I made a first search online, but all flights from Brazil to Europe seemed to be fully booked on that day, be it with TP (also via GRU, BSB, CNF, SSA, REC and NAT), IB or even KL via GRU, both in C and in Y classes. There were only available seats for the coming weekend, four days away. But I really needed to fly on that day and therefore that wasn’t an option for me. After some additional browsing, I managed to get hold of a seat departing FOR with TP and back to GIG for €950 with a week in LIS or €1650 for a shorter stay in LIS.

I also called AF and after some attempts I managed to get wait listed with KL via GRU-AMS and to get a reservation for the later A332-operated GIG-CDG AF flight. I had called earlier the AF call centre and they not only said that no places were available, but also that they hadn’t heard of the “seat with 24h advance notice in full Y fare” for FB Plats; KL knew it, but the agent insisted it was only in case one had a previous reservation and wanted to change it. The reservation I eventually managed to make was only possible via the dedicated reservations line for FB Elite pax. The agent who helped me was utmost helpful. I found an “Y1” in an otherwise all zeroed-out flight, but only to CDG, not all the way to LIS. The agent then managed to extend it to LIS. Taxes included, this would have cost €2150.

The following day, early in the morning, I still hadn’t decided whether to take TP, KL (which would require me to fly to GRU and still be waitlisted without a confirmed reservation) or AF. Even if TP’s was cheaper, it required a previous TAM flight in a separate ticket GIG-FOR and that therefore wouldn’t protect me in case of delay or cancellation. When I decided to go for this last option (mostly because it arrived 2h before the AF flight to LIS), I didn’t manage to buy the JJ leg. I then re-checked availability for nonstop GIG-LIS with TP and found Y1 B1. I immediately called TP and secured it!

For the return flight I could opt between a daytime and a night flight. As I always prefer daylight flights (so that I can have a good night of sleep upon arrival to my destination and start the following day already freshened up), that was a no-brainer. And as I had some miles that were about to expire, I took the opportunity of using some miles and upgraded to C class.

TP186
GIG (SBGL) – LIS (LPPT)

Airbus A330-202 CS-TOL (msn 877, first flight 23/10/2007)
ETD: 16h20
ETA: 06h00 (following day)
Seat: 31B

April 14 2010

After having made the reservation, I went to the airport as soon as I could to pay for it and try to get a good enough seat (as it was the day of departure, I couldn’t reserve a seat in advance anymore). I got to Galeão’s Terminal 2 at 13h00, but it was already too late: only 31B or 27K, both aisles. I went for the former, because it was farther from the toilet.

Check-in was swift. I was met by an agent who checked hand luggage and handed out tags for it. He noticed my AF tag from my last flight in my backpack, showed it to a colleague and smiled. “Last week I was working with AF!” – he told me. The C class check-in agent (which I was entitled to use not only due to holding a tap|plus ticket, but also because of my credit card) was nice, but still couldn’t offer me a window seat (that being the reason why there are so few pics from the window in this report).

As I still had a long wait ahead of me and no lounge access, I went to Terminal 1 – the one used in particular by G3, SkyTeam and OneWorld carriers – and had lunch while doing some amateur spotting in its “balcony”(which is no more than a window).

The corridor connecting the two terminals provides great tarmac views.

Once back to Terminal 2 – used namely by Star Alliance airlines –, I passed the immigration control and wandered through the terminal. It’s in very good condition (better than Terminal 1 for sure) and has plenty of light. The only problems were the lack of seating areas near the gate TP was using on that day and the fact that the only cafeteria was in the lower floor and no signs indicated its location.

And back to some spotting – now Star Alliance.

Once I finally settled near the gate, I could see CS-TOL – which had arrived early that morning – parked at a remote stand. It was then towed to gate.

Although it was printed in the boarding pass that boarding would start at 15h00 (ie, 1h20 before ETD), it didn’t start until 15h50. And it was completely chaotic: three lines organised by the ground staff, according to criteria that weren’t publicised – they’d check each pax’s boarding pass and tell them to go “here or there”. It eventually worked out, but it created too much of a fuss. On top of this, my passport wasn’t checked at the gate. TP should definitely rethink its boarding procedures at GIG.

