Cheap gas and hot girls. probably the first words that comes to mind when the average person is asked about Venezuela, and perhaps, in most recent times, the image of crime and a certain politician. Caracas is a vast, dense, sometimes frustrating, but never dull city. Capital of one of the most countries in Latin America, and, without doubt, one of the least understood.
The preparations
It's that time of the year, time to book my awaited trip to Caracas! as always, booking starts with looking at the best fares. We did not want to fly with stops, so we limited our options to the 3 airlines that fly MIA-CCS: SBA Airlines (3-4x daily w/757) American Airlines (4x daily w/757), and LAN (2x week w/763).
Although we usually fly SBA Airlines, this time I managed to find a Business class ticket on LAN for only $200 more than SBA and AA, so it was a no brainer to take it! We were just about to book when we found an obstacle: LAN does not allow pets to travel in the cabin. as owners of a tiny dachshund dog who will be flying for the first time, we decided to drop that option and fly with someone who allows pets in the cabin. The answer now was simple: SBA it will be! Booking was quickly done personally by the staff through the main Miami office located at walking distance from our house.
At the airport
The day had come! After a quick breakfast at home we quickly made it to Miami International Airport's outdated Concourse F, from where SBA flies from. Although our flight was due to depart at 11:15am, we arrived at MIA around 7:30am, before the check-in counters opened, to be one of the first to check-in. In front of us there were already about a dozen passengers, mostly middle-aged couples with few bags. We lined up and a nice elderly lady began chatting to us about her grandson and how much he has grown up since the last time she visited him in Miami, despite us not even knowing the lady. Typical Venezuelan attitude!
At 8:00am the staff finally started checking-in passengers, within just a few minutes our turn came, everything was going as planned: I got my requested window seat at 13A, checked my luggage, etc... Then, when we thought we were ready to go, it turns out that our dog's kennel was too big for the overhead bins (something we did not know as it was our first time traveling with pets). Out of any options, my mother had to run to the nearest pet store and buy a new kennel so Maya could travel with us. The check-in lady told us to come straight to her without making any lines as soon as we get the kennel, so we can finish checking her in.
It was only 8:40am. Reasons like this is why we get early to the airport!... In the meantime we just walked around the airport and watched as the check-in line was getting bigger and bigger with people of all colors, races, ethnicity, culture, social status, etc... creating a very diverse load on today's flight, as diverse as the country it belongs to.
Around 9:30am, my mom came back running from the pet store with a $90 kennel (the only one they had, so there were no cheaper options) and we finished checking our dog in. We had more than an hour before the departure of the flight, so we decided to spend some time at the duty free shops before heading airside (where I bought an overpriced 1:500 scale Lufthansa A380 )
By 10:00am, we decided to head airside. As our flight was the only flight departing from the concourse at the time (plus a Cayman Airways 737), the security line was almost empty, with only about 5 people in front of us, including a very good looking flight attendants who seemed to fall in intense love with our dog! Our flight was due to depart from gate F17, which meant we had to walk all the way until the end of the concourse.
I knew in advance, thanks to a friend at the airline, that my flight was to be operated by YV450T, infamous for its fading paint scheme that gave it a bleached pink-ish look. Popularly known as Lavansan after a Venezuelan-branded cleaning bleach!
I got to gate F17 and there she was already, YV450T, who has had a long history with British Airways, Cebu Pacific, Air Slovakia, and currently SBA.
Just about to beging boarding. I'm off to Venezuela!
Around 10:35 they began boarding, as usual beginning with business class pax, frequent fliers, women with small children, senior citizens or people with disabilities. Then the back of the Y cabin and from there up to the front. As I was seated in row 13, a few rows behind the first rows of Y, I decided to just seat down and relax as everybody lined up at the gate regardless of the fact that they have to wait to be called by rows.
Walking down the jetway
Getting there
Bienvenido a bordo!
We were greeted at the door by a smiling, young, all-female crew. We were given a warm welcome in Spanish and handed local newspapers, then I proceded to my seat a short walk away from the door.
Great to see pillows on 3 hour daytime flights!
Already in my seat
Obligatory legroom shot. More than perfect.
