adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, RR: 2 Posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 7617 times:
Introduction
As most of you know, LAN has fifth freedom rights on their SCL-MAD-FRA-MAD-SCL route between MAD and FRA. Most of you have also read many great reports on this fifth freedom route as it is (obviously) quite popular under us enthusiasts.
I have been wanting to fly this route for quite some time now but never got to booking it until after my summer vacation. The plan was to fly this route on the weekend of 22/23 September. Initially I wanted to book a one-way FRA-MAD, but after looking up flights between MAD-AMS all of them were quite expensive for this weekend.
The other option would be a round trip FRA-MAD-FRA, both with LAN. I actually liked this idea as it gave me the opportunity to fly 2 different LAN A340s in 1 weekend. The price for a round trip wasn’t all too bad so I booked it.
The next step in the booking process was to look for flights between AMS and FRA. As a round trip during this weekend was also quite expensive I started to think of other ways to get to FRA. I quickly made the decision to take the ICE International train from Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt Flughafen. All I needed now was to find a reasonable Sunday evening FRA-AMS flight. Of course one-ways were far too expensive so I booked a round trip FRA-AMS-FRA with good old Lufthansa. The return flight was fixed for a couple months later (report to follow).
Spending the night in Madrid of course meant booking an hotel. After a bit of searching around and checking different reviews I opted for the täCH Madrid Airport hotel which was obviously close to the airport at a good price.
Map
The map for this weekend trip thanks to the oh so Great Circle Mapper!:
Getting To FRA
22/09/2012
Amsterdam Centraal – Frankfurt Flughafen
ICE International 1st Class
08:04-11:51
As already mentioned in the introduction, transportation to FRA will be with the ICE International train. I booked a 1st class ticket 1 week prior to this trip at a nice price. When booking I chose for the second train of the day, leaving at 08:04 and arriving just under 4 hours later at 11:51. Despite the LAN flight not leaving until 19:30, this would give me the opportunity to get some spotting done from FRAs observation deck.
It is Saturday the 22nd of September at 06:45 when my alarm clock goes off. As always I had trouble sleeping the night before so feeling quite tired I made my way to get the usual morning rituals done. With that all done I finished packing my carry-on and headed to Amsterdam Lelylaan station, which is just a 10minutes walk away, to catch the 07:31 train to Amsterdam Centraal.
07:31 came… and passed with no train to be seen, no information was given either. That meant I had to wait for the next train which will be coming 15 minutes later at 07:46. This also meant a tighter connection time at Amsterdam Centraal then I wanted.
The train arrived a few minutes late and 12 minutes later I was at Amsterdam C. I headed straight to platform 1 (arrived at platform 12) where my train was just about to depart. The doors closed right after I got in, phew that was close! Luckily enough 1st class was situated at the back of the train so I was in the right carriage and found my assigned seat immediately.
A nice and relaxing journey followed while I listened to some music and watched a DVD on my laptop. Time flied and exactly 3 hours and 47 minutes later I was at FRAs train station, bang on time!
Spotting @ FRA
I made it to Terminal 2 (where the observation deck is located) using my legs and the Sky Line. After a quick and unhealthy bite to eat at McDs, I paid the 5EUR entrance fee, cleared security and was now at the observation deck. A 4 hour spotting session followed while enjoying the nice and sunny weather:
Ah of course, the daily ANA 787:
Saw my first 747-8 today too, not the best quality pictures though:
Taking a picture of the observation deck:
What a beast..:
With one sexy behind!:
B-HOP, hopping back to HKG:
Operating for Condor:
Heard many good things about this airline:
Turkmenistan Airlines anyone?:
Here is an airline you don’t see every day, Somon Air of Tajikistan:
Check-In
At 16:45 I headed back inside to LANs designated check-in area. LAN operates from Terminal 2 so there was no need in using the Sky Line back to T1. I had checked in online the night before so all I needed now was my BP.
Once heading down the escalator there was a huge line in front of the LAN check-in area. There were no SSKs available for LAN so instead of joining the long queue I headed to the baggage drop off lane where there was 1 person in front of me. 5 minutes later I had my BP and was ready to go, so I headed towards passport control as this flight (obviously) flies on towards SCL.
Only a small line at passport control and 5 minutes later I was through without a problem. This was my first time flying from FRA T2, so after looking around for a bit I found a place to sit and charge my laptop while making use of the provided WIFI.
