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LAN's 5th Freedom MAD-FRA in the New J Cabin on the 789

LAN's 5th Freedom MAD-FRA in the New J Cabin on the 789

Old Aug 26, 2016, 3:47 am
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Thanks for the trip Report
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Old Aug 26, 2016, 5:46 am
  #17  
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After few hours at the very nice and quite AC Maple Leaf Lounge boarding was announced so I headed to the gate and had a very close and beautiful view of the beauty:



Oh, I love those elegant windshield wiper

Upon entering the aircraft saw this nice welcome plaque that I missed in the former flight:



I went to the seat and soon afterwards a flight attendant came and introduced himself to me; he was very nice throughout the flight although somewhat mechanical in his approach. Anyway, for the pre-flight drink he offered gin and bitter-lemon cocktail which was enthusiastically accepted ^



After a few minutes we started rolling towards the runway and I relaxed in my seat and started watching a film; perhaps I was a bit hasty when I wrote before that the screen is too far from the seat. It still seems a bit awkward to me but the viewing experience is definitely not bad.

And then things got wrong. halfway on the taxiway we stopped and the captain made a brief announcement in Spanish about some regulations of the airport and that we will had to stop for a couple of minutes. It was not clear what was happening and as the announcement was made only in Spanish (which I understand) some pax were confused as now we were not moving for more than ten minutes. And then I looked from the window:



Firemen with their helmets on, this cannot be a good sign

And then there were three:



And then four :



And then came a guy with a video camera:



And then he started filming the right engine:



At this point people started to go around the cabin, as it was clear that we are not going anywhere soon. Still, no sign of life from the flight deck and the cabin crew seemed puzzled as we were. After ten minutes people on the left side got excited about something so I also went to see what is going on. That was not encouraging at all :





Now we were sitting on the ground for 45 minutes and honestly even I (the seasoned FTer) became worried There was clearly something wrong with the aircraft and it seemed plausible that we will be towed back to the gate. It doesnt feel very good to be on an aircraft that is about to depart with all that attention and inspection from the outside (and no information whatsoever on the situation). Secondly, thinking few steps ahead I began to consider my other options as my flight from MAD to TLV was on a separate PNR. So I started consulting ExpertFlyer for other options to MAD, not that there were many.

But then the vehicles around the aircraft began to go away:



Good news? Yes! Finally the captain came on and explained that airport personnel saw smoke coming out of the right engine and for that reason they had to make a thorough examination of it and that everything is okay. Fair enough, and this time he also repeated it in English. I would not say that I felt 100% safe but then I said to myself that after all this (German) inspections it should be fine. And it was???? The rest of the flight was uneventful, and the service was excellent this time as well as was the food, although again I cannot comment on all the ingredients



As I promised I took a picture of the seat in its fully flat position:



And as well as the first few rows of Espacio +, which does seem to have more legroom even if not that much more (officially its 2, I think):





J cabin from the Espacio + section:



And last but note least a photo of 5A/B for tynmar



We landed in MAD an hour late than scheduled and I headed to the Air Rooms on the land-side of T4 as I decided to deprive myself from the delights of a night at the lounge, even if it has a relaxation room. I did not get much sleep the night before and another night like this with a five hours flight to take was too much (although by that point I was upgraded to J on IBs A319 mid-haul which is a nice one). All on that you could read in the concluding post, soon.
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Old Aug 26, 2016, 7:40 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by Innocent Abroad
And then I looked from the window:



Firemen with their helmets on, this cannot be a good sign
On German I would say: Vertrauenserdrckend. But to be fair it is good to know they have an eye on things.
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Old Aug 26, 2016, 7:47 am
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Originally Posted by offerendum
On German I would say: Vertrauenserdrcken
Genau

BTW from the tone of the captain it sounded as if he thought the this was over-exaggerated. I actually have a recording of that announcement but don't know if it is possible to upload audio to the post....

