Hello from Paris, as Ive just completed the outbound portion ofmy quick, special trip to Paris. After flying Avianca’s Airbus A320 business class from Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG), I flew Avianca’s Boeing 787-8 business class on the 9hr30min flight to Paris (CDG). In this post, I want to share my initial thoughts, and then…
Continue reading: Avianca 787 Insignia Business Class: Basic And Boring
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Ben, when does your air france flight leave? I would be so happy to track you on Flightradar24! And on what day? Thank you so much
RE: toothpaste. Last month I flew within the Americas and, interestingly, the amenity kit I got on the outbound had toothpaste but the one on the inbound did not.
Seems fine and I think on flights of 10hrs or less I’ll always choose an expedited service over a long 2 hour service, notwithstanding what the carts are like.
Another qn that’s important to me. When do they turn the lights on in the morning. Hate the full lit cabin two hours before landing.
@ Mick -- They turned the lights on exactly two hours out. However, it wasn't the full brightness, but rather, the sunrise mood lighting.
@Ben, I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional and they were expecting passengers to never notice (sigh)... In the end, AV is nowadays a LCC with a 'big front seat' cabin, lol.
Ha! It’s funny how after so many premium flights how the experience can be so affected by such a minor occurrence. But for me on short flights like this I’m always so frustrated by lights on so early.
Ps. So excited to see your Air France review.
Hi Stefan - Congrats on winning the creepy message for today.
Nobody in the world wants a stranger (I assume you are a stranger?) to track them down. Were you going to wait at the airport with baloons?
The inaugural flight is tomorrow, 8 April, AF4 CDG-JFK. This is all over social media and the blogosphere.
Could it be that the toothbrush is prepasted? There are single use ones that work like this.
@ Cargoguy -- Great question, and when I opened the dental kit to brush my teeth and didn't see toothpaste, I figured that was the case. So I started brushing my teeth, and I can confirm that's not the case.
That roll looks yummy! What kind of roll was it? Was it warmed? I bet it was delicious with butter.
@Mark, relax. Plenty of people like to track inaugural flights on FlightRadar24. If Ben cared THAT much he wouldn't have publicly announced the flight.
One is of the opinion that there is no such thing as a stupid question …. only stupid answers!
Thank you for conforming such, Mark.
I agree. Sometimes meal service takes over two hours when you just want to rest/sleep but you want the full meal not the reduced express option that some airlines offer. And that meal looks great, especially the shrimp and rice . And regarding only two out of three options left for lunch and one out of two options left for breakfast, all airlines do have the disclaimer on their menus apologizing if your preferred option is no longer available, plus Lucky likes to seat in the back of the cabin hence not all options would be available when it's his turn.
Really depends which Latam. Chile Latam is fine, Brazil ex TAM is horrendous.
Sounds functional and actually good for a business traveller (minus the not having enough food options left).
Long meal services are tedious when muggles are trying to get their "money's worth" out of the meal and drink service and all you want to do is sleep.
It does seem like a rather bare-bones experience. "You've paid for a flat bed seat, here it is!". Oh, well... You get to fly home in LP, gratis, so the "functional" Avianca experience will soon be forgotten in the comforting embrace of Grand Cru champagne and burgundy!
Is the cracker hiding in front of the bread roll on the main tray? Looks like they messed up the serving.
Seems the Premium Economy offering from Miami to Paris Orly on French Bee would have been quick, adequate and far far more economical!
What’s with peoples obsession with some long drawn out broadway production for a meal service? Plop it, drop it, and forget it. I always find the crew to be more friendly when they expedite the service because it gets them to their bunk faster.
What you didn't point out (or I missed) is that those two flights, MIA-BOG-Europe r/t with a well timed Lifemiles purchase, gives you *Gold, in one trip, including UA lounge access domestically.
Sounds typical AV experience. No better than Copa for sure on regional flights.
Did you check out their Bogota lounge? It seems more like a mall food court.
True, I qualified for *G with just 1 r/t in J about 1 month ago. Status is valid until 2027 🙂
(Status qualification requirements are even lower for Colombian residents)
I didn't even know prepasted toothbrushes were a thing.
Glado to know that there's always something new to learn here 🙂
100%. Travel bloggers are ridiculous. Obsessed with predeparture beverages, a long meal service, and being waited on head to tail by the flight attendants. They want to feel like a rich person with all the servants (while often not paying cash for their ticket). Meanwhile your average business class traveler wants to lie down in that bed, or set up with enough room to get some work done.
That's when you recognize folks who travel for business, tired, wanting to sleep or do some laptoping, and the empty shells doing 'reviews' who need their instagram photos.
The primary purpose of brushing is to remove plaque and bacteria from the teeth. This can be effectively achieved with a wet toothbrush alone. And I'd rather not see that much plastic and waste for a one-time usage. But hey the toothpaste is what matters over a 14-16 hr door to door trip!
But kudos to the reviewer: I actually commend this honesty as it helps me figure out the fluff from the nice to have.
And make sure to add the football team in the miss at the same time. Life is about fairness.
The insignia is ok, but Avianca seem to be always a generation behind the competition. They have just reached what their competitors were doing years ago.
That said, Avianca fares are much more competitive, particularly for last minute or one way. Their main long haul competitor, Iberia's latest gen A350 MAD-BOG is a whole other level, Iberia's hard product (only) is almost good as as Eithad but not quite Qatar (but more consistent, not prone to substitution like Qatar do occasionally). Sadly, you will only find a comparable price if you book Iberia a few months in advance.
Compared to US airlines, Insignia is not bad at all, but that is an extremely low bar to measure against.
As the author said, Insignia worth it if the price and schedule match.
Some people are cultured and want to take time to enjoy their meal, instead of having it thrown on them and either slurp it in 15 minutes, or eat the final courses cold. If you wouldn't accept this in a restaurant, why would you accept it on a plane?