An hour passed and at 18:15, 30 minutes before boarding time, I decided to head through security and wait at the gate area. No line at security and I was through without any troubles. I joined the quite long queue of people getting there BP scanned before being let through into the gate area.
After about 10 minutes it was my turn so the friendly gate agent scanned and tore my BP while wishing me a pleasant flight. The gate area was already quite busy but I found a nice spot in the corner where I also had some views.
Boarding
BP for this flight:
I played a game on my laptop until 10 minutes later boarding was called for flight LA705 with destination to Madrid and on to Santiago de Chile at 18:45, bang on time. As my fellow passengers were busy boarding I took a quick picture of my plane, or half of my plane. CC-CQF will be doing the honors on this leg, an almost 11 year old plane delivered factory fresh to LAN Chile on 14/12/2001:
By now the queue at the gate had gotten smaller so I grabbed my belongings and headed into the jetway after a gate agent checked my BP.
On Board
22/09/2012
FRA-MAD
LA705 // 37L
Airbus A340-313X LAN Airlines // CC-CQF
19:30-22:06
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 7660 times:
While entering the aircraft I was kindly greeted by a male and female FA. After showing my BP, I walked through the galley and took the second aisle to my seat 37L situated almost at the very back of the plane.
On each seat there was a pair of LAN headphones, I didn’t need to use them as I have my own headphones which can fit every outlet but they made for a nice “souvenir”:
No pillows or blankets, I’m guessing they were placed at MAD for the much longer flight down to Chile. Once getting settled in I took a quick look outside. Our neighbor was this JAL 777 supporting the One World scheme, behind it is a Korean Air A380:
The PTV was showing short clips of different destinations they serve:
Flight crew on this flight was a mostly male crew with just 2 females to be seen, all quite young. All quite reserved and nothing special, but they did their job cracking a little smile every now and then.
At 19:20 the front left door was closed and the male purser came on the PA with the usual welcome announcements. No announced flying time and no welcome from the flight deck , they only came on twice during flight with some nice and detailed info:
The flight was filled to the brim at 100% in Y with a nice Spanish guy working in Germany next to me. We had some nice talks during flight about all kinds of stuff. Sure beats having a silent person next to you for the whole flight.
We started pushback at 19:30, bang on time while the safety demonstration was being played on the PTVs:
A nice line of aircraft here: Korean Air A380, Emirates 77W, Air Astana 757 and Air Namibia A340:
Taxiing to runway 7C:
Thai Airways as always dedicated to Win (Win1290):
Some Lufthansa slogans:
Take Off
After waiting for a couple of aircraft ahead of us we rolled onto 7C and started take-off roll immediately:
Rotate!:
Seatback Contents
In premiere:
In magazine:
Safety card:
The seat wasn’t the most comfortable but still ok, legroom was also quite ok although I don’t see myself sitting in here all the way to SCL. One irritating thing about this chair is it doesn’t recline, instead the cushion just moves forward which causes for much less legroom:
After finishing a conversation with my seatmate I took a quick look outside before checking out LANs IFE system:
The remote control which worked just fine:
I of course first checked out the flight map:
LANs IFE system is quite ok. It had some movie and TV selections to my liking but not too many. The screen seemed to be working well and reacted quite fast. When looking through the TV shows I saw a couple episodes of Friends, which I of course had to watch:
Some failed attempts to a sunset picture:
Snack Service
In the meantime the crew were performing the snacks and drink service. Once they reached my row I got handed over this green snack box, together with it I got a coke:
Inside it there was this small Panini bread filled with ham and cheese accompanied by a small Mars:
The bread tasted quite bland but was still edible:
Watching the next episode of Friends:
After that I took a quick look at the flight map. We were above southern France now cruising at FL390:
No Friends’ episode left so I settled with an episode of two & a half men:
In Spanish territory:
One more episode of two & a half men before we arrive to MAD:
Landing
We eventually started descent towards MAD while I enjoyed all the lights and views outside. After a couple of turns we were on final approach to runway 18L to which we landed gently at 21:58, 22 minutes ahead of schedule.
After exiting 18L a slow taxi followed to the gate to where we arrived at 22:06, still 14 minutes ahead of schedule next to this Iberia A340:
The plane emptied slowly as all passengers had to get off here, so I bid the crew farewell and headed into the jetway. All passengers heading through to SCL or with other connections were asked to go straight while the other passengers (including me) with MAD as their final destination were requested to take a left and head over to passport control. I would say 50% of the passengers headed straight while the other 50% took a left. There is also a crew change here, I’m guessing the crew perform SCL-MAD, MAD-FRA-MAD and MAD-SCL?