Before boarding, I collected a couple of Portuguese newspapers and was greeted by two female FAs, none of them particularly smiley or even kind. I told them that if someone seating in a window seat wanted to swap, however unlikely that’d be, I’d be willing to. There were two FAs in the aisle, both chit chatting.

Doors closed at 16h15 and we pushed-back 10 mins. thereafter. Once we were set to go, the Chief Purser made a short description of the inflight service and announced a flight time of 8h40 today.

After a long taxi to rwy 10 and a very narrow turn to the runway, we took off at 16h45.

Following departure, Captain Miguel Jácome addressed the pax and relayed some information regarding the route to be flown (SSA-NAT-Cape Verde-Canary Islands). The weather would be good but light to moderate turbulence was to be expected 3h into the flight. Our ETA would be 05h20, 40 mins. before schedule.

The “fasten seatbelt” sign was on until more than 1h after departure, with no hint of turbulence whatsoever and no explanation offered for that either.

When I boarded, both the pillow and a (red fleece) blanket were already on my seat. I asked for an additional blanket to the youngest FA (a very good-looking woman) and she brought it to me, but with a bored and arrogant look, without a single word.

The seat is very similar to Avianca’s (reviewed in this report), but in a worse version, as it lacks an eyeglass holder and a USB entry point; there’s and a coat hanger as well, but in the side of the chair. In terms of comfort, the positive points are the footrest, the adjustable headrest and the fact that the seat moves forward when reclined. The downside is the lumbar support.

The cabin’s overall environment was bright and in mint condition, gray being the prevailing colour.

Menus and headsets were handed out shortly after departure.

MAIN MEAL

Appetizer

Mixed leaf salad with black olives and quail egg

Main course

Beef polpettone with mushroom sauce and pea rice

or

Ricotta cannelloni with spinach sauce

Dessert

Carrot cake

Dinner was served 1h into the flight and swiftly. I chose the beef polpettone (something between a meatball and meatloaf), which was tasty; the rice, however, was insipid. The salad was dry with some almost rotten pieces of lettuce. The dessert looked so artificial that I didn’t even touch it.

The lady next to me had a veggie meal – which actually looked quite good. But she was puzzled with the quinoa burger she got and pressed the call button to ask what it was. It turned out, however, that the FAs were busy serving dinner… She pressed it at least ten times over a period of 15 mins. A very kind male FA eventually came to her, explained it wasn’t beef but quinoa, and reassured her that he was actually a vegetarian himself and that he was having it too.

One of the good things about the way the service was organised was that the crew passed through the aisles at least twice for red wine refill. One of those times the lady next to me asked for her glass to be topped up. While serving the wine, the FA dropped a bit of wine on me and on my blanket. She didn’t notice it until I told her and asked for a napkin. Neither did she apologise nor did she bring me a napkin (although she did acknowledge my request).

After the meal, I didn’t see the crew go through the aisles even once.

In terms of IFE, apart from the award-winning Up magazine, the highlight was Panasonic’s touch screen eX2 system, which had a total of 15 AVOD movies (even if the system allows up to 20), 10 games and the traditional “Airshow”. While it’s certainly true that it doesn’t offer as many movies as some other airlines, it seems adequate for flights of this duration. And it definitely is a huge improvement when compared to TP’s A343 (which lack PTV’s) or to the older A332 (which don’t have AVOD).

Somewhere overhead NAT I decided it was time I tried to sleep. I was awoken 3h later by my neighbouring passenger, who wanted to use the toilet. Instead of trying to jump over me, she decided to wake me up – and reminded me why I absolutely hate aisle seats. I couldn’t sleep anymore, just sort of napped. We were flying over the Canary Islands at that point in time.

Breakfast was served 1h05 prior to ETA, preceded by a hot paper towel – which felt really good.

