aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Posted (11 months 1 week 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 9246 times:
Fifth Freedom, South American Style! LA SYD-AKL
Background For the return leg from Sydney to Auckland, I wanted to try a fifth freedom carrier preferably from South America. Both Aerolineas Argentinas & LAN Airlines fly this jaunt across the Tasman (though AR are ending their flights to AKL in June, opting to fly direct to SYD). Between those 2 I was more interested in flying LA, who along with the recently merged TAM are now the biggest airline in South America. Fares weren’t too bad ($250 NZD) so I quickly pulled the trigger.
Booking on LA’s clean website was hassle-free & after booking you have the ability to manage your booking , check-in online & select your seat. However the last option is unavailable to anyone who books a cheap fare...
Sydney
Before we get to the actual flight I’d look to show you a few pics of Sydney. I spent 5 very enjoyable days there & it really is a one-of-a-kind city!
The Sydney Opera House from the walkway on the Harbour Bridge
Sydney’s CBD
A quintessential shot
Two famous Sydney icons, The harbour bridge & Sydney ferries
The Operahouse
There is a boat race known as the ‘Ferrython’ which occurs every Australia Day (26 Jan). Interesting to see China Southern sporting a ship.
Very patriotic
Sydney may be a teeming metropolis but there are a still a few quiet spots
Every Australia Day they have a fireworks display which I was able to attend
Another bit of natural beauty, this is ‘The Gap’
Bondi Beach
On the final day, I made it to Taronga Zoo to see some Australian wildlife.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 1, posted (11 months 1 week 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 9240 times:
Wednesday 1st February
After spending the night at the ‘Formule 1 Sydney Airport’, I caught a shuttle (which cost $6) to Sydney’s international terminal.
After arriving I made it over to the LA check-in desk where there was no line awaiting me. The check-in agent attended to me rather quickly & I was able to walk away with my requested window seat.
From there I made it over to the outdoor observation desk, which was totally empty when I arrived.
The observation deck in all its glory
QF 744 with a VS A346 landing in the background
BA tail
Domestic terminals
Overall the observation deck is a nice little facility though at this time it was quite wet, so it wasn’t the most desirable place to be. It also is quite hard to find though it’s well worth a visit if you’re ever in SYD.
From there it was time to go through immigration & security which fortunately was quick & once out we were met by this.
At SYD you’re basically forced to walk right through the duty free shops which I find quite annoying. Unfortunately this phenomenon has spread as now they’ve got a pretty similar setup in AKL, though at least at AKL they’ve got a path you can follow to avoid the duty free shops.
Moving on, here’s a JL 772 with an EK whalejet in the background
UA 744
It’s a shame they’ve changed the livery as I don’t think this one was too bad..
Here’s the plane that’ll be taking me across the Tasman
CC-CQF is one of 5 A343 in LA’s fleet & has been in service for just over 10 years. LAN (including all of their subsidiaries) currently have a fleet of 151 aircraft. Pretty impressive!
Boarding occurred on time & after a friendly greeting on board, I made it to my seat 29A
Legroom is acceptable though I thought the seat was a bit too hard
Long time since I’ve seen one of these
Headphones
Safety Card
It seemed like an archaically long time before we were able to pushback from the gate about 15 minutes late. Interestingly, there was no information from the cockpit. Furthermore, we spent another 30 minutes waiting in line until we were finally able to takeoff.
JQ A332 next to us
UA 744
QF whalejet
Saying goodbye to Australia
After takeoff I decided to explore the IFE. LAN’s ‘in’ system is touchscreen & includes:
40 Movies
100 TV features
Over 400 Audio features
20 Games
The only weakness I found is that it isn’t a gate-to-gate system but otherwise it will keep you entertained for even the longest of flights.
Remote
Airshow
LAN
In-flight magazine IFE guide Duty Free
About halfway through the flight, trolleys were pushed through the cabin signalling meal service. I have to admit, I didn’t think that LA would offer any sort of meal service so it caught me a bit by surprise. One choice was available, which was a ham & cheese sandwich.
Meal
The sandwich can’t be described as fresh though it was edible. Fruit & a rather nice carrot cake were also on the tray. A beverage service was also provided & unlike on EK, the drinks trolley arrived immediately after the trays were given. Also it’s worth noting that LA had metal cutlery which is something I look for.
Cabin
Unfortunately, this flight had to come to an end. However, there were some pretty good views of AKL on descent. It’s always cool to see your home town/city from the air!
