Another fine TR, SFO777. Thanks especially for the comments about the Amex Centurion Lounge at DFW. With the Amex Plat/AA lounge access agreement coming to an end in March, I'd been wondering whether to retain my Amex Plat in order to at least access the Centurion lounges. I'm now leaning against it.

I forget whether you've flown the AA 777W F yet. It's not nearly the leap ahead of old AA international F that the 777W J is compared to old J, but it's still a nice improvement. Fully agree about how the FA seniority system can undercut the quality of F service. Probably the best purser I've had on international F was AA, but also had one of the worst FA's flying in that cabin (on a different flight). Hope you luck out with your next AA trip.

8-9 tastings in one day? :eek:
The DL seats/suites in the 744 UD are much more comfortable and probably the only DL international metal I might fly again.

Thanks very much worldtraveller73. Good way to describe it. :D

Thank you Gaucho100K. We really enjoyed Argentina and got a new appreciation for Argentinian wines. The wine region around Mendoza is spectacular. :)

Thanks Thunderroad. Bummer about the AmexPlat access changes. DL is also canceling their AmexPlat agreement but I still see value in the AmexPlat card. Haven't been on the 77W yet but we are booked on AA50 DFW-LHR at the end of May, part of our return to CMB.

Great report! It has been very helpful in deciding whether I should ditch BA upper deck CW for AA 777-200 in F from MIA to LHR.

Thanks for another good report, SFO777 - only just catching up with this one.

The DEN Admirals Club looks like a typical North American business class lounge – nothing special, but comfortable enough. There are far worse third party lounges out there. Paying for food and drinks is just awful though!

The snack mix on the DEN-DFW flight really is pitiful for what is essentially a business class offering.

The Amex lounge looks quite good at DFW – certainly better than an average Admirals Club, IMO.

AA’s F cabin on their 772s is starting to look dated now. The menu seems quite limited, particularly the lack of any proper desserts (just ice cream). QF have breakfast cards in International Business, which do work very well (albeit with a much greater selection than AA). However, I really don’t think it’s necessary in First.

I’m quite impressed with the presentation of the meal services – certainly much better than I’ve seen before on AA. It does seem more J than F, however.

Your hotel in EZE looks nice in an old-world way. The cemetery you visited is a little creepy! Loved the bookstore in the theatre. You have some great street photography shots throughout EZE, which looks like an architecturally interesting city.

Seems like AR are one to miss!

I agree the Park Hyatt in Mendoza doesn’t look up to the usual standard. It’s disappointing when chain hotels fail to match up to the brand – the Shangri-La in Cairns was one of those. It was so disappointing we left early and they refunded our entire stay! It was good luck that you were able to move to the wine lodge.

Some of those tasting menus in the wine region seem good value for money – 400ARS which is circa £30!

Very poor that LAN don’t offer even a drink on a 40 minute flight! BA manage snacks and a full bar service on a comparable domestic flight (eg. LHR-MAN).

Santiago looks like a nice city, as does the Sheraton property you stayed in, although the room wasn’t to my taste décor wise.

Neither the DL Sky Club nor the AA Admirals Club looks very good at Santiago.

DL’s BusinessElite catering looks surprisingly good! On a par with AA F by the looks of it. The seat does look narrow, but at least it’s a flat bed, which you can’t be guaranteed of on many airlines eg. LH. Probably slightly unfair to compare it with F - as a business class product it looks pretty OK to me (although admittedly I haven't flown DL).

Must catch up with your other couple of latest reports now!

Somehow I'd missed out on this when you were posting it. A great TR as always. And I'm glad to see that AA got your champagne to you chilled. ^

LAN doesn't permit the crew to get up for very much as planes cross the Cordillera. For example, on an SCL/EZE flight, the crew doesn't even get up until one has crossed well into Argentina, and after take off, there's a steep ascent to get to altitude (typically flying southbound) prior to turning east. The flight is barely over 100 NM. LAN offers a simple snack and limited beverage service on, i.e., SCL/LSC, where one doesn't cross the mountains.

Thank you LondonElite.

Thanks so much Genius1 for your comments.

The Admirals Club in SCL was actually pretty nice, much better than the woeful Delta Sky Club. DL BusinessElite food was indeed very good. Tough to take the hard product when most of our long-haul travel has been in F. ;)

Interestingly, AA has now upgraded DEN-DFW (and LAX-DEN) to full meal fight status. From this past week on DEN-DFW on a 1:25P departure.

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Thanks greg5.

I guess I can understand as there is probably a good likelihood of turbulence as you cross the mountains. Although, it was perfectly smooth the day we flew.

Thank you for a wonderful TR. Good to know you generally had a good time in my home town (Buenos Aires). Any plans to go back to Argentina and visit other parts of the country?

I noticed you did not offer an opinion about the wines you sampled in Mendoza. Were you impressed by any of them?

Glad this got bumped! Missed it the first time, but as usual, an awesome TR from SFO777!

Awesome TR SFO777. Thanks!!