Last edited by Innocent Abroad; Aug 26, 2016 at 8:29 am
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Old Aug 28, 2016, 3:24 am
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MAD is an airport I really like, from A to Z, but the hotel situation, especially when flying from T4 is not always that great. In the past I either stayed in the center of the city, which is connected very well to the airport or used one of the hotels "near" the airport using their free shuttles. However these shuttles tend to be a pain, especially in the morning when a lot of pax are heading back to the airport so decided to try the Air Rooms located inside T4.

The facility also serves as IB's arrival lounges so I had a general idea about the place. Its location is rather confusing; it is on the lower level of T4, one floor down from arrivals and on the same level as the Metro so you have to go down one level either by the lift or an escalator:



From the distance it looks like a black and white cube:



And this is the entrance:



It's not cheap in comparison to the "nearby" hotels or hotels in city centre (I paid 100$) and the rooms are very basic (see photos below) but it does the trick. Next morning I woke up and in less the 30 minutes I was in the Velzquez lounge awaiting my flight to TLV.









I hope you enjoyed reading this TR
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Old Aug 28, 2016, 5:08 am
  #21  
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Having had the LAN flights on my radar for some time, maybe reading your very nice TR will push me into decision.

BEG is, however, not on my planning sheet, bet if I had to go there, a detour with nice lounge experiencies, and collecting som extra TPs/miles would compensate.

A great read, thanks for sharing.
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Old Aug 28, 2016, 5:39 am
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Originally Posted by onobond
Having had the LAN flights on my radar for some time, maybe reading your very nice TR will push me into decision.

BEG is, however, not on my planning sheet, bet if I had to go there, a detour with nice lounge experiencies, and collecting som extra TPs/miles would compensate.

A great read, thanks for sharing.
I'm glad you liked it ^ I would certainly do it again and if it works well with my actual travel plans
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Old Aug 29, 2016, 3:20 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Innocent Abroad
very basic (see photos below)
But at least modern Looks much better than some tired "luxury" options.
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Old Aug 29, 2016, 3:25 am
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Originally Posted by offerendum
But at least modern Looks much better than some tired "luxury" options.
Yes, and for a night's sleep that is more than enough. It felt strange though to be in a room without a window
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Old Aug 30, 2016, 4:45 am
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Originally Posted by Innocent Abroad

And last but note least a photo of 5A/B for tynmar


Innocent Abroad thank you so much for this I read the latest posts last night and saw my name and couldnt stop laughing.

Also glad the flight was a success after the smoking engine scare ^

Great TR, look forward to the next wherever that might be
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Old Aug 30, 2016, 8:38 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by tynmar
Innocent Abroad thank you so much for this I read the latest posts last night and saw my name and couldnt stop laughing.

Also glad the flight was a success after the smoking engine scare ^

Great TR, look forward to the next wherever that might be
tynmar, do post back a review of row 5 for me, if you can! I have my group of 4 traveling LAX-SCL booked in rows 4AC, 5AC, but since our trip isn't for months, I still have plenty of time to change us closer to the middle of the cabin if it's too loud / busy at the back of the cabin.

Thx,
-CLG
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Old Aug 30, 2016, 2:28 pm
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Originally Posted by tynmar
Innocent Abroad thank you so much for this I read the latest posts last night and saw my name and couldnt stop laughing.
Cheers

Originally Posted by CLG
I have my group of 4 traveling LAX-SCL booked in rows 4AC, 5AC
I think that LAX-SCL is operated sometimes on the 788 so the setup of the J cabin is different.
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Old Aug 31, 2016, 8:33 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Innocent Abroad
Cheers



I think that LAX-SCL is operated sometimes on the 788 so the setup of the J cabin is different.
When I originally ticketed, it was a -8, but LAN has up-gauged the route to the -9, if not already, at least in 2017 when we are traveling!

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Old Aug 31, 2016, 1:25 pm
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Originally Posted by CLG
When I originally ticketed, it was a -8, but LAN has up-gauged the route to the -9, if not already, at least in 2017 when we are traveling!

CLG
Enjoy, then
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Old Sep 12, 2016, 12:22 am
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Originally Posted by Innocent Abroad

Anyway, for the pre-flight drink he offered gin and bitter-lemon cocktail which was enthusiastically accepted ^


So ignorant I now realise it was Pisco Sour
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