Well it's that time of year again when I take a month's vacation to Uruguay, as usual. Unfortunately, however, my flying career as of now is painfully monotonous, and every flight I've ever flown has originated in JFK and my final destination has always been MVD.    Last year around this time I posted an almost identical trip report, and because I experienced the same overall service and itinerary, I'll keep this report to mostly pictures, since I know everyone likes to see pictures of planes & airports on this site   and rewriting what I've already written seems sort of repetitive (as is my flying routine). Hopefully my future holds a larger variety of fights, I hope! Anyhow, I hope you like the pictures, and every so often I'll add some comments concerning the trip. Enjoy!

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Before we got to the airport I spotted something rather interesting pass us on the Staten Island Expressway; a truck carrying large orange boxes with "AIRBUS" and their logo stamped on them. I was very intrigued, and upon reaching the Verrazano where the traffic began to stop, I was able to catch a good picture. Apparently, the boxes were holding the inner flaps and ailerons for an A300-600, and the truck had Virgina license plates - I wonder where it was headed?  



We got to the airport on time, and the picture taking began.

I like the new flat screen LCDs that they installed throughout T4, replacing the older CRT screens, definitely gives it a more modern look.



Paper mache figures hanging over the Duty Free area; honestly I forget why they were there.  


On the tarmac were numerous aircraft, as usual.









Preparing for the A380, Gate A6 is getting a second level constructed to it's boarding area. I didn't know it then, but after reading Ronerone's report on the Emirates A380, I discovered that this second level connects directly to the lounge for direct boarding of First & Business passengers. Very convenient.



FLIGHT ONE===================
LAN533 - Saturday, June 21, 2008
From: New York JFK - John F. Kennedy Int'l
To: Santiago de Chile SCL - Arturo Merino Benitez Int'l
Aircraft: CC-CZU B767-300ER
Departure: 20:00
Arrival: 06:50 (Actual: 07:10)
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Our aircraft to SCL, CC-CZU.


Boarding was quick and efficient, and we were slightly delayed upon taxiing because of traffic. The cabin was clean and comfortable as I would expect on LAN, however, my seat as well as another in front of me was missing the small cup holder on the right side of the PTV. Maybe I'm paying too much attention to detail, but how can those things break so easily? The seats are about a year old, I hope they aren't showing wear already... My suspicion was that maybe someone removed them, but I don't think anyone would do something pointless like that, at least I hope not   .

Inside the cabin of LAN's 767



Among many aspects of LANs in-flight entertainment is its varied selection of music. They modified their layout for listening to albums slightly and it is, in my opinion, much improved from the previous layout, as well as being simpler to use.


My previous trip report lack pictures of the meal service, something that many pointed out, so here is the food. It was VERY tasty.


For breakfast they offered an omelet or a hot sandwich, and I've learned that the sandwich is more filling (and more savory) than the omelet.


We had a pretty good flight, although there were quite a few instances of turbulence for the first few hours, prompting the seat belt signed to be turned on and off constantly. However most passengers were sleeping, and they probably didn't even notice . We arrived only a few minutes late to Santiago, however this didn't phase me since my connection to MVD wouldn't depart until 13:10...

The tarmac & various scenes from beautiful SCL.


A few minutes later...











FLIGHT TWO===================
LAN900 - Sunday, June 22, 2008
From: Santiago de Chile SCL - Arturo Merino Benitez Int'l
To: Montevideo MVD - Carrasco Int'l
Aircraft: CC-COI A320-200
Departure: 13:10
Arrival: 16:20
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After wandering the airport for a good 5 hours I noticed that the 767 scheduled to fly that day's flight to MVD was not showing up. I was getting a tad nervous, because not only was the gate empty an hour before departure, but there were two staff members working busily at the gate counter. As I approached them to ask if anything was wrong, an A320 pulled up to our gate. This meant seat changes, which meant I had to secure my window seat for the flight across the Andes, and if possible, a window seat on the left side so that I could see the Andes and their continuation northward. (Yes, I have an obsession with window seats ). The attendant at the gate was VERY nice and friendly and gave me seat 27A, and I was happily content, as I didn't think I would be able to get the seat I wanted, and on the side I wanted!. Way to go LAN!!! And, even though they had to deal with seat changes and a lot of people bringing oversize carry-ons, we left the gate on time.   

