The next morning, we departed in the shuttle at 4:30 am (yikes indeed). Again, the hotel was superbly organized, with coffee in the lobby and a snack bock given to each passenger (only us at this hour).



We arrived at the airport within a half hour and quickly checked in at the same desk. No problems checking the luggage, and we had boarding passes from the previous evening. They had rebooked us into paid classes - Y and C. At least I got credit for the flights…



Customs and security was simple - though the latter once again required removal of my watch.

Since the last time we had been in Guatemala City, two lounges opened at the airport, and we elected to go to the Ron Zacapa one - the only lounge I am aware of that’s run by a liquor company.



It was very nice, and a breakfast was even served at our table by the kind staff.











Time passed quickly and we boarded our 319. At the very least, I was able to assign the exit row, which was very generous in legroom.













The flight was uneventful, and we landed in San Salvador about 10 minutes late.





The terminal was tiny, with a total of 17 gates, and our aircraft was parked at the opposite end.



A few fun shops:





Too bad I didn’t have a chance to check out the lounge...

Boarding was in full swing, but when we approached the priority line, the agent quickly jumped over, blocked off the other queue and boarded us immediately.



For whatever reason, our seat assignments had been mucked up, but we sorted that out quickly onboard. There were three rows of business class, and the seats were very comfortable. A Tumi amenity kit was handed out - very nice.







The mood lighting was nice:



And so were the views after take-off:





After take-off, a breakfast was served, of which I didn’t get a picture.

The IFE was buggy and would continuously freeze, but the flight attendant was apologetic and always fixed it quickly.

And I had a new experience - the young man seated next to me barfed in flight. Luckily, it was into the bag.

Before landing, a lunch was served - consisting of a very decent hot sandwich.



And, rather unbelievably, our bags made the connection and came off the belt among the first in Toronto.

Avianca really impressed me - between the amenity kit, two meals on a North American flight, the accommodation in Guatemala, and kindness of their staff, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again.