Before landing

Cheese and tomato toast

Carrot muffin

Seasonal fruit

Butter and jam

Coffee

Tea

The toast was surprisingly ok and so was the muffin; the orange was a bit dry, though – and why carrot pâtisserie both for dinner and breakfast?! Beverages included orange (both Compal Fresh, which I like, and a bad Brazilian brand) and mango juice, water, coffee and tea. For me, breakfasts in redeye flights should always include a warm item and some fresh fruit – so kudos for TP for this.

After that, headsets were collected. In my aisle, one of the older female FAs was yelling with her high-pitched voice “headseats! auriculares!” as if we were in a street fair – not classy at all!

We reached our TOD at 04h55 and the approach to LIS was rather bumpy. We headed to Cartaxo and then turned south to land on rwy 21 at 05h25, way ahead of schedule.

Deplaning was via jetway – first time for me in a widebody at LIS! It was also my first time in the new airport gates – very nice, albeit quite far (we parked in the very last gate). Immigration only took me a couple of seconds due to the electronic passport queues.

Final evaluation
Reservation [1]: 10
Check-in [1,5]: 8
Boarding [0,5]: 1
Seat [2,5]: 7
Aircraft overall ambience [0,5]: 7
IFE [1,5]: 7
Power outlets [0,5]: 0
Crew [3,5]: 6
Food [2]: 7
Beverages [0,5]: 8
Freebies and amenities [0,5]: 2
Disembarkation [0,5]: 10
On-time record [2]: 10

Weighed overall impression: 7 (inflight overall impression: 6,93)

After a good experience from EZE to BOG, I had no doubts in choosing AV once again. It wasn’t easy, however, to buy the ticket at an acceptable price. I couldn’t buy it with AV’s webpage at first and online travel agencies would quote the lowest price at around €300 (which was ridiculously high). After insisting a lot, I don’t know how exactly I managed to do it, but I found a way of buying it for less than half that price through AV’s website.

AV9542
BOG (SKBO) – CTG (SKCG)

Airbus A320-214 N411AV (msn 3992, first flight 17/07/2009)
ETD: 08h45
ETA: 10h05
Seat: 11A

March 26 2010

I arrived 2h before ETD to the Punte Aéreo Terminal of BOG – a separate terminal only used for AV’s domestic flights. The (common) queue for check-in was long, but I had done the check-in online 24h before. It did work and allowed me to change my seat choice online, but in the end it was completely disregarded when I saw the pdf of the boarding pass. So I went to a self-service machine to collect it. The machine, however, redirected me to a check-in counter. It was a special counter, though, which did not require me to join the (huge) queue . The agents were very polite and efficient and inserted my FB number.

The terminal isn’t huge, but has a nice offer of shops and cafés – only landside, though, because the airside part only has seating areas, restrooms and a couple of vending machines. And in addition to all that, a fantastic view to the tarmac.

As soon as I got to the gates, I realised that boarding for the previous CTG-bound flight had just started. As I still had 45 mins. for my flight, I decided to try my luck and enquire if I could take that flight instead. The agent only asked me if I had checked in any luggage – I said “no” – and she just processed it and handwrote a new flight number and seat in the original boarding pass. I was lucky enough to still get a window seat. And there I went! After passing through the gate, there were corridors that funneled the pax directly to the stairs.

Upon boarding, the Purser didn’t allow a Y pax to place his carry-on in the C class overhead bins – applause!

Doors were closed at 08h45 and 5 mins. later we were already taxiing. It was time for some amateur spotting through the tiny dirty aircraft windows.

At 09h00, we were taking off from rwy 13L. We had a very slow climb, probably due to the high altitude of BOG.

The aircraft was rather recent and the cabin was in mint condition. Even though it was a narrowbody, C class was equipped with proper C seats. And the Y class seats all had PTVs installed.

As for service, only beverages: water, coffee, tea or packed juice (mango light, tropical and a third one). Nothing to bite, not even a pack of cookies.

The IFE was fully operational (except for movies, due to the short duration of the flight) and headphones were provided (they were already in the seatbacks cupholders when the pax boarded), both free of charge. I watched an episode of The Simpsons and checked the inflight map.

