Delta flight late last year, where I routed JFK to BUR via LAX and SLC, flying about 1100 miles to cover the 16 mile difference (although with the state of the 405 nowadays, my routing was probably faster). The FA in F was perplexed when she saw the list of connections in SLC and wondered why I was going back to BUR. Since that flight was pushing me over an elite level, I replied with the FTer’s mantra: “I did it for the miles.”

HOWEVER, I found it quite difficult to reserve a decent seat when LAN’s seating engine started working for me a few days before the trip. The only seats I could get were very limited legroom bulkheads or middle seats. Not my cup of tea. Curious to see if I could move up to Business, I played around with BA’s Avios engine. Sure enough, on the exact same flight, there were now 3 J seats still available as opposed to 0 when I had looked before. Not only that, but BA was allowing cash + Avios at a very reasonable cpm –it often pays to do cash + Avios for Y, but they seem to inflate the cost for each Avios point when you use it for J or F. Instead, the cpm for each Avios was similar to what it had been when I originally booked in Y for 5K Avios + cash. Canceling my old Y seat and getting into J would only cost me an extra 5000 Avios + $100, even after BA’s award changing fees. For an almost 4-hour flight in international J, this seemed very reasonable. I had already flown 3 flights in LAN’s business class and was hooked. I figured I could have dinner/watch a movie on the first leg, then drink/relax/drink/sleep/drink on the second leg. Plus, I wouldn’t have to argue with someone in broken Spanish about the technicalities of LAN’s lounge access policies at SCL if I had a departing J ticket rather than a J connection. Sorry, folks, but you’ll need to get a Y trip report somewhere else! .

/Aside

Wanting to spend as much time as my hometown friend before not seeing each other for over a year, I didn’t leave the city until about 5:45pm. I caught a Red Line 1 train to Los Heróes metro station. There, I caught a CentroPuerto bus, which took me to SCL. The busses are 1.600CLP (about $3.30) one-way, 2.800CLP round-trip, and they depart every 10 minutes. Much better than LAX’s FlyAway from Union Station – $7 one-way, every 30-60 minutes!

Centropuerto Bus


The bus makes several stops along the way and takes about 30-35 minutes to reach SCL. I would definitely recommend boarding at Los Heróes station so that you can board an empty bus, put your luggage away, and grab a good seat before they are taken up on later stops.

Upon arrival at SCL, I was greeted with a madhouse of different airline counters. Fortunately, having read FT, I know the drill at SCL. If you enter through Doors/Puertas 1-4, you won’t see any signage for LAN’s business class/priority check-in. You have to turn left and go toward Doors 5 and 6. There are signs there that show you to LAN’s Preferente Check-In.

The madhouse that is SCL, non-Preferente


No signs at Doors 1-4, the first one is at Door 5. You have to really look for it.


Here it is! In front of Door 6


An empty straight line, without the need for scissors


As I said earlier, this flight was on 2 separate itineraries; the first SCL-LIM leg booked through BA, the second LIM-JFK leg through AA. Just to test the agent, I simply gave her my passport and said, “I have a weird itinerary. One ticket to Lima, then another ticket to New York. Same flight number, 530. I thought I was going to be in Lima, turns out I’m in Santiago.” She seemed to handle this with ease. That is until I saw a hand-written baggage tag. Ummm … let’s hope this works.

Premium immigration and security are right next door to the Preferente Check-In. There was no line for immigration, which took less than 30 seconds. Security was a guy hanging out in front of a computer. I started to take out my laptop, but he said, “en la mochila es bien (in the backpack is fine).” All I did was take out the things in my pockets and walk through – he saw a water bottle in my bag and asked where I was flying. “Nueva York, pero no hay agua en la botella.”

Without looking at it – “Oh. Bien.” And I was on my way.

Both priority and regular security drop you off in the large duty-free area. I noticed that non-priority passengers got a tougher time from security than I had.

Lax Premium Security


Strict Non-Premium Security


I had some leftover Chilean Pesos and used them to buy some things, amongst them, Pisco Sour mix. My gate was 17A, immediately outside DF, but with boarding not for a while, I headed to the right toward Gate 20 and the LAN Neruda Lounge.

Entry to the lounge


(Because of the objections to photos that I encountered in LIM, I took most of the pictures in the lounge with my phone, since it would be too obvious with my actual camera. Apologies for the quality).

The Neruda lounge is much much nicer than the shared SUMAQ lounge in Lima, mostly because it is a proper LAN/OneWorld lounge.