Anyway I took a left and quite a long walk followed to passport control. Was through passport control in a jiffy and took what seemed like 20 different escalators down to the APM (Automatic People Mover). As I was at the Int’l Terminal 4S I needed to get to Terminal 4 where the baggage claim and exit was.
After about a 5 minute ride on the APM I was at Terminal 4 and took what seemed like another 20 escalators back up again. I can understand that some people find this to be a bit of a maze but if you just follow the signage it shouldn’t be a problem.
I eventually made it to the baggage claim and cleared customs to which I was of no interest. As it was late and I was quite tired I decided to take a quick taxi ride to the hotel instead of calling for the shuttle bus.
Of course my taxi driver knew 0.0 English but after showing my reservation to him and using a bit of Spanish that I still know he understood and a 10 minute ride followed to my hotel.
Hotel täCH Madrid Airport
After paying the taxi driver I proceeded inside to the reception desk where I was checked in and got my room card 5 minutes later. I honestly completely forgot what room number I had but after taking the elevator up a couple of floors I made it to my room which was in great condition:
I connected to the WIFI and eventually fell into a nice and long sleep.
It felt great to finally sleep in so I woke up at 11:00, performed my usual morning rituals, packed my carry-on and proceeded downstairs to check out just before 12:00.
After checking out a 5 minute wait followed until the shuttle bus arrived. A 10 minute drive followed until we reached MAD terminal 4 at 12:15.
Check-In
Check-in was, as always, done online at the same time I checked in for my FRA-MAD flight. Unfortunately there were no window seats available so I had to stick with an aisle seat.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 2, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 7632 times:
I proceeded into the terminal and headed over to LANs check-in area:
No line at check-in so it was my turn right away. I asked the check-in agent if a window seat had maybe become available to with she declined and apologized for it.
After receiving my BP I thanked the agent and walked a bit around the terminal. As many of you know MADs check-in area and terminal 4/4S are state of the art:
At one end of the check-in area you get a view towards some gates:
As I was feeling quite hungry I headed towards McDs to get some food:
At 12:55 I headed towards security and was through within 10 minutes without any problems. As I was at T4 and needed to head towards T4S the same ritual as last night followed. That meant going down the escalators towards the APM:
5 minutes on the APM and I was at T4S to where I proceeded towards passport control and was through within a minute.
Spotting @ MAD
As I had more than enough time to spare before boarding started(14:15) I headed towards the U gates, from where my plane will be departing, to do some spotting and take some pictures of this beautiful terminal:
Spot the sleeping man!:
This AA 757 is all ready to go to JFK with a delay of 3 hours:
Another AA, this 767 is headed to DFW:
A company LAN 767:
FIDS:
I spent the remainder of the time sitting close to my assigned gate (U58) where I had a perfect view of aircraft taxiing to and departing from runway 15L. While making use of the provided WIFI I did some registration spotting using my binoculars while the gate area was slowly getting more busy.
Soon enough my plane arrived at the gate about 20 minutes late.
Boarding
BP for this flight:
The gate area got busier and busier as people connecting through to FRA from SCL now also made it to the gate including a large group of German teenagers who were coming back from a trip to Chile.
Boarding time came and passed and no information was provided. A line was forming in front of the gate which got longer and longer.
Finally at 14:50, 35 minutes behind schedule, boarding was called for flight LA704 with destination to Frankfurt. While the long line of people were slowly boarding I took the opportunity to take a quick picture of our aircraft. CC-CQA will be doing the honors, the oldest A340 in LANs fleet delivered to LAN Chile on 27/09/2000:
Once the line had gotten much smaller I headed towards the gate, got my BP scanned/torn and headed into the jetway.
On Board
23/09/2012
MAD-FRA
LA704 // 36C
Airbus A340-313X // CC-CQA
15:40-18:12
Once entering the aircraft I was kindly greeted by a male and female FA. I was one of the last ones on the plane and it was just packed. I took the first aisle to almost the end of the plane where my seat was: 36C. After having trouble finding a place for my carry-on one of the male FAs helped me out to which I got settled in my seat.
On each seat there were once again LAN headphones. The crew on this flight was a mix of female and male in all ages. All once again quite reserved with few smiles except for the female Purser, she was all smiles!
A 15:25 the front left door was closed and the female purser came on the PA with the usual announcements. Once again there was no announced flying time.
