Subject:  Re: AA or Lan Chile?
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 06:01:51 GMT From:
Chester Paul Sgroi <chester@sgroi.com>
Organization: Geeks of the World - Unite
Newsgroups: rec.travel.latin-america
References: 1 , 2

Greetings:

I do not have any experience with flying American Airlines internationally but I did use Lanchile on my recent trip to Peru from Los Angeles, U.S.A.

The trip from Los Angeles to Lima, Peru took almost exactly eight (8) hours in duration. The same was the case when returning from Peru back to the United States.

The flight was non-smoking for all parts in both directions.

The Lanchile flight from Los Angeles to Lima departed about 20 minutes late. It was first necessary to wait in a line at the LA terminal to check in. I could be wrong about this but each line seemed to be for a different destination. I think this because when I appraoched the LanChile check-in area, a person acting as some type of coordinator asked me where I was going and after he heard my reply regarding "Lima, Peru" he directed me to stand in a certain line which I did. After the usual formalities were taken care of, I proceeded to a departure lounge past the security checkpoint where we had to wait for a certain bus to take us to a "remote departure point" within the airfield itself.

Interestingly enough, a man was being deported from the United States and two (2) armed men with visible weapons pre-boarded this man upon the aircraft. The armed men left the plane and were standing by the departure point on the ground until it took off. I later met him walking around the plane unaccompanied. He and I had a brief but interesting conversation which is why I know what happened and how I still remembered it.

Once we boarded the plane, all seemed to generally go smoothly.

Lanchile shows in-flight movies to all classes and gives you the headsets that you can plug into your seat arm in order to hear what is going on or select a different musical channel if not interested in the film. Since I did not jack in for the movie, I do not know if it was played in Spanish or English but I do know the movie's name was "Analize This."

When the inflight movie was not in progress, the projectors would either feature Chilean landscapes scenes (with the accompanying of string instrumentals) or comedies (such as "Just Kidding") or news.

On the way from Los Angeles to Lima, the projector for our section of the aircraft (tourist class) was not functioning properly and the flight crew were never able to make it work (which is why I did not watch the movie). Instead, I just listened to one of their music selections for a while through their headset and later fell asleep.

I will say that both the lunch and dinner they provided to us tourist class passengers was better in my opinion that what is normally doled out to domestic regular class passengers within U.S. internal flights. The seats were also comfortable with pillows and blankets provided. I do not know the type of jet airplane they used but it was quite wide with three (3) sets of rows. One of three (3) sets of seats on the left and right by the windows with a third row in the middle. It was quite roomy and there was even a little sign near our section which told us when all the bathrooms were occupied or available that way one would not make a restroom run for naught.

The latrines did not have any plug in outlets. Maybe, this was the case because of the difference between the electrical current of the U.S.A. (110V) versus Peru (220V).

Both the flight attendents and the in-flight magazine were bilingual so there is no worry about not being able to communicate if one happens to lack knowledge of Spanish.

Interestingly enough, our particular flight crew ran OUT of the Peruvian tourist cards which later presented a problem for some of us who did not have them when trying to navigate customs because passport control had no cards neither. By the time, we were able to obtain our tourist cards from a lanchile ground agent, we were over an hour behind schedule. Before the Lanchile crew ran out of tourist cards, I noticed that they were dispensing both English and Spanish versions. The lesson to learn here was not to depend upon the airlines to provide your entry documents (forms) for you.

You can read more regarding my description of the Lima (Jorge Chavez) Airport at:

http://www.sgroi.com/docs/limair.txt - or - http://www.sgroi.com/docs/limair.html

There is also someone else's most excellent account of the Lima Airport at:

http://www.sgroi.com/docs/airport.txt - or - http://www.sgroi.com/docs/airport.html

A copy of the my flight intinerary can be seen online as well at:

http://www.sgroi.com/docs/itinerary.txt

I also attach the text versions to this particular post for your information.

1. airport.txt - Jon's description of Lima's Jorge Chavez airport.
2. limair.txt - My account of the Lima airport.
3. itinerary.txt - My particular Lanchile flight itinerary from LA to Lima.

Hopefully, this monologue of mine has given you an idea of my experience with Lanchile and international flight. Yours experience may vary differently.

With regards,

Chester Paul Sgroi
http://www.sgroi.com or mailto:chester@sgroi.com
ICQ #1459119, Yahoo & AIM: Chetsgroi,
"Curiosity may have killed the cat but a cat has (9) lives."