Auckland CBD
Ports of Auckland & the harbour
Urban landscape of Auckland
Rangitoto Island, it looks a lot more interesting from the ground
Natural landscapes
Manukau mini-CBD
On the ground
EK are everywhere!
A shot of LAN’s business class during disembarking.
Once I disembarked, I made it through immigration which didn’t take too long, however there was a huge mass of people at the baggage claim/quarantine area. There were huge queues at quarantine with no order at all. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t carrying anything that needed inspection so was able to travel through the NZ citizen fast-track line but it is disappointing that for many, this is the first impression they get of NZ & AKL is supposedly the best airport in the Pacific region.
Conclusion
Overall I had a perfectly pleasant flight with LAN. There was good legroom, good IFE & even a small meal, which took me by surprise. The crew also did everything they were required to do (though nothing above & beyond). Lastly it was a great experience getting my first flight on the A340. I like the 2-4-2 seating arrangement found in A330’s/A340’s so will be aiming to fly on more of them.
Also I must say that I had an awesome time in Sydney & Melbourne. They both are great cities & I would highly recommend visiting them.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 3, posted (11 months 1 week 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 8417 times:
Hi there aflyingkiwi,
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 1): After arriving I made it over to the LA check-in desk where there was no line awaiting me. The check-in agent attended to me rather quickly & I was able to walk away with my requested window seat.
I'm guessing this means no on-line check-in either? I understand not being able to choose your seat in advance, but OLCI is almost like a given in this day and age...
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 2): LAN’s ‘in’ system is touchscreen & includes:
Ah, touchscreen. Good. More airlines should switch to that sort of system, as the remotes are horrible to work with...
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Reply 2): The sandwich can’t be described as fresh though it was edible. Fruit & a rather nice carrot cake were also on the tray. A beverage service was also provided & unlike on EK, the drinks trolley arrived immediately after the trays were given. Also it’s worth noting that LA had metal cutlery which is something I look for.
Well, at least there was something. Metal cutlery is a nice touch as well.
Nice pics of Sydney too; too bad about the wet conditions during your departure.
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 5, posted (11 months 1 week 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 6919 times:
Hi dc9northwest,
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 3): I'm guessing this means no on-line check-in either? I understand not being able to choose your seat in advance, but OLCI is almost like a given in this day and age...
I think LA do have online check-in though it isn't available on the SYD-AKL flight for some reason.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 3): Ah, touchscreen. Good. More airlines should switch to that sort of system
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 3): Nice pics of Sydney too; too bad about the wet conditions during your departure.
Yes, the weather conditions weren't particularly great during the first part of my stay but it did get better..
Hi Mark,
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 4):
Nice report and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 4): Meal looks a bit weak, but in fairness not bad for a flight of this duration in this day and age.
Yeah, I'm happy that a meal was available.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 4): Congrats on getting on your first A340
It was a very enjoyable experience, looking forward to flying more of them.
ronerone From Jordan, joined Aug 2004, 1541 posts, RR: 54 Reply 7, posted (11 months 1 week 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 6013 times:
Great report aflyingkiwi!
I have always found LAN to be a 'sexy' airline On the hardware front, they are top-notch and their IFE is fantastic, but on the software front -as you mentioned- they are just quite okay.
The croissant sandwich you got was exactly the same as what i got in Business Class on the same route a couple of years back! Interesting!
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Roni
A Stop Away From One-Stop, Is Non-Stop : Airbus A340-500
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 8, posted (11 months 1 week 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 5661 times:
Hi Suryo,
Quoting akhmad (Reply 6): That’s the spirit! Flying fifth freedom to Australia. How nice to experience LA through your eyes.
Thanks!
Quoting akhmad (Reply 6): Beautiful. Definitely bigger than the gap I have seen in Northern Territory.
Yes, it is a site of natural beauty.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 6): I would not mind having the whole observation desk for myself.
Despite the poor weather, it was a cool experience having the whole observation deck to myself.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 6): A nice surprise, I assume! LA serves meal as well on fifth freedom FRA-MAD leg. Good to see its consistent service level.
Yes, it was a pleasant surprise. Good to see that they still offer a meal on shorter fifth-freedom legs like FRA-MAD.
Hi Roni,
Quoting ronerone (Reply 7): I have always found LAN to be a 'sexy' airline On the hardware front, they are top-notch and their IFE is fantastic, but on the software front -as you mentioned- they are just quite okay.
I agree. Their hardware is pretty up there though they could improve their soft product. I guess for Y it doesn't matter that much though it would be apparent in J..