The lounge is downstairs; when you enter, there is a check-in desk with one half of the lounge on the left, one half on the right. The lounge attendants were wonderful, spoke perfect English, and were keen to help anyone with anything LAN-related. They were pretty young and pretty good lookin', too (sorry, no photos )

View after heading downstairs


LAN 767-300ER model on the desk (permission granted by the lounge angels to take a picture of just this)


On the right, there are comfortable chairs near TVs (not too loud), as well as self-serve food/drinks bar and business center.

Seating area


Food/Drinks area


"Hey, I was just at your birthplace yesterday!"


Some tidbits from the bar, taken in the business center


My poor attempt at trying to be healthy


An odd thing I found in one of the refrigerators. After looking at the ingredients list, this definitely relies on the placebo effect


On the left side is a more quiet area. Bathrooms and showers are there, as well as the rest area, and more seating options. A separate bar is there for passengers on that side.

Sleeping room


Not knowing that showers were an option, I requested one rather late. I had walked around in the hot 90şF Santiago sun the whole day and had about 15 hours before I’d reach my hotel in NYC. All 3 showers had been occupied and there was a delay in cleaning them, so I wasn’t given a shower until 8:10pm, when boarding was called for my flight.

I decided to do a quick rinse, and exited the lounge at around 8:25pm, 10 minutes before gate closed. I did my best impression of an Olympic speedwalker to get to the gate before 8:35pm, reaching about 5 minutes beforehand.

All in all, I think that the Neruda Lounge at SCL is a great lounge for OW flights. I really hope LAN can emulate a lounge like this at LIM.

amolkold

While I was able to use the Preferente line, all passengers ended up having to wait in a long line for a second security check.

Long line already


AC's service to YYZ, with the sun setting in the back


View of 530's cockpit


I picked up my Duty Free and boarded the plane, taking seat 2A, the same seat I had on the JFK-LIM sector. I really think Row 2 is the best row on LAN's 767 in J -> you are one of the first to be served, since service is always front to back. Row 1 is not available until the airport, but if you are on the left side, you'll be close to a lavatory. Plus I prefer having the storage area in the back of the seat in front of me (unavailable in the bulkhead), especially since the seats are fixed back. I’m a big fan of window seats, and wanted one that faced the sunset. Also, while online check-in had shown the new 3-row J class configuration, it was a full 5-row configuration aircraft for this flight, with only 3 seats empty.

As requested in a PM, here's the seat's control panel. After holding down the flat-bed button, push the 'up' arrow on the horizontal seat button to make it go even flatter.


Pisco Sour was not an option for a pre-boarding beverage on this flight, which seemed odd since it was SCL-LIM. Shame. I ended up going with the champers instead (kudos to Olafman and his LAN reports, for turning me onto that term, as well as knowledge about LAN and the tip about SCL’s check-in). My FA decided to address me in Spanish, and I played along the entire flight, despite having my U.S. passport clearly out on the cocktail table during our first interaction.

Boarding was still going on at 8:50pm, and I had a feeling we’d be late. However, the LAN boarding system works, and we pushed back right on schedule at 8:55pm.

Due to winds, we took off toward the south and made a right-handed u-turn back north toward Lima, flying over Valparaiso and Vińa del Mar on the Chilean coast. Our flight time was estimated at 3h20m.

After takeoff, I tried to turn on the IFE, but to my disappointment, none of the movies, TV shows, or audio showed up. Just at that moment, the in-flight service manager introduced herself, addressing me in Spanish. I let out a “yeah” instead of “sí,” and she asked, “hablas ingles?” Figuring that this would be the person to report my IFE troubles to, I responded, “yes.”

“Good evening, Mr. amolkold. If you need anything during the flight, please let me know.”

“Well, as you can see, my IFE doesn’t work.”

She went off to reset it and told me to wait 5 minutes. I did just that, and 5 minutes later, the same problem occurred. I could see the center pax in 2H/D watching movies on their IFE, so it wasn’t a systemwide problem, just for myself (and I found out later, for 2C as well). The system was reboot for the entire plane some few moments later, but it still did not work for me then.

My IFE


Who needs IFE when you have this sunset? WOW.


Flying over Valparaiso and Vińa del Mar


I immediately busted out my laptop and started taking TR notes and listened to music with my own set of headphones (the LAN ones are proprietary).