The pilot also came on the PA with another nice welcome and stating that there would be a further delay due to heavy traffic over Europe. He apologized sincerely and still expected to land at FRA on time. The FO came on the PA later during flight with some more detailed flight information.
My PTV wasn’t working in front of me but once the safety demonstration was being played it started to work again miraculously.
As already mentioned above this plane was packed so flight load was once again 100% with the window seat next to me occupied by a man. Had no interactions with him and he kept closing the window blind, arrgh.
Eventually at 15:40, 25 minutes behind schedule, pushback started. After that a short but slow taxi followed to runway 15L. We waited for a couple of aircraft in front of us until we turned onto 15L and took off.
Seatback Contents
Seatback contents were the same as the previous flight
Snack Service
The crew came around offering a snack with a drink. The same box as the previous flight was handed out except this one was red. The box contents were also practically the same: A mini snickers together with the same Panini bread except this one had raw ham in it and tasted quite bad to be honest.
For the remainder of the flight I watched the movie Hall Pass on my PTV. I couldn’t really enjoy it as the volume was very low and the volume buttons weren’t working on my remote which was quite irritating.
Landing
Soon enough we started descent and after a bunch of turns we were into final approach for runway 7R if I remember correctly. Quite a hard landing followed at 18:00, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. We exited 7R and a slow taxi followed to terminal 2. We arrived at gate D1 at 18:12, 7 minutes behind schedule.
The plane slowly emptied and I was one of the last ones off after bidding the crew farewell. I made my way towards passport control where there was quite a long line. Luckily enough another booth was being opened so I quickly joined the small formed line and was through within 5 minutes.
Now it was off to the baggage claim and customs to which I was once again of no interest.
Check-In
As already mentioned in the introduction my final flight to AMS will be with Lufthansa. As I was at T2 and needed to be at T1 I took the Sky Line for the 5 minute ride over.
Although I am leaving M&M I decided to make use of my FTL status with Lufthansa which granted me priority lane access at security and lounge access.
I had checked in online the night before at my hotel in Madrid so all I needed to do now was print my BP. I headed over to the Business/First class designated check-in area, approached one of the SSKs, swapped my FFC and the machine successfully spit out my BP.
Next stop was security where I used the priority lane and was through within 5 minutes without a problem.
Lufthansa Business Lounge
A long walk followed towards the Lufthansa Business Lounge. I arrived there at 18:55 which gave me a good 1h30mins stay. The agent scanned my BP, swapped me FFC and I was granted access. Now this lounge has been covered many times here so I won’t go in detail too much. It was completely packed as always but I eventually found a spot where I could charge my laptop.
During my stay here I regularly visited the bar while making use of the free WIFI:
Boarding
BP for this flight:
Boarding time was 20:30, so at 20:40 I left the lounge and walked over to my assigned gate A38. Once arriving almost everybody had already boarded so I scanned my BP and headed into the jetway.
On Board
23/09/2012
FRA-AMS
LH1002 // 21F
Airbus A319-114 // D-AILH
21:02-22:17
Once entering the aircraft I was greeted by 2 female FAs in a friendly manner and made my way towards my assigned seat 21F. After getting settled in I took a quick look outside:
Flight crew consisted of 1 female purser and 2 female FAs all getting their job done with lots of smiles. The doors were closed at 20:57 and the female FA came on the PA with the usual announcements. Flight load was around 60% with the seat next to me empty and the aisle seat occupied. The flight deck also came on the PA welcoming us on board, they came on later during flight with some more flight info.
Take Off
With an announced flying time of 50 minutes we started pushback at 21:02, 2 minutes behind schedule. We then taxied towards runway 7C. After a bunch of other LH aircraft took off ahead of us it was out turn, so we rolled onto 7C and took off into the night sky.
Seatback Contents
Inflight Shopping:
Texas anyone? I will be in Texas in a little over 2 weeks from now:
And of course the safety card:
Snack Service
While watching a movie on my laptop the crew came around with the snack service. Snack on this flight consisted of bread with cheese which tasted quite OK, together with that I got a coke:
Landing
In no time we started our descent towards AMS. After a couple of turns we were into final approach for the Kaagbaan (if I remember correctly) also known as runway 06. A smooth landing followed at 22:12, 3 minutes ahead of schedule. After a 5 minute taxi we arrived at our assigned gate B17 next to this SWISS A320:
Deplaning was quick while I thanked the crew on my way out. I walked straight towards the baggage claim and cleared customs without any problems. After entering the arrivals hall I headed towards plaza where I took my 7 minute train ride back to Amsterdam Lelylaan station. A 10 minute walk from the station and I was at home sweet home after another great weekend.