The view from my seat
Inflight magazine + local newspaper. Of course he had to be on the headline
Doors were closed at approximately 11:15am, our ETD, but we stood in the ramp for a few more minutes for unknown reason until we were finally pushed back. A welcome announcement was given in both Spanish and English.
Taxiing to the runway
Rocketing like only a 757 knows how to!
Reaching cruising altitude.
As soon as we reached cruising altitude, the crew began distributing the immigration forms
Cabin shot
Soon after, meal service began. So I moved to an empty seat near my mother and sister to "spend lunch" with them
. "good afternoon, would you like to eat?"
- yes, please
"Today we have chicken and beef"
- May I have the chicken, please
Sure sir!
My chicken. I gotta admit it did not taste bad, the vegetables were well boiled and the mashed potatoes and chicken did not taste bland. I did not eat the salad. As I don't like cheesecake, I did not try this one either, although my sister said it tasted good. Not a bad meal for a 3 hour flight.
Soon after the meal trays were collected, I began chatting with the girl seating next to me. It turns out we have many friends in common in Caracas! How small is the world sometimes.
After about 45 minutes of talking, I headed back to my original seat where I just sat down, relaxed, and listened to my iPod
I lost notion of time and before I even noticed, I heard the announcement I was waiting to hear: Ladies and gentlemen, we will shortly begin our descent into Simon Bolivar international airport in Caracas" followed by a "cabin crew prepare for landing" by the pilot. a feeling of excitement invaded my body and the announcements were received by a round of applause by a group of noisy American youth missionaries going to a religious meeting of some kind (or so I heard) and more than one passenger
Initiating approach
Terra firma!
Touchdown
T-tail paradise
Local traffic
I hunted for blue Avior for months at MIA in vain, now I finally get her at her home!
A great highlight: Air Tahiti Nui A340-300 flying for Conviasa to Buenos Aires and Madrid
A boring Copa
I had waited so long to see this!
As we parked at the gate something very... bizarre, I guess we could say and something I had never seen before on a plane, happened.
When the crew turned the seatbelt signs off, a guy in his twenties who came with the group of American religious missionaries and was seated in the first row of economy, stood up, blocking the only way to the door, raised a bible and with a clearly Dominican voice said something like this:
"Ladies, gentlemen, children... I know that in this aircraft there must be someone with emotional issues, maybe economical issues... perhaps a loved one is dying... well for those people I want to pray. Is there anyone here who wants to pray too?"
About 90% of the senior ladies on board, plus everybody in his group and a couple other passengers raised their hands and, as the guy said, began praying on board. Some people began repeating his prayers, others made comments such as "this guy is crazy" or How weird this is, or one I heard more than once what we should so is pray for Hugo Chavez to leave!... The guy and the others kept praying until a man uttered, clearly angry, ... at that time the man sort of stopped and let everyone pass. It was a bizarre situation to say the least.
...As I walked to the door, after receiving a "God bless you" from the aforementioned character , I decided to ask one of the Flight Attendants whether it be possible to get a shot of the cockpit. She told me to hold on and went to ask the captain. She exited the cockpit and gave me an approval thumb-up I grabbed my camera, exchanged a few words with the crew, thanked them for the good flight and made my way out.
"Lavansan's cockpit
Making my way out!
Good bye 450T!
I couldn't miss the chance to get a close-up of the Aerolineas Argentinas A340, so I asked a lady at the gate if I could walk down the empty aisle to get a picture, to which she said yes So I made my way down the gates
So beautiful!
To my pleasant surprise, more than 80% of the immigration desks were open, and about half my flight had already gone through it! So in less than 3 minutes I was already being stamped by an indifferent officer who did not ask any questions at all
and yet another pleasant surprise! My luggage was already on the belt, so I just made my line and 3 minutes later I was out! Welcome to Venezuela!
This is the end of part 1. I hope I did good for my first time Part 2 coming up!
Thank you all for reading! Feedback is greatly appreciated
Widebodyroga From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 472 posts, RR: 4 Reply 1, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 8354 times:
Hey NachoJFX,
A great start to your TR-writing career! I really enjoyed it.
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): I knew in advance, thanks to a friend at the airline, that my flight was to be operated by YV450T, infamous for its fading paint scheme that gave it a bleached pink-ish look. Popularly known as Lavansan after a Venezuelan-branded cleaning bleach!