After a quick hot-towel service, we were asked options for dinner. Here’s the menu, with my choices pictured (the wine menu was the same, and I have abbreviated the sommelier’s suggestions for each dish. The full wine list is on my first LAN TR, LAN 531 JFK-LIM):

DINNER
Salad greens with seasonal vegetables


Appetizer
Smoked salmon and sour cream
Master Sommelier suggestion: Torrontés 2011

Pumpkin soup with toasted almonds My choice was the Casa Lapostolle wine with this


Entrée
Grilled filet of beef with vegetable coulis and sautéed asparagus, onion and mushrooms
Master Sommelier suggestion: Syrah 2008

Mozzarella ravioli with tomato and olive sauce
Master Sommelier suggestion: Malbec 2007


Prosciutto salad with cottage cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, arugula and assorted lettuce
Master Sommelier suggestion: Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Special cheese selection

Dessert
Häagen Dazs ice cream
Fresh seasonal fruit
Cherimoya and dulce de leche torte


EXPRESS DINNER
Choose this alternative if you want more time to rest
-Select one of the options of appetizers and main entrées
-Salad
-Cheese Plate
-Select your dessert

(There was more to the menu, but it was more relevant for the next sector, LIM-JFK, with the same flight number)

The pumpkin soup was very … pumpkiny. Good, but pumpkin. I don’t know what I was expecting. The ravioli was delicious, as was the torte.

After dinner, I was somewhat curious about how a through-flight like this would work (SCL to JFK, via LIM). As I said before, I flew the reverse route (LAN 531) to start, but got off in LIM. It seemed like that same aircraft was going on to SCL. I went to an FA and showed my 2 BPs, both for LAN 530, but for each leg, and asked, “does this aircraft go on toward NYC?” I was told, “no, you must deplane at Lima.”

If there’s one thing about airlines that really peeves me, it’s booking a flight with the same flight number that requires aircraft changes. If I have to change planes, the airline has to change flight numbers.

After some quick shut-eye, I woke up during preparations for landing, at around 10:10pm Lima time. We flew past Lima to the west and made another right-handed U-turn, landing toward the South. It seemed like we were going to taxi for a while, until I realized that we were going to be parking at a remote stand. So not only were we going to have to switch aircraft, we’d have to take a bus.

When the seat belt sign turned off, I noticed that several in J, as well as many in Y, did not stand up. It wasn’t until the FAs mentioned that “passengers continuing on to New York or Easter Island must leave the aircraft with all baggage” before everyone stood up. (Also, talk about 2 completely different destinations in that sentence. When I arrived in New York and met up with a friend, he mentioned, "You just went from the middle of nowhere to the center of everywhere.")

Not my favorite view




I got on the bus to the terminal and walked briskly toward international connections. I went through another security check, this time with duty-free liquids, but was let through with just a simple search, needing only to remove things from my pockets and my belt. After walking upstairs, I found myself near the SUMAQ lounge. Despite my prior experience, I went inside, explaining to the desk agent that I didn’t have an invitation because I was connecting from Santiago, but that my BP clearly said LAN Business class. One last use of the orange juicer, as well as some email sending from the business center, and I was out within 10 minutes to go to Gate 20, for the continuation flight to JFK.

Gate lice-ing hard

amolkold

At 11:10pm, passengers were already lined up for economy class. Usually, I’m against gate lice, but this method of lining up works when there are multiple lines. So I stood in the Preferente line, the first one. I imagined that most other J class passengers were in the lounge. I later found out that business class had only 10 passengers, the lowest load of all my LAN flights. I was soon joined by several other J class passengers, and all passengers who were on the SCL-LIM LA530 segment were invited to use the Preferente line, regardless of class of service.

Flight: LAN 530
Depart: Lima, Peru (LIM) – 11:55pm – Actual 12:20am
Arrive: New York, NY (JFK) – 7:40am – Actual 8:00am
Duration: 7h45m (Actual 7h40m)
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Seat: 2A (Premium Business – Window)

After some pre-boards boarded, I was allowed to board. As this was a U.S.-bound plane, there was a secondary search. I explained that I was on the previous segment and that my duty-free was liquid but was also sealed. They let me through. Common sense wins ^.

Since all LAN boarding has been through Door 1L (whether 767 or A319), I had to wait for pre-boards to get on the plane before I could board. I was behind a family with two adolescent boys, who upon seeing the front cabin, said, “Dad, let’s sit in first class (sic)!” and proceeded to pretend to be in J. Normally, I wouldn’t care too much, but the older one decided to sit in my seat, 2A, and start playing around. I gave a bit of a glare to the dad with a quick “excuse me” to the younger lad, probably born in the same decade as myself. “You’re in my seat.” Perhaps this is why FTers like planes that board from Door 2L.

Empty J cabin (you can see part of the family I mentioned)


I was soon joined by another passenger in 2C who, upon seeing how empty the cabin was, took 2D and 2H instead. Perfect! Two J seats to myself again!

2>1


A celebratory Pisco sour to commemorate a brilliant first trip to the continent


One of the FAs came by and explained the midnight snack and breakfast. There was no menu in the magazine slot, but upon hearing the choices, I realized it was the same choices from the bottom of the SCL-LIM menu. I chose to skip the midnight snack and instead indulge in a full breakfast. I was given a long card to select my choices, and was told I’d be woken up about 90 minutes before landing.

