LAN Argentina deserves points for consistency

LAN Argentina deserves points for consistency

26

On Thursday night I flew LAN Argentina Premium Business from Miami to Buenos Aires. While the seat was quite comfortable, the food and especially service left a bit to be desired, to put it nicely. I was curious if this was a one off or consistently the case with LAN Argentina, and after flying them back to the US last night I have to say my experience was much of the same.

This time around I had one of the center business class seats, so I was being served by one flight attendant, while my friends were seated on the other side and being served by a different flight attendant.

Their flight attendant was friendly(ish), while mine was, erm, efficient(ish). As far as the friendly flight attendant goes, I don’t think he got a single thing my friend ordered right. Pre-departure he ordered a Coke and was served water instead. When he placed his meal order he said he didn’t want an appetizer, yet was still served a trio of zucchini.  We figured maybe there was a language barrier, though for breakfast orders you simply fill out a card with what you want. My friend ordered cereal, a croissant, and orange juice, and was instead served a muffin and cofee. Then he explained what he actually ordered, and was still brought the wrong thing — a ham and cheese plate.

As far as my aisle goes, I don’t think I got a single smile out of my flight attendant. Though I suppose I do have to give her credit for waking me up a bit more nicely than the flight attendant on the outbound for breakfast. On the outbound I woke up to the flight attendant yelling at me “if you are going to have breakfast you will take out your tray table and put your seat up now.” On this flight the flight attendant simply kept poking me, and continued to do so even after I awoke till my seat was all the way in the upright position. Then about 15 minutes later she brought out my tray.

On the plus side, their seats were extremely comfortable, and the bedding was excellent, which is what’s most important for me on a redeye flight.

Am curious to try LAN Chile and LAN Peru and see if the experience differs at all.

On the plus side, I loved Buenos Aires…

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  1. lucky OMAAT

    @ Lu -- I took the flight on April 11.

  2. Lu Guest

    Hi... I want to know on what date do you took the Flight from Miami to buenos aires.
    Was the Flight number 4521?
    Thank you!

  3. Geri J. Guest

    While I agree that the LAN flight you were on had a strangely old-school Business Class lounge, it would have been informative had you shown photos of the other classes.

    My husband and I are based in Ecuador. While I have no experience with flying Business or First Class with LAN Ecuador, their Coach product is superior to most of the airlines based in the U.S. And after your review and photos of the...

    While I agree that the LAN flight you were on had a strangely old-school Business Class lounge, it would have been informative had you shown photos of the other classes.

    My husband and I are based in Ecuador. While I have no experience with flying Business or First Class with LAN Ecuador, their Coach product is superior to most of the airlines based in the U.S. And after your review and photos of the new American Coach configuration, it sure looks cramped and tight compared to the LAN Ecuador Coach setup.

  4. herman Guest

    I wish I could witness a flight attendant repetitively poking you to wake you up

    This is HILLARIOUS!

  5. Duncan Guest

    @ Simon: I am so glad some one else eeked. The whole presentation... as Lucky