Man, this livery is bad-ass! True, they need to paint the aircraft again but the design itself is one of the best I've seen. I'll keep an eye out for it when I'm in MIA next week.
Pardon me for asking but how tall are you? I need to put this into perspective. This appears to be an awfully generous legroom. Good stuff!
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): noisy American youth missionaries going to a religious meeting of some kind (or so I heard) and more than one passenger
They are everywhere these days... Don't they have anything better to do than saving people's souls?
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): "Ladies, gentlemen, children... I know that in this aircraft there must be someone with emotional issues, maybe economical issues... perhaps a loved one is dying... well for those people I want to pray. Is there anyone here who wants to pray too?"
You know, there is a time and place for everything. What this guy did was unacceptable. I'm a non-confrontational person but if this fella and his mambo-jumbo were blocking my way to the exit I would have simply walked up to him and told him to get the hell out of my way.
A great start to your TR-writing career! I really enjoyed it.
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): Thanks for putting this together for us. As I said, this is a great start and I'm looking forward to part 2.
Thank you very much Widebodyroga! Glad you liked my Trip Report
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): Man, this livery is bad-ass! True, they need to paint the aircraft again but the design itself is one of the best I've seen. I'll keep an eye out for it when I'm in MIA next week.
I gotta agree that their livery is really an eye-catcher!
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): Pardon me for asking but how tall are you? I need to put this into perspective. This appears to be an awfully generous legroom. Good stuff!
I'm 5.5! Not really the tallest. We could say I barely ever have legroom problems.
debonair From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2098 posts, RR: 4 Reply 4, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 7993 times:
Great TR, nice pictures and an "exotic" airline - well done!
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): it turns out that our dog's kennel was too big for the overhead bins (something we did not know as it was our first time traveling with pets).
Hopefully without the dog inside...
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): a guy in his twenties who came with the group of American religious missionaries and was seated in the first row of economy, stood up, blocking the only way to the door, raised a bible
Really weird situation- thankfully this happened after landing and not during take off!
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 5, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 7604 times:
Very nice report, thanks for posting! The colours on the SBA plane are great (although it's a shame about the fading). Aerolineas Argentinas also looks fab!
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter):
When the crew turned the seatbelt signs off, a guy in his twenties who came with the group of American religious missionaries and was seated in the first row of economy, stood up, blocking the only way to the door, raised a bible and with a clearly Dominican voice said something like this:
"Ladies, gentlemen, children... I know that in this aircraft there must be someone with emotional issues, maybe economical issues... perhaps a loved one is dying... well for those people I want to pray. Is there anyone here who wants to pray too?"
About 90% of the senior ladies on board, plus everybody in his group and a couple other passengers raised their hands and, as the guy said, began praying on board. Some people began repeating his prayers, others made comments such as "this guy is crazy" or How weird this is, or one I heard more than once what we should so is pray for Hugo Chavez to leave!... The guy and the others kept praying until a man uttered, clearly angry, ... at that time the man sort of stopped and let everyone pass. It was a bizarre situation to say the least.
Ok, so he was holding people hostage so he could pray at them? Imagine if this guy was praying to Allah...he wouldn't have lasted long before ending up in prison on terrorism charges. People should leave their religon at home, and definately not foister it on the general public. Crazy indeed!
CrimsonNL From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1618 posts, RR: 42 Reply 6, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 7581 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hi NachoJFX and welcome to Airliners.net! Great job on your first TR, it's very nice to read something about SBA which is quite rare in these forums. Even with the fading livery that is still one gorgeous 757! I'm looking forward to part 2.
aerdingus From Ireland, joined Dec 2006, 2485 posts, RR: 18 Reply 7, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 7541 times:
Well done on your first trip report. I do have a little obsession with SBA, I think they have a great livery. Pity this poor bird has been left to fade! Lavansan is an apt name though, haha. I was surprised to see pets allowed in the cabin, as I thought they all had to go in the cargo hold. Cute dog! Very nice that you got a meal on this flight, I would´ve went for chicken too! I was also surprised that the agent let you walk down the empty gate to take pictures, as I thought CCS was very heavy on security. But great that they allowed it, the AR A340 is beautiful, in the new livery.