Conclusion
ICE International train: A great way to get from Amsterdam to Frankfurt airport if flying on a plane is not possible. A great and relaxing train ride in 1st class and time flew!
Spotting @ FRA: Had a great spotting session at FRA like always. Love seeing those exotic carriers you get at FRA.
LAN Airlines FRA-MAD-FRA: 2 ok flights overall. Not the best crew but it seems that is what you get on Spanish speaking airlines. The 2 snacks didn’t taste that good at all buy hey nothing beats flying a widebody intra-Europe with your own PTV! The PTV worked fine on the outbound but not so well on the inbound with the volume problem.
Will I ever fly LAN again? Hell yeah! When they introduce their 787 on the SCL-MAD-FRA route. Will I ever fly them longhaul? Noo I don’t think so, the seat wasn’t the most comfortable and the sliding forward recline made it even worse.
MAD Airport: A beautiful airport where you can have some nice spotting done.
Lufthansa: Another solid flight with them as seems to be the case most of the time I fly them, no complaints there!
So this will conclude my trip report. If you’re still reading, thank you very much for taking the time to read this report, it is much appreciated.
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question, I would really appreciate that!
My next report will be on a newly opened Lufthansa route, where I had the privilege of being on the inaugural flight!
IrishAyes From United States of America, joined Jan 2008, 1727 posts, RR: 6 Reply 5, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 7218 times:
Great report! Glad you had a chance to fly on a 5th freedom route Those are always fun!
Wait, what is this about paying 4 EURO and getting access to an observation lounge at FRA?! This is something I'd never heard of.
You know, as much as I HATE HATE HATE the connecting experience at FRA, and am not the biggest fan of the airport, you have to give it credit: there really is an authentic representation of many national and exotic carriers that float through the airport. It is truly a spotters paradise. This is remarkable given the fact that this is Frankfurt we're talking about here - not a London, Paris or Madrid. Never ceases to amaze me. The airport has so many cool things going for it, but so much was lost in terms of implementation and customer experience.
MAD is an amazing airport, on the other hand. I think LAN needs to step up their catering a bit. It has the reputation now of being the "sandwich airline" which I don't think serves it the justice it deserves.
FLIEGER67 From Georgia, joined Sep 2003, 4387 posts, RR: 57 Reply 6, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7071 times:
Hoi, B.,
interesting to see something more from these also here covered LAN A343.
Sure a good idea to go for MAD this way.
And also good to connect for FRA on the ICE.
Lot´s of nice spotting pictures, well done.
I would love to fly them- they offer incredible low fares to BKK!!
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Will I ever fly them longhaul? Noo I don’t think so, the seat wasn’t the most comfortable and the sliding forward recline made it even worse.
Just my - are you serious? I think (my opinion) LAN is one of the best airline to South America- it definitely beats IBERIA and Aerolineas Argentinas. I would even prefer LAN's A340 over AF 3-4-3 seat configured B777.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 6912 times:
Quoting aerdingus (Reply 3): Thanks for this, I really want to try this route so this was a nice preview. Also great spotting pics, FRA is such a nerd´s heaven.
You are welcome, you should try it oout its a great experience. Thank you
Quoting LFutia (Reply 4): Beautiful trip report and the pictures of all the different aircraft just made me jealous from what we get!
Thank you very much, haha yeah that is true!
Quoting LFutia (Reply 4): Glad to see you enjoyed everything and once again you made me hungry!
Thanks, glad you liked it and sorry hehe
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 5): Great report! Glad you had a chance to fly on a 5th freedom route Those are always fun!
Thanks IrishAyes! Yes was very happy to finally be able to log this route and plane
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 5): Wait, what is this about paying 4 EURO and getting access to an observation lounge at FRA?! This is something I'd never heard of.
Yes for 5EUR you can access the deck its quite nice actually
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 5): You know, as much as I HATE HATE HATE the connecting experience at FRA, and am not the biggest fan of the airport, you have to give it credit: there really is an authentic representation of many national and exotic carriers that float through the airport. It is truly a spotters paradise
Yes, the connecting experience isn't the best indeed but never have to much troubles with it. And yes it sure is a spotters paradise!
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 5): This is remarkable given the fact that this is Frankfurt we're talking about here - not a London, Paris or Madrid.