Quoting ronerone (Reply 7): The croissant sandwich you got was exactly the same as what i got in Business Class on the same route a couple of years back! Interesting!
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 9, posted (11 months 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 5170 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi,
great report. Having flown with LAN as well just last year on a 5th freedom flight on the other side of the globe (doing the famous FRA-MAD run of course), I was really interested to read about your experience. Seems like you had a nice flight with them as well. Good to see that they offered a small breakfast with that croissant, looks actually quite nice (just a shame that it wasn't completely fresh).
Also liked your pictures of Sydney and the area, for sure a great city.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 9): Having flown with LAN as well just last year on a 5th freedom flight on the other side of the globe (doing the famous FRA-MAD run of course)
Yes I've read quite a few reports derailing that leg.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 9): Good to see that they offered a small breakfast with that croissant, looks actually quite nice (just a shame that it wasn't completely fresh).
Yes it was nice to receive a meal as only QF & EK offer a complimentary meal on the Tasman route nowadays..
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 9): Also liked your pictures of Sydney and the area, for sure a great city.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 10): really good to follow you´re special Trans Tasman LAN service.
Thanks Markus!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 10): I like also you´re pictures from Sydney. Never been there myself.
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 12, posted (11 months 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 4572 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi.
Great report, thanks for sharing it with us.
Nice to see that MAD-FRA is not the only 5th freedom route of LA.
Actually planning to do the latter once the 787 comes in.
infodesk From Switzerland, joined May 2006, 1245 posts, RR: 34 Reply 14, posted (11 months 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 4150 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi,
Thanks for this report, I really enjoyed it! Good on you for trying out LAN on the Tasman hop, it's nice to have some variety isn't it?
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): I spent 5 very enjoyable days there & it really is a one-of-a-kind city!
Couldn't agree with your more. I absolutely loved Sydney.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): On the final day, I made it to Taronga Zoo to see some Australian wildlife
We spent some time there too on our recent trip. It has to be the nicest zoo I've ever been to. The koalas were my favourite part, they are so cute!
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): Overall the observation deck is a nice little facility though at this time it was quite wet, so it wasn’t the most desirable place to be. It also is quite hard to find though it’s well worth a visit if you’re ever in SYD.
I didn't know there was one and found it reasonably easily thanks to the signs. There isn't much there, but at least it's something.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): However, there were some pretty good views of AKL on descent. It’s always cool to see your home town/city from the air!
Lovely shots!
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): wasn’t carrying anything that needed inspection so was able to travel through the NZ citizen fast-track line but it is disappointing that for many, this is the first impression they get of NZ & AKL is supposedly the best airport in the Pacific region.
We did have a bit of a wait at AKL, but it didn't bother me. I was prepared for the strict entry policy and I actually think it's good that NZ take things so seriously.
All the best & happy flying
Infodesk
"Do nothing in haste, look well to each step and from the beginning think what may be the end" - Edward Whymper
aflyingkiwi From New Zealand, joined Nov 2010, 488 posts, RR: 3 Reply 16, posted (11 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 3828 times:
Hi Hannah,
Quoting infodesk (Reply 14): Thanks for this report, I really enjoyed it! Good on you for trying out LAN on the Tasman hop, it's nice to have some variety isn't it?
Thanks for that! It is lovely to have so many airlines flying across the Tasman though unfortunately one of the more exotic options, AR, are ending services.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 14): Couldn't agree with your more. I absolutely loved Sydney.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 14): It has to be the nicest zoo I've ever been to
I haven't been to too many zoos but I had a very enjoyable time there. The views are spectacular as well.
Quoting infodesk (Reply 14): We did have a bit of a wait at AKL, but it didn't bother me. I was prepared for the strict entry policy and I actually think it's good that NZ take things so seriously.
I'm all for a strict entry policy but I think they could handle the crowd control a lot better. Interestingly there have been calls to tighten biosecurity further because about a month back a single fruitfly made it into the country. Apparently if it had found a mate than it could've potentially destroyed NZ's fruit growing industry.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 17, posted (9 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 2267 times:
Hi aflyingkiwi,
sorry for the late reply, I missed this nice report! Good to read about your LA experience!
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): It’s a shame they’ve changed the livery as I don’t think this one was too bad..
I can only agree. The "new" one is horrible.
Quoting aflyingkiwi (Thread starter): I have to admit, I didn’t think that LA would offer any sort of meal service so it caught me a bit by surprise. One choice was available, which was a ham & cheese sandwich.
AR served a similarly sized meal on my SYD-AKL flight. Well, in comparison, EK serves a hot meal on the route.
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