Gracias!
BA EI FH FR LX RE SK TS VY ZB 3K 5G A300 A310 A319 A320 A321 A333 ATR72 B735 B738 B744 B772 MD82 BCN BOH BRU CPH CRL DUB
globalflyer From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 803 posts, RR: 2 Reply 9, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days ago) and read 6823 times:
Really great TR! I love the SB livery even if it is faded! It is nice to get a meal on a flight. I bet AA serves nothing ontheir flight to CCS? I may be wrong? Glad your puppy could fly inside the cabin with you! You all are spoiled in CCS getting all of those old and unique aircraft. I would be in heaven. OK that is just odd that the missionary would be allowed to stand up and preach. If it were inflight I bet they would say it is interference with the crew! Still odd!
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter):
noisy American youth missionaries going to a religious meeting of some kind (or so I heard) and more than one passenger
They are everywhere these days... Don't they have anything better to do than saving people's souls?
My mission is to save Stojan's(Widebodyroga's) soul! The holy water will be beer and wine soon!
Excellent report! Thanks for sharing! Cheers, Will
Landing on every Continent almost on an annual basis!
NachoJFX From United States of America, joined Jun 2010, 8 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (5 months 1 week 3 days ago) and read 6714 times:
Quoting flymia (Reply 3): Great report. Enjoyed the pictures. I didn't notice in the MIA shots but from CCS shots yea that 757 is basically pink!
Thank you!
Quoting debonair (Reply 4): Great TR, nice pictures and an "exotic" airline - well done!
Thank you, Debonair!
Quoting debonair (Reply 4): Hopefully without the dog inside...
I meant to say it was too big to travel in the cabin Hahaha I don't know why I said overhead bins, must be that I just got used to it :P
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): Very nice report, thanks for posting! The colours on the SBA plane are great (although it's a shame about the fading). Aerolineas Argentinas also looks fab!
Thank you, Gabriel!
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): Ok, so he was holding people hostage so he could pray at them? Imagine if this guy was praying to Allah...he wouldn't have lasted long before ending up in prison on terrorism charges. People should leave their religon at home, and definately not foister it on the general public. Crazy indeed!
I bet had that been the case, we would be hearing about it here for sure! :O
Quoting aerdingus (Reply 7): Well done on your first trip report. I do have a little obsession with SBA, I think they have a great livery. Pity this poor bird has been left to fade! Lavansan is an apt name though, haha. I was surprised to see pets allowed in the cabin, as I thought they all had to go in the cargo hold. Cute dog! Very nice that you got a meal on this flight, I would´ve went for chicken too! I was also surprised that the agent let you walk down the empty gate to take pictures, as I thought CCS was very heavy on security. But great that they allowed it, the AR A340 is beautiful, in the new livery.
Gracias!
Thank you very much Aerdingus!
Quoting CrimsonNL (Reply 6): Hi NachoJFX and welcome to Airliners.net! Great job on your first TR, it's very nice to read something about SBA which is quite rare in these forums. Even with the fading livery that is still one gorgeous 757! I'm looking forward to part 2.
Thank you for the feedback and the welcome Crimson!
Quoting lychemsa (Reply 8): I wonder what Tahit Nui is doing? Maybe a leased aircraft.
The Air Tahitu Nui was flying for Conviasa to Madrid and Buenos Aires
Quoting globalflyer (Reply 9): Really great TR! I love the SB livery even if it is faded! It is nice to get a meal on a flight. I bet AA serves nothing ontheir flight to CCS? I may be wrong? Glad your puppy could fly inside the cabin with you! You all are spoiled in CCS getting all of those old and unique aircraft. I would be in heaven. OK that is just odd that the missionary would be allowed to stand up and preach. If it were inflight I bet they would say it is interference with the crew! Still odd!
Thank you, Globalflyer! I don't know about AA, as I haven't flown them between MIA and CCS, however I've flown Delta to ATL (longer flight) a few weeks after flying another SBA from MIA and as you can see in these pictures, the meal difference is vast! Delta early morning flight vs. SBA midday flight.