Quoting IrishAyes (Reply 5): I think LAN needs to step up their catering a bit. It has the reputation now of being the "sandwich airline" which I don't think serves it the justice it deserves.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 6): interesting to see something more from these also here covered LAN A343.
Thanks, yes most of the others have allready covered this route
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 6): Sure a good idea to go for MAD this way.
And also good to connect for FRA on the ICE.
Lot´s of nice spotting pictures, well done.
Thank you very much!
Quoting debonair (Reply 7): I would love to fly them- they offer incredible low fares to BKK!!
Well yeah. Unless its a dirt cheap fare I wouldn't fly them. I just dont see myself sitting in that seat for 12+ hours especially when it slides forward instead of reclining back. Seat pitch matters very much to me being 2 meters tall But as I said if it was cheap I would try it out
Quoting debonair (Reply 7): I think (my opinion) LAN is one of the best airline to South America- it definitely beats IBERIA and Aerolineas Argentinas. I would even prefer LAN's A340 over AF 3-4-3 seat configured B777.
Well I dont see myself flying Aerolines Argentinas or Iberia LH either. Flew Iberia LH once UIO-MAD..
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2206 posts, RR: 14 Reply 10, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6703 times:
Hello Brendan
Another nice TR, thanks for sharing!
Nice to see the LAN online, probably the most covered flight in Europe. I will take this one some time next year as well!
Interesting too see that LAN's loadfactor is nearly 100% on the MAD-FRA tag!
LH looks standard as well, great to see some spotting pics in FRA!
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1173 posts, RR: 29 Reply 13, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6054 times:
Hello Brendan,
Thanks for this nice report. Yes, the LAN flight is among the most popular 5th freedom flights around. And the good thing is: you took it twice You also seemed to have a nice spotting session @ FRA. Good to see the weather was cooperative as well. I have seen a Somon Air plane as well last year, it was standing right next to us when I was boarding a LH flight to HEL on FRA's apron.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): One irritating thing about this chair is it doesn’t recline, instead the cushion just moves forward which causes for much less legroom
Oh, the sliding type... I understand it is not the best solution for good legroom?
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): I connected to the WIFI and eventually fell into a nice and long sleep.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6183 posts, RR: 79 Reply 14, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 5860 times:
Hi Brendan,
very nice report with many good pictures! Spotting at FRA is always worth it. The LAN flights between FRA and MAD have been very popular among us enthusiasts, I flew on CC-CQC last year.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Here is an airline you don’t see every day, Somon Air of Tajikistan:
I wouldn't mind to try both of them - plus Uzbekistan Airways.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): One irritating thing about this chair is it doesn’t recline, instead the cushion just moves forward which causes for much less legroom:
That's bad indeed.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): CC-CQA will be doing the honors, the oldest A340 in LANs fleet delivered to LAN Chile on 27/09/2000:
Actually the oldest A340 in the fleet is CC-CQG, a former AC bird.
I hope it will happen, but LAN may also introduce nonstop flights to FRA.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): Will I ever fly them longhaul? Noo I don’t think so, the seat wasn’t the most comfortable and the sliding forward recline made it even worse.
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 718 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 5601 times:
Brendan,
Another great report there from a wide body across Europe. I notice your outbound flight parked up alongside the A340 that took me back to Heathrow last week. Shame you didn't get to explore Madrid city though.
I really must make another visit to Frankfurt to get on that spotter terrace. First time I went, it was shut and the second time I only had around 90 minutes for my connection, so not really enough time to make it worth it once I got over there and back from T1.
globalflyer From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 801 posts, RR: 2 Reply 16, posted (6 months 4 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 5344 times:
Hi Brendan...great TR and pictures. I love this route as you get to try an "exotic" carrier by European standards (Love those 5th Freedoms). Quick question...what is the airline in the SU Airbus photo. At first I thought NIKI but then decided it must be something exotic...maybe a Ukrainian visitor? Looks like a 737-300/500? Cheers mate! Will
Landing on every Continent almost on an annual basis!
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 17, posted (6 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 5193 times:
Hoi Brendan,
good to see ICE and LAN together. Not a bad choice. With the first train not running on your outbound, wasn't it a better idea to take tram 1 or 2?
What a coincidence, CC-CQF flown by me in July 2008, I was even in the same seat: 37L. If you wanna compare the service back then (yes, much better), have a look:
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 660 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (6 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 5157 times:
Nice report there Brendan. Congratulations on the LA 343, this route really is a great way to experiece an A340 within Europe. And hopefully a great way to experience the 787 next year!
