It costs $100.00 USD for US citizens to enter Chile. This is called a reciprocity payment since the US started it all by charging Chilenos the same amount a couple of years back. On the plus side, it’s a one time payment, good for the life of your passport. Unfortunately, my passport expires in two years.

Since my “connecting” flight to Buenos Aires wasn’t scheduled to depart until the next afternoon at 3:10pm, I decided to splurge and shell out $45.00 for a room at the Hotel Ciudad de Vitoria. Granted, this hotel was no Sheraton, but the rooms were comfortable and included all the usual amenities like mini-bar, color cable television, hair dryer in the bathroom, etc. Upstairs on the 17th floor was a beautiful swimming pool along with a decent exercise room and a sauna. A good sized continental breakfast was also included in the rate. I’ll be staying here again on my return, if only to pick up my nice tweed jacket which I placed in storage with the hotel.


March 5, 2005
Santiago to Buenos Aires
LAN Chile 445 Business Class * Hot Snack
767-300 CC-CRH Seat 5A
310p-520p Flight Time: 1:27

In Santiago, a number of different companies operate busses to get you to or from the airport. Only one, however, offered door to door service. It cost $7.00 USD and got me out to the airport quickly and comfortably.

LAN Chile offers a separate check-in area for its Premium Class passengers, though oddly it is located on the complete opposite end of the terminal from LAN’s general check-in area. Once I’d figured this out, I hiked on down there and checked in without a problem.

Except one. On LAN’s website, this flight is listed as being operated by an A340 and since I’d only flown aboard Cathay Pacific’s version of this bird, I was really looking forward to checking out LAN’s version, especially to see if that First Class cabin looked any more plush than the one on the 767s. I’d only recently managed to get booked on this flight, specifically to fly the A340, but had not yet gotten around to getting a seat assignment. When, per my request, the agent assigned me a bulkhead window in seat 5A, I asked what kind of aircraft this was since 5A is also the bulkhead window in the 767s. Alas, today a 767 had been substituted for the A340. Well, dang!

On the plus side however, there was a lounge. In fact, there was for me at least a choice of lounges. My Business Class ticket would gain me entrance to LAN’s Salon VIP Neruda Lounge but my Priority Pass would gain me entrance to two others as well. Since Santiago is LAN’s home base, it was a pretty sure bet that they operated the finest lounge in the airport. As well, the Neruda Lounge was located right next door to my departure gate so I headed there straightaway.

The lounge is located one floor below the departures area and is accessed via a rather inauspicious entryway shielded by floor to ceiling opaque glass. Inside however, it is a fairly nice facility though surprisingly small given the number of flights that LAN operate out of SCL. Large windows offered a decent view of the ramp, though this view was obscured somewhat by a big metal walkway leading down to the jetway from the boarding lounge above. Across the airport, on the other side of the runway, I saw two of LAN’s A340s – one in the new colors and one in the old. Hopefully my 767 might suffer a mechanical and they’d have to bring over one of those A340s!

A buffet area offered miniature sandwiches, a tray of fresh sliced fruits, a plate of small cakes and cookies and a bowl of mixed nuts. A variety of spirits and liqueurs were also available, along with all the wines that were presently being served in LAN’s Business class this month. I poured myself a Bailey’s on ice and grabbed a couple of mini-sandwiches before heading over to one of the six workstations located at the far end of the lounge.

These workstations were wonderful! Each one was fairly large with wrap around wooden slat walls that afforded a good measure of privacy. There was a good two meters of desk space and four of the workstations came equipped with internet connected computers. As an added bonus, LAN provided free Wi-Fi connections for all whose laptops were so equipped. I spent a pleasant two hours in the lounge catching up on this report.

About twenty minutes before our scheduled departure time, the call to board was finally made and about a dozen of us headed upstairs and onto the aircraft. It was a very light load over to Buenos Aires today – maybe seventy people on the entire airplane. There were perhaps a dozen of us in Business Class. I took my seat at 5A and gratefully accepted a nicely chilled Pisco Sour along with a little bowl of mixed nuts. Hot towels followed soon after. This flight was off to a nice start.

I mentioned earlier that Santiago’s Benitez International Airport is one of the world’s more scenic airports to fly into or out of. This is particularly true when flying across the Andes to Buenos Aires. After take off, it only takes about twenty-five minutes to cross the Andes but the views are spectacular, especially given the size of the peaks – many of them well over 15,000 feet tall. Should any of you be so fortunate as to someday fly this route, be sure to ask for a seat on the “lado cordillera” or mountain view side of the aircraft.

Flight time to Santiago was listed at one hour and twenty-seven minutes so the Flight Attendants wasted little time in getting the service underway. Menus were distributed once we’d leveled out and drink orders were also taken at that time. It quickly became clear that today’s crew was quite a notch above yesterday’s group. The lead FA even announced the foreign languages spoken amongst the crew – excellent English along with Portuguese and German. Here is the menu transcript:


Santiago to Buenos Aires

HOT SNACK

TO START OUR SNACK
Champagne Henriot, Brut Souverain

FROM THE BAKERY
Choose your selection from our variety of warm breads

AS THE MAIN ENTRÉE, WE OFFER

Homemade Spinach Pascualina
Served with roasted tomatoes and steamed asparagus

A FRESH SALAD
Assortment of fresh greens with seasonal garnishes

OUR DESSERT
Fresh Seasonal Fruit

Freshly brewed gourmet, instant coffee, decaffeinated coffee, tea or herbal teas

Liqueurs




Champagne was indeed offered to start this meal, though I settled for a glass of mineral water. As always, the meal was presented on a tray all at once. I quite enjoyed the Spinach Pascualina, which was kind of like a spinach pie with a flaky Greek style pastry crust. Still, I must take some issue with the term “Homemade” as it applies to this particular dish – or any airline dish for that matter. I just can’t quite see any of LAN’s chefs painstakingly slaving over their comparatively small home ovens and then delivering the completed dish to the airport commissary.

Regardless of its origin, the Spinach Pascualina was a very pleasing entrée and once again, crisp delicious asparagus accompanied it. As an added bonus, a choice of warmed rolls, presented in a nice basket, was offered for the first time. We never saw this yesterday. Coffee with Baileys brought this repast to a delicious conclusion and, after a flight time of just one hour and twenty-six minutes, we touched down at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini Airport and parked between a TAM A320 and a LAB 767-300.

Though short, this flight exemplified why LAN Chile has garnered such a fine reputation amongst Latin American carriers, not to mention all airlines. I thanked the Flight Attendants for their fine service and headed off to immigration, pausing only briefly to admire the shiny blue and white Lloyd Aereo Boliviano 767-300 parked next door.