At 09h45 we reached our TOD. During the approach I was fortunate enough to be seating in the right side of the airplane and see the old city of Cartagena. 15 mins. later we touched down on rwy 01.

We backtracked and taxied to our parking stand very quickly. There were only two other aircraft parked at the airport: an E190 from Aerorepublica and a B727-200 from Líneas Aereas Suramericanas. Deplaning was swift, via stairs. And as it had happened in the EZE-BOG flight, the captain didn’t address the pax even once.

AV8549
CTG (SKCG) – BOG (SKBO)

Airbus A320-214 N411AV (msn 4011, first flight 03/08/2009)
ETD: 20h00
ETA: 21h20
Seat: 12A

March 28 2010

The online check-didn’t work the previous day (due to site maintenance), but it was available at least 10h before ETD. At the airport, there was no indication of any drop-off counter – so I asked an agent (because the general check-in queue was long) and he immediately directed me to a counter. The check-in agent was, however, completely indifferent to her task.

Although according to the boarding pass the boarding time was supposed to start at 19h10, it only started at 19h45. Before every pax could board, however, he/she had to go to a different counter to get a red line marked on the boarding pass. The gate agent would then check whether one had the red line in the boarding pass and let one leave the terminal through the gate and walk through a maze-like tunnel to the aircraft stairs. At that point, another agent would tear part of the boarding pass (but not check the id.). A few steps away from the latter agent, a FA would welcome all pax at the bottom of the stairs; the Purser would do the same once onboard.

Only when I reached the tarmac did I notice there had been an equipment change: from a F100 to an A320.

Once onboard, I noticed that the IFE was turned on with Colombia tourism advertisement. Also, the aircraft had the air conditioning on and due to the temperature difference, that meant there was a lot of condensation.

The doors were closed at 20h00. Once we started rolling towards the runway, I noticed there was an aircraft taxiing towards the end of the runway after having landed on rwy01, for backtracking purposes. We entered rwy19 nonetheless – for backtracking as well, I thought. But no: we started immediately speeding up for take-off.

Shortly after departure, I was trying to take some pics when I made a pause and looked to my right. The pax seating on 12D and 12E were looking at me with a scared gaze, telling me it was forbidden to use electronic devices. As it was dark outside and I was outside the EU, I just smiled and stopped taking photos.

As for the service, it was exactly the same as in the inbound flight. IFE was also on and I watched a House episode – but couldn’t finish it – with too many commercials, including some aimed at getting more advertisement contracts.

TOD was reached at 20h55 and we landed on rwy13L at 21h10. After landing, already on the taxiway, engines were shutdown and we waited for around 10 mins. to get a stand; we were then towed to gate. No explanation for this wait was provided. We reached our parking stand at 21h25, ie, exactly on schedule. Again, not a word from the cockpit.

Final evaluation
Reservation [1]: 5
Check-in [1,5]: 7
Boarding [0,5]: 9
Seat [2,5]: 9
Aircraft overall ambience [0,5]: 9
IFE [1,5]: 10
Power outlets [0,5]: 0
Crew [3,5]: 7
Food [2]: 0
Beverages [0,5]: 8
Freebies and amenities [0,5]: 8
Disembarkation [0,5]: 10
On-time record [2]: 10

Weighed overall impression: 7,03 (inflight overall impression: 7,43)

AV88
EZE (SAEZ) – BOG (SKBO)

Airbus A330-243 N967CG (msn 967, first flight 17/10/2008)
ETD: 07h35
ETA: 12h05
Seat: 36A

March 15 2010

As seat assignment wasn’t available and on-line check-in neither (only for routes to Ecuador – how is this possible in 2010 with a modern airline like Avianca?!), I had to arrive early to check-in. The call centre agent told me it wouldn’t open until 2h before ETD; still, I arrived at Ezeiza International Airport at 05h10 (with no sleep, of course). At that time, not only the check-in was already open, but there was also a huge queue.