How was the hotel? I actually almost booked this hotel once, but in the end my travel plans changes so I didn't had to layover in MAD.
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 19, posted (6 months 4 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 5006 times:
Hey Brendan,
great report here, thanks a lot for putting it up here. I guess this LAN flight must be the most popular 5th freedom flight around. And it is truly an enjoyable one. Your report reminded me a lot about my trip with them on this route last year, got CC-CGA as well on my return flight. And I even stayed at the same hotel in Madrid as you, nice coincidence. I liked the hotel as well, certainly recommendable for a stay near MAD airport.
Nice spotting pictures of FRA as well, you caught a few interesting planes here, great to see the 787.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 15): Another great report there from a wide body across Europe
Thanks!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 15): I notice your outbound flight parked up alongside the A340 that took me back to Heathrow last week. Shame you didn't get to explore Madrid city though.
I was thinking about exploring but decided to sleep in instead
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 15): I really must make another visit to Frankfurt to get on that spotter terrace
You sure should!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 15): First time I went, it was shut and the second time I only had around 90 minutes for my connection, so not really enough time to make it worth it once I got over there and back from T1.
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 16): I love this route as you get to try an "exotic" carrier by European standards (Love those 5th Freedoms
Indeed, a great route!
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 16): Quick question...what is the airline in the SU Airbus photo. At first I thought NIKI but then decided it must be something exotic...maybe a Ukrainian visitor? Looks like a 737-300/500? Cheers mate! Will
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 17): good to see ICE and LAN together. Not a bad choice.
Indeed! Thanks
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 17): With the first train not running on your outbound, wasn't it a better idea to take tram 1 or 2?
Was thinking of that but as the 1 just left from downstairs I decided to just wait the remaining 10 mins for the train
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 17): What a coincidence, CC-CQF flown by me in July 2008, I was even in the same seat: 37L. If you wanna compare the service back then (yes, much better), have a look:
That is quite a coincidence. Just read that report, what a difference in service compared to now!
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 17): Good to hear you also drop the M&M account. I didn't fly LH group much in 2012, because I don't feel so attracted anymore by them. Their own fault
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 18): Congratulations on the LA 343, this route really is a great way to experiece an A340 within Europe. And hopefully a great way to experience the 787 next year!
Thank you! Yes I hope the 787 comes on the route soon!
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 18): How was the hotel? I actually almost booked this hotel once, but in the end my travel plans changes so I didn't had to layover in MAD.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 19): great report here, thanks a lot for putting it up here
Thank you very much, am glad you enjoyed it!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 19): I guess this LAN flight must be the most popular 5th freedom flight around
It sure is!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 19): Your report reminded me a lot about my trip with them on this route last year, got CC-CGA as well on my return flight. And I even stayed at the same hotel in Madrid as you, nice coincidence. I liked the hotel as well, certainly recommendable for a stay near MAD airport.
What a coincidence and definetely a good hotel
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 19): Nice spotting pictures of FRA as well, you caught a few interesting planes here, great to see the 787.
Indeed, which always seems to be the case when spotting @ FRA
win1290 From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 21, posted (6 months 3 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 3949 times:
Hey Brendan,
Very nice report once again. Your spotting session at FRA brings a lot of nice photos, including various interesting aircraft and airlines, thanks. LAN seems to be doing quite well on your FRA-MAD-FRA route, and its always nice to try out the long haul product, and indeed a widebody, on a European hop.
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): As already mentioned in the introduction, transportation to FRA will be with the ICE International train. I booked a 1st class ticket 1 week prior to this trip at a nice price
Good decision to buy and reserve a seat on ICE in advance, I made a mistake not to do so on my journey from Hanover to Frankfurt airport last week, the price was expensive on the day, and had to stand for the first 1 hour of the trip.
Cheers! I was actually on TG 777-300ER from FRA last week!
Quoting adamspotter (Thread starter): The seat wasn’t the most comfortable but still ok, legroom was also quite ok although I don’t see myself sitting in here all the way to SCL. One irritating thing about this chair is it doesn’t recline, instead the cushion just moves forward which causes for much less legroom:
The seats don't sound very comfortable, and I can imagine how irritating it must have been especially when trying to sleep on a longer flight.