SBA
Delta
About the old planes, we are a little lucky indeed
NachoJFX From United States of America, joined Jun 2010, 8 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (5 months 1 week 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 6501 times:
Part II - The city
Soon after getting picking up our luggage, the next thing to do was to find a taxi to the city. With the airport located behind the Avila mountain, the trip from the airport to the city takes from 40 minutes to sometimes 2 hours depending on traffic and weather. As with all latin american countries, non official taxi cabs must be avoided. We made our way to the official SVMI taxi line, which uses a fleet of black Ford Explorers, and bought a (slightly expensive) fare to the city, as there's no taximeters.
Caracas, known as "La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera", or The city of eternal spring, with a dense population of almost 6 million people is undoubtly the most populated of the country. Usually associated with Danger and Violence, the metropolis is not as bad as they say (though it is true that some zones must be avoided). Surrounded by the "Avila", a beautiful mountain that covers all the valley, gorgeous women, excelent gastronomy, architectural jewels are everywhere...as well as an incredible contrast between Socialism and Capitalism (oh, and how could I forget? 8 cents/gallon gas )
I'll let the pictures speak by themselves. Feel free to skip this part if all you wish to see are airplane pictures
Typical Caraquenian middle-class suburban scene
A chilling evening at the pool
A shantytown
Suburban houses with the Avila Mountain in the background
City overview, always witnessed by the almighty Avila Mountain
Downtown Caracas
Density
A Cessna Citation jet on approach to "La Carlota" airport
American Embassy
More suburbs
I wouldn't wanna be stuck in there
A high-class home with view of the city
Yep, we're still in Caracas.
"El Hatillo" a popular pintoresque zone in the southeast.
Colors are everywhere
Taking the cable car to the top of the Avila
The lonely and once exclusive Humboldt Hotel at the top of the mountain
A tiny town at the other side
Local wildlife
The people
The unoccupied Humboldt Hotel, symbol of the golden days of Caracas, when even the Concorde had regular flights to SVMI.
La Carlota Airport, currently used as an Air Force base
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1750 posts, RR: 26 Reply 15, posted (5 months 1 week 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 6260 times:
Thanks for sharing your report on SBA Airlines! I don't think I've ever read anything or see anything about them before. I really like your photos as well - were you using a fish eye lens? I love the shots from the aircraft.
Might be a good idea to post the return flight in a new thread. If you just tack it on the end after a load of replies, a lot of people won't see it.
Thank you, Gabriel! I will take your advice and post the return on a new thread, although I do not have as many pictures of it.
Quoting 767747 (Reply 15): Thanks for sharing your report on SBA Airlines! I don't think I've ever read anything or see anything about them before. I really like your photos as well - were you using a fish eye lens? I love the shots from the aircraft.
Food looks really good as well!
Best,
Matthew (767747)
Thank you very much Matt! I was using a fisheye lens indeed
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 776 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (5 months 1 week 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 5764 times:
Hi NachoJFX,
First of all, Welcome to the forum and what a great way to start!
Great report on an airline we dont see here all to often with many nice pictures!
SBA Airlines looks very decent, love that livery just like I love Aerolineas Argentinas new livery!
Great pictures of Caracas you made there too!
capicua From Venezuela, joined Apr 2011, 49 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (5 months 1 week 2 days ago) and read 5641 times:
Hi NachoJFX,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your great first TR! You don't hear much about SBA on here.
They look pretty decent but their on-time record apparently has a lot of room for improvement.
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): To my pleasant surprise, more than 80% of the immigration desks were open, and about half my flight had already gone through it! So in less than 3 minutes I was already being stamped by an indifferent officer who did not ask any questions at all
Man, you were either terribly lucky or picked the right time to arrive! I have a much different story to tell...
Thanks also for the nice pictures of Caracas. It is always good to look at one's hometown through others' eyes.
Quoting NachoJFX (Reply 13): Typical Caraquenian middle-class suburban scene
First of all, Welcome to the forum and what a great way to start!
Great report on an airline we dont see here all to often with many nice pictures!
SBA Airlines looks very decent, love that livery just like I love Aerolineas Argentinas new livery!
Great pictures of Caracas you made there too!
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your great first TR! You don't hear much about SBA on here.
They look pretty decent but their on-time record apparently has a lot of room for improvement.