There was an agent checking that everyone’s name was on the pax list and providing luggage tags, both for checked and for carry-on baggage. I tried my luck with my FB Platinum card, but she kindly told me that only Avianca Oro or Diamante would be eligible for access to the C class check-in counters. So I waited… and waited… and waited… It took 1h for me to be able to check-in. And people kept on arriving at that point: every time I looked back, the cola was either the same or bigger. There were five agents (four for Y and one for C) and a sixth agent who was handling the caja. For about 20 mins., one of the agents got busy with a group (of athletes) and for more or less the same period of time, three agents were only calling C class or Avianca elite pax. Generally, I do agree with giving priority to C class and elite pax from Y check-in agents, but this was beyond any reasonable limit…

When I finally reached the counter, I was helped by a professional and kind (female) agent. I asked if there were any window seats left, but there was only 36A (and a couple of aisles, also at the back of the aircraft – the agent added). With this panorama, I decided to take the last row window seat. It was a risk: I didn’t know almost anything about the aircraft seating configuration because the seatmaps weren’t available online. There could be toilets behind or limited recline. The agent inserted my FB number and noted my elite status. I took the opportunity and tried my luck again, this time to ask whether I could have lounge access. She said that I couldn’t have access to it because it was a contract lounge. When I left the check-in area, only 20 mins. were left before check-in closure time, but the queue was as long as when I had arrived.

Security check-point (where I didn’t even have to take my laptop out of my bag) and immigration were a breeze.

The minute I set my feet in the international area of the airport, I entered a huge flashy and noisy disco-like duty-free area. Apart from the (horrible and loud) music that was playing, there were also people vacuum-cleaning the floor (it wasn’t even 07h00 after all) and gate agents shouting names of late pax for their flights which were due for departure. As I was in the last row of the aircraft, I decided to buy myself a merenda – just in case, and bearing in mind I’d be the last one to be served.

Boarding started 25 mins. late, but finished more than on-time. Although the gate area was packed (it was a full flight) and there was an informal queue, the boarding procedure was rather orderly: first C class pax, elite pax and pax with children or reduced mobility; then Y rear section and only next Y front section – and it was enforced!

When I boarded, I was greeted by the purser, who told me, in Portuguese (after having read my name in the boarding pass), “Bem-vindo a bordo, Senhor Tiago” and directed me to my seat.

The pax were welcomed onboard with a very long announcement that presented the whole crew, name by name (and full name!), and added that there was a sales representative onboard. I was puzzled with this (would she sell tickets for other flights onboard?!), but later understood that she was only in charge of the duty-free and didn’t help her colleagues in any other task. It should be added that apart from having their names mentioned, all FAs were wearing name tags. The inflight service was also described as comprising a breakfast and a snack before arrival, with the full list of available beverages. It should be noted, however, that most other inflight announcements were recorded. And, on a negative note, there wasn’t a single word from the captain or first officer throughout the entire flight!

Doors were closed on schedule, at 07h25 – at which time there was announcement from the FA saying “the doors of the aircraft are closed; Avianca is, as usual, departing on time”. No more than five mins. after that we pushed back from our gate.

The metal that one could spot through the window at EZE was mostly Aerolíneas Argentinas’, but there were also a couple of LAN’s. We had a not so long taxi towards runway 11 that ended with a very narrow turn. After lining up and waiting for a couple of mins., our A332 speeded down the runway and took off at 07h45.

After departure, we followed the runway heading for some minutes towards La Plata until we made a right turn and headed NW, more or less along the Paraná river.

While we were still climbing, a video was shown with basic instructions for the pax during the flight on how to use the toilets and the IFE – quite useful in some circumstances.

Hot (paper) towels were handed out by the crew 20 mins. after departure. Breakfast started being served soon thereafter. I was in the last row and therefore only got it 30 mins. later (ie, 50 mins. after departure). But it was much worse with the drinks, which I only got still another 20 mins. later. This is because the meal serving procedures are plainly wrong and inefficient. Had I not brought a drink onboard myself, my breakfast would have become cold.