The hot dog and soup you had looks exactly as what was offered when I was in the LH Business lounge last week. Though I was quite disapointed that I didn't get to visit the one in the new Pier. Oh well, I will wait and see it from you next report, which I believe you will cover the new Pier and the LH lounge.
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6080 posts, RR: 56 Reply 22, posted (6 months 3 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 3618 times:
Hi Brendan!
Thanks for another great report with great pictures !
Good to see you try this famous route of LA with their 343.
Service seems okay for such a short flight. I hope to try LA in February next year but on a different route.
Thanks again for the spotting pictures, very much appreciated especially the one of the VN 777. VN has one of my favorite liveries of all the airlines.
Looking forward to your next report and to your visit here next week.
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): Your spotting session at FRA brings a lot of nice photos, including various interesting aircraft and airlines, thanks.
Thanks, glad you liked them. NEver get bored when spotting at FRA
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): LAN seems to be doing quite well on your FRA-MAD-FRA route, and its always nice to try out the long haul product, and indeed a widebody, on a European hop.
Yes qas quite surprised to see both loads be 100%, a good route for LAN
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): Good decision to buy and reserve a seat on ICE in advance, I made a mistake not to do so on my journey from Hanover to Frankfurt airport last week, the price was expensive on the day, and had to stand for the first 1 hour of the trip.
Yikes, that sucks. Thats why I always reserve in time
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): Cheers! I was actually on TG 777-300ER from FRA last week!
Looking forward to the report as always
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): The seats don't sound very comfortable, and I can imagine how irritating it must have been especially when trying to sleep on a longer flight.
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21):
Which programme are you now joining?
UA Mileageplus
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): The hot dog and soup you had looks exactly as what was offered when I was in the LH Business lounge last week.
Yeah, thats what they almost always have on offer. Cant get enough of it to be honest hehe
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): Though I was quite disapointed that I didn't get to visit the one in the new Pier
Why didn't you visit it?
Quoting win1290 (Reply 21): Oh well, I will wait and see it from you next report, which I believe you will cover the new Pier and the LH lounge.
Yeah, first I have a report on a Lufthansa inaugural flight and then that one. Although I dont have much time to make them the next couple of weeks as I will be off to the US in a week..
Quoting The777Man (Reply 22): Thanks for another great report with great pictures !
Thanks, glad you liked it
Quoting The777Man (Reply 22): Good to see you try this famous route of LA with their 343.
Yeah, it was about time
Quoting The777Man (Reply 22): Service seems okay for such a short flight. I hope to try LA in February next year but on a different route.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 22): Thanks again for the spotting pictures, very much appreciated especially the one of the VN 777. VN has one of my favorite liveries of all the airlines.
You're welcome, glad you liked them. VN sure does have a nice livery
Quoting The777Man (Reply 22): Looking forward to your next report and to your visit here next week.
Very much looking forward to it myself, see you in a week
win1290 From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 24, posted (6 months 2 weeks 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 2841 times:
Hi again Brendan,
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 23): Quoting win1290 (Reply 21):
Though I was quite disapointed that I didn't get to visit the one in the new Pier
Why didn't you visit it?
Well, we travelled as a family (5 people), so I had less flexibility to walk around the airport visiting the observation deck or the new pier (which I would love to). But I so want to visit FRA again at some point in the future when TG uses its A380 on the route.
Cheers!
Win
25 OA260: Hey Brendan Nice report and nice to catch this bird on this route. Great when you can bag a WB on intra EU . Love the spotting pics at FRA too . So mu
26 deltamartin: Hello Brendan! Nice report, as usual! Glad to see you tried this A.net favourite's route! I'm thinking of trying it as well when they introduce the 78
27 adamspotter: Hi guys, thanks for more comments and sorry for the late answers! Thats a shame but totally understandable Hi Phillip thanks and indeed very nice to b
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From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, 
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From United States of America, joined Jan 2008, 1727 posts, 
Those are always fun! 
From Georgia, joined Sep 2003, 4387 posts, 
From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2097 posts, 
- are you serious? I think (my opinion) LAN is one of the best airline to South America- it definitely beats IBERIA and Aerolineas Argentinas. I would even prefer LAN's A340 over AF 3-4-3 seat configured B777.
From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2006, 1641 posts, 
From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2206 posts, 
You also seemed to have a nice spotting session @ FRA. Good to see the weather was cooperative as well. I have seen a Somon Air plane as well last year, it was standing right next to us when I was boarding a LH flight to HEL on FRA's apron. 
Sultanils
From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, 
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