Gracias Capicua! Even though SBA is, out of the airlines that fly MIA-CCS, the most likely to have delay, I've never had any delay of over an hour on any of their flights, which have always been exceptional and above AA in every way.
Quoting capicua (Reply 18): Man, you were either terribly lucky or picked the right time to arrive! I have a much different story to tell...
I consider myself extremely lucky in that sense, first time in my life I see that at SVMI
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 20, posted (5 months 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 5193 times:
Hello
Welcome to the community, hope you have a great time
Interesting trip report, thanks for taking the time to share this with us.First time I heard of SBA Airlines
Service looks supberb, blows DL/AA in the water
Nice CCS pics as well
Welcome to the community, hope you have a great time
Interesting trip report, thanks for taking the time to share this with us.First time I heard of SBA Airlines
Service looks supberb, blows DL/AA in the water
Nice CCS pics as well
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): A great highlight: Air Tahiti Nui A340-300 flying for Conviasa to Buenos Aires and Madrid
Quoting lychemsa (Reply 8): I wonder what Tahit Nui is doing? Maybe a leased aircraft.
Back in April 2012, V0 (Conviasa) was banned from flying into the European Union (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-03/venezuela-carrier-conviasa-banned-by-eu-in-new-blacklist-update.html)
so they're using the Air Tahiti Nui plane for their flights to MAD.
Nacho, I was unaware they were using that A340 to EZE, are you sure? that's a suprise!.
Absolutely amazin livery. I had the chance to see it on BOG last month and I was impressed, here's a look:
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): I'll keep an eye out for it when I'm in MIA next week.
Whenever I've flown AA ex-MIA (last year mostly) they always go by SBA's hangar and you can see the planes there. Not sure if that happens now.
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 1): Pardon me for asking but how tall are you? I need to put this into perspective. This appears to be an awfully generous legroom. Good stuff!
I agree, very generous!.
Quoting NachoJFX (Reply 12): Thank you, Globalflyer! I don't know about AA, as I haven't flown them between MIA and CCS, however I've flown Delta to ATL (longer flight) a few weeks after flying another SBA from MIA and as you can see in these pictures, the meal difference is vast! Delta early morning flight vs. SBA midday flight.
I've flown regularly with AA the last couple of years and they do have that kind of meal in their midday flights. I didn't do trip reports back then so I have no pictures. My story with AA ex-CCS is just like Nacho's with SBA, I've never had an issue, and they give great service on that route.
I also flew a couple of months (Oct) ago on DL and this was my breakfast:
I'll be flying SBA in a couple of weeks to PTY so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully you can post your return flight so I can see the experience checkin in at CCS.
MIAspotter From Spain, joined Nov 2001, 2272 posts, RR: 26 Reply 23, posted (5 months 1 week 1 day ago) and read 4830 times:
Hey Nacho!
Great TR, from my 2 former homes CCS and MIA, I used to live in Chacao next to the Pequiven tower which I can see in some of your pictures, certainly bring back memories.
I only flew between CCS and MIA on LAN.
The nice areas in CCS are.... well... nice, but some areas are really really tatty.
I love the Lavansan nickname, did make me chuckle LOL.
SuperCaravelle From Netherlands, joined Jan 2012, 219 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (5 months 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 4793 times:
Great report, thanks for sharing. Venezuela always looks so colorful. Not only Caracas (beautiful pictures by the way), but also the numerous airlines residing there.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38503 posts, RR: 80 Reply 25, posted (5 months 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 3873 times:
On a more serious note, this is one of the most impressive trip reports I've read. Wonderful job NachoJFX!
I've been planning a South America trip for some time now. You've captured images that make me want to drop everything and hop on the next plane to South America. What's even more impressive is that you took photos of things that I would take photos of as well. Looks like were have similar taste.
Glad you got a photo of that AMC Jeep Grand Cherokee Chief.
That is a very durable off-road vehicle which I'm sure comes in handy in the muddy parts of Venezuela during the rainy season.