However, I didn't have my camera with me on this flight because my mom had it, in Row 10, and the flight was literally packed. However I took mental pictures, and the Andes never cease to amaze me. I must visit someday...

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Well time goes by flying when you're having fun, and it was soon time to return.

At MVD they had setup a to-scale model of the new terminal as well as a presentation. The second I rose my camera was the second they forbid me to take a picture... o well... however I, as do many people, look forward to stepping foot in the marvelous new terminal.



This isn't a plane but it's just as good; an Audi A5, on display to the right of check-in. - I WANT IT!!!   



Also at the airport that day, Uruguayan troops were departing, I assume for some UN mission. They entered the airport through the Central Hall, paraded (sort of) through the hall connecting Check-In with the Central Hall and continued onward towards the gate; there were a lot of them!




FLIGHT THREE===================
LAN901 - Sunday, July 20, 2008
From: Montevideo MVD - Carrasco Int'l
To: Santiago de Chile SCL - Arturo Merino Benitez Int'l
Aircraft: CC-CDP B767-300ER
Departure: 17:20
Arrival: 18:55
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We boarded conveniently through the lone jet bridge, on time, and without issue.





Take off was quick due to the light load and we were served the so-called "Snack", a tasty and filling sandwich. Looks simple, but trust me, it was good. (For those wondering this was the same meal served on LA900 SCL-MVD as well)


Also, my mom was picked, I suppose randomly, to complete an official LAN survey. She was tired and really didn't feel like filling it out, I however, was very willing to tell LAN my thoughts of them, and so I did! It was pretty extensive, covering every aspect of travel including ground services. Took about 5-10 minutes to fill it out, I hope they read it!

Our flight to SCL however was endlessly turbulent... Nothing but turbulence all the way to SCL, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. There was extensive cloud cover throughout the route. However what was particularly striking was the cloud cover over the Andes; I didn't see a single peak on our approach to SCL... It is VERY eerie to know you're flying over a large mountain range, yet see nothing but gray clouds through the window... it was a unique but startling experience, I'm sure others here have experienced this as well; someone not fond of flying however wouldn't enjoy it much    ...

Landing was also shaky, but there's been worst. It was now time to -yet again- roam through SCL.


At the main Duty Free shop at SCL I discovered an area towards the back of the store where there is a window wall that looks out towards the land side section (I assume near Check-in). There were people waving to those who were leaving on the Duty Free side. It was an interesting site and I didn't even know it was there...



FLIGHT FOUR===================
LAN532 - Sunday, July 20, 2008
From: Santiago de Chile SCL - Arturo Merino Benitez Int'l
To: New York JFK - John F. Kennedy Int'l
Aircraft: CC-CML B767-300ER
Departure: 21:15
Arrival: 08:05 (Actual: 8:20)
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I didn't take pictures of any aircraft at this point because my camera doesn't like the night, and picture quality would have been below par... Anyways, as we waited at the gate, I noticed that an A340 was pulling in, again one hour before departure, and I became very ecstatic - I thought I'd be flying on the A340, which I hadn't done since the days I flew on AR! However I quickly realized that it would be very odd for them to use one of their scarce A340s as a substitute aircraft to JFK, and indeed my thoughts were confirmed when the info screens changed from "New York" to "Los Angeles". Soon, the flock of passengers headed to JFK migrated towards the new gate where boarding immediately began. Out of the six times that I've departed from SCL, three of those times I experienced a gate change - are gate changes frequent at SCL or was I just lucky to experience them?

Anyways, we boarded on time and without a problem, and the flight was soon underway.
This flight was largely uneventful, service was great as always, and so was the food. One last note, LAN has downsized their entertainment guide into a brochure-like booklet, however it is still very informative and better than the larger guide.


We landed a few minutes late at JFK but it was not a problem, and with that my trip came to an end. This is my third trip with LAN and they have yet to disappoint me. They are indeed a great airline, for a great price. I hope to fly LAN to other destinaitons in the future, and fly their domestic routes to see what they offer there. I hope you liked the pictures & the overall report, thanks for reading!

~Airbus767