The breakfast itself wasn’t all that bad for airline food in Y: scrambled eggs with a sort of fried yams, fruit salad, bread and butter. Everyone got the same: there were no alternatives. Beverages were all non-alcoholic – but by the time they got to the last five rows, orange juice had finished. It’s interesting to note that all napkins were made of recycled paper and had a reference to Avianca’s recycling policy.

After my meal, I napped for a while. When I woke up, the view from my window was stunning, as expected.

Apart from the inflight magazine, which was actually good, the IFE was surprisingly good. Turned on immediately after take-off and turned off shortly before landing (with a recorded announcement saying that “the entertainment system will be turned off in 5 mins.”), it had a wide selection of films and TV shows. As it was March, the  month’s theme was “Oscars 2005-2009”. There were also some premières and yet another theme: “women and the movies”. There was a total of 17 AVOD films in the 9” LCD touchscreen. As for TV shows, the following ones were showing: The Simpsons, Two and a half men, House, The mentalist and Heroes. Lastly, a power socket was also available and headphones were in the seats when boarding started.

Apart from the PTV, the seat also incorporated a coat-hang, a place that holds eyeglasses and a cup holder – even if the cups that were distributed were too narrow to fit there –, a USB entry point, and the PTV control. The tray table was folded away and a blanket was placed on the seat prior to boarding.

3h30m into the flight is the point at which the seat comfort starts to be an issue. It wasn’t very padded, but still had a very reasonable degree of comfort due to the footrest  and to the recline position – which was available in full recline, even in the last row of the aircraft due to some space behind it (and the lack of a toilet there too). The head support wasn’t brilliant, though, because it wasn’t adjustable in the sides. Another good thing about the recline was that the seat also moved itself forward, making it more comfortable. The armrests were moveable.

The PSU panels were also of the last generation, with the sign “turn off electronic devices” instead of “no smoking”.

The toilets featured the new airbus style – a novelty for me. They were much more pleasant than the older ones, both in terms of light and in the fashion the tap works (one doesn’t have to keep pressing the water button as one washes one’s hands).

Throughout the flight, the crew disappeared: no water was offered and the FAs didn’t pass the aisles often to check on pax’s needs. Except from that, they were professional (a bit slow at times), but never willing to go the extra mile. It’s still worth noting that AV’s crew uniforms have been praised elsewhere.

About 1h15 before ETA, a snack was served (no option once again): a sandwich with ham and cream cheese – much like a tramezzino – with beverages. This time, beer and wine were available – and orange juice was miraculously. The quality was again not beyond acceptable and the same goes for quantity.

As soon as we reached our TOD (at around 11hoo, Bogotá time), all security instructions were immediately given (maybe it’s because BOG is quite high: at 8361 ft., it’s the third-highest capital city in the world, after La Paz and Quito). This meant that 35 mins. before landing, armrests had to be put down, tray tables folded away, seats in the upright position, window blinds open, electronic equipment shut down, and blankets placed in the seat pocket in front or in the seat, behind the pax’s back (this one was a new one for me!).

Unlike the flight – which unexpectedly (as we were overflying the Andes) had almost no turbulence – the approach was not only bumpy, but involved many turns.

At 11h35, 30 mins. ahead of our schedule, we touched down on rwy13R and vacated to the right. We still had plenty of runway ahead of us, though, due to its remarkable length (3799.9 m!).

We had a short taxi to the international terminal and therefore this wasn’t the best occasion to spot airplanes. The overall idea was that AV clearly dominated the airport movements (at least at this time of day).

Deplaning was swift. Not so much for immigration and customs, with everything being x-rayed.

Final evaluation
Reservation [1]: 10
Check-in [1,5]: 2
Boarding [0,5]: 8
Seat [2,5]: 8
Aircraft overall ambience [0,5]: 7
IFE [1,5]: 8
Power outlets [0,5]: 0
Crew [3,5]: 6
Food [2]: 4
Beverages [0,5]: 5
Freebies and amenities [0,5]: 2
Disembarkation [0,5]: 10
On-time record [2]: 10

Weighed overall impression: 6,47 (inflight overall impression: 6,93)