Link to a high-res shot of the breakfast menu card

MIDNIGHT SNACK
Salad greens with seasonal vegetables
Main entrée: Ham, tomato and basil quiche, accompanied by grilled vegetables and roasted peppers
Dessert: White chocolate cheesecake with citrus fruit

BREAKFAST
You can choose between two options:
Cold Express Breakfast, to maximize your rest this option will be served 40 minutes before landing
Full Breakfast, select your option completing the preorder card that will be collected by the flight attendant.

After a delayed departure, water bottles were passed out and the lights were immediately turned off for passengers to go to sleep. I began watching “The Ides of March” on the IFE but fell asleep about 30 minutes in. With the light load, I was able to duplicate the double-duvet bed on my LIM-IPC flight.

A working IFE!


I got more than 5 full hours of sleep – man, these LAN beds are comfy! I woke up as we were flying east of Georgia, over the Atlantic. A bit serendipitous, as right around here, I flew my 400,000th commercial airline mile, since FlightMemory says I had just about 400,700 after landing at JFK. My FA noticed I had woken up a bit before the breakfast service and asked if I’d like my breakfast early. “Sí, por favor.” It would even give me time to finish the movie.

My 400,000th flight mile. Set to hit 450K sometime this year.


Breakfast, using the seat's reading light for lighting as it was still pretty dark in the cabin


Reading lights


Breakfast hit the spot, and I relaxed the last few hundred miles of the flight, figuring out when I’d be able to fly LAN again. I was only in South America for a bit over 2 weeks, 10 days with my friend from home, and wanted to go back very soon. Damn you, Avios. I have no interest in Y short-hauls.

More stubs for my collection


Approach into JFK


Plane-watching


My next aircraft


Okay, maybe some things are worse than an A319


We landed at JFK 20 minutes late, and I de-boarded quickly to go to CBP, forgetting my Duty-Free in the J class closet. I didn’t realize this until I was about to proceed through immigration; fortunately, I found a LAN representative at baggage claim, who made a call to her supervisor on the aircraft, who brought the duty-free to me. What service!

I don’t have Global Entry, but it took only 5 minutes to go through immigration, since our flight was late and missed a plethora of early arrivals. Unfortunately, the baggage handlers seemed to mix up the order of how bags should show up. A lot of bags for folks in the back of the plane, still in line for immigration, showed up first, while mine took almost 20 minutes. I found my bag had the priority tag ripped off, the second time this has happened. Is this standard operating procedure? Whatever. At least the hand-written bag tag worked. Easily through customs and to the AirTrain. Unlike T2, T8 has a covered walkway to the AirTrain. Get with it, Delta!

A scary moment with my bag, though, was the smell of wine I realized it was emiting as I was about to board the AirTrain. Oh. No. I had packed two bottles of wine in some protective wrapping – one white, one red. Guess which one broke. Fortunately, the red wine had been covered with some clothing I was going to throw out/donate after the trip anyway, so the damage was contained.

Off to Jamaica Station, where I transferred to an E Express to 42nd/Port Authority, and walked down to the Yotel NYC, my bag still reeking of wine. Oh well, there have been worse smells than a Malbec on NYC public transportation.

Verdict on LAN: I have heard such mixed things about LAN, especially the service, both on the ground and in the air. My experiences were excellent, save for a few hiccups that would and could happen on any other airline. The agents on the ground knew what they were doing and got me checked-in and on my way quickly. The sole LAN-operated lounge I visited, the SCL Neruda, was fantastic! The flight attendants were terrific, although you do have to have initiative on asking them for things outside normal service. Even in J, they won’t often come by and ask if you’d like anything, particularly in a full cabin. However, that’s what the call button is for, and each time I rang it, I had an FA within 30 seconds.

The hard product is amazing. The only big negative I have is that none of the flights I would be able to fly are long enough to enjoy it. As of now, the only long-hauls they have are to MAD and AKL from LIM and SCL. My longest sector on this was the JFK-LIM parts, about 7.5 hours overnight, hardly a medium-haul in my view.

One last shot of the flat-bed


ˇAdios!


Okay, maybe some J seats are a little more amazing. I'll be on the 77W version of this in May.



This concludes the main LAN J portion of this TR. Questions, comments, suggestions are definitely welcome. I still have 2 more posts since I didn't conclude my trip in NYC and still had a segment on AA's Flagship Transcon service a few days after landing at JFK. Since I just got back to L.A. and real life, those parts may take a few days.