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 26, posted (5 months 6 days 9 hours ago) and read 3752 times:
Hi NachoJFX,
great first report, thanks a lot for sharing and welcome to this forum. Interesting to read something about SBA airline, they seem to offer a decent service. And of course always great to fly on another 757 (still my favorite plane type). And fading colors aside, I think the livery looks very nice. Also great pictures of Caracas.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4915 posts, RR: 55 Reply 27, posted (5 months 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 3603 times:
For someone homesick, those pictures made me so happy! I miss CCS a lot and can't wait to be back in 3 weeks! Thanks for an excellent report. I have not read much about SBA here and it was good to catch up. I have forwarded your link to a guy whose family pretty much runs it. He will be happy for sure. Service looks pretty good, and the meal is very generous.
Quoting NachoJFX (Thread starter): To my pleasant surprise, more than 80% of the immigration desks were open, and about half my flight had already gone through it! So in less than 3 minutes I was already being stamped by an indifferent officer who did not ask any questions at all
and yet another pleasant surprise! My luggage was already on the belt, so I just made my line and 3 minutes later I was out! Welcome to Venezuela!
= I know some others complain, but I have had this experience each time I have landed at CCS for over a year - and these coming during the Euro-Bank.
Quoting NachoJFX (Reply 13): Caracas, known as "La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera", or The city of eternal spring, with a dense population of almost 6 million people is undoubtly the most populated of the country. Usually associated with Danger and Violence, the metropolis is not as bad as they say (though it is true that some zones must be avoided). Surrounded by the "Avila", a beautiful mountain that covers all the valley, gorgeous women, excelent gastronomy, architectural jewels are everywhere...as well as an incredible contrast between Socialism and Capitalism (oh, and how could I forget? 8 cents/gallon gas )
= Thanks for sharing again. Pictures were wonderful. And this is the problem with Latin America - a social divide that is just a travesty and much of the elite not really caring.
I also flew a couple of months (Oct) ago on DL and this was my breakfast:
Looks very nice compared to what I had! They really improved.
Quoting mvecchi4 (Reply 22): I'll be flying SBA in a couple of weeks to PTY so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully you can post your return flight so I can see the experience checkin in at CCS.
Sorry for the delay on the return flight, I've been busy with school work this week!
Quoting MIAspotter (Reply 23): Great TR, from my 2 former homes CCS and MIA, I used to live in Chacao next to the Pequiven tower which I can see in some of your pictures, certainly bring back memories.
Thank you MIA spotter!
Quoting SuperCaravelle (Reply 24): Great report, thanks for sharing. Venezuela always looks so colorful. Not only Caracas (beautiful pictures by the way), but also the numerous airlines residing there.
Thank you!!
Quoting SuperCaravelle (Reply 24): Is this the (in)famous housing project on the parking lot of CCS? I've never seen a picture of it before.
No the parking not can't be seen from the approach, this is the other infamous project that ruined the best place to spot planes in CCS, sadly.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 25): On a more serious note, this is one of the most impressive trip reports I've read. Wonderful job NachoJFX!
I've been planning a South America trip for some time now. You've captured images that make me want to drop everything and hop on the next plane to South America. What's even more impressive is that you took photos of things that I would take photos of as well. Looks like were have similar taste.
great first report, thanks a lot for sharing and welcome to this forum. Interesting to read something about SBA airline, they seem to offer a decent service. And of course always great to fly on another 757 (still my favorite plane type). And fading colors aside, I think the livery looks very nice. Also great pictures of Caracas.
CaptainRed
Thank you CaptainRed!
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 27): For someone homesick, those pictures made me so happy! I miss CCS a lot and can't wait to be back in 3 weeks! Thanks for an excellent report. I have not read much about SBA here and it was good to catch up. I have forwarded your link to a guy whose family pretty much runs it. He will be happy for sure. Service looks pretty good, and the meal is very generous.
Thank you Alex! Glad you have showed them my Trip Report. I would love to hear what they think about it
Sponsor Message: 
From United States of America, joined Jun 2010, 8 posts, 
I would like to share a Trip report I did this summer. 
)
I really enjoyed it.
. 
From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2098 posts, 
From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, 
From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1618 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Dec 2006, 2485 posts, 
From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38503 posts, 
From Venezuela, joined Apr 2011, 49 posts, 
From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, 
From Spain, joined Nov 2001, 2272 posts, 
From Puerto Rico, joined Apr 2005, 1014 posts, 
Sponsor Message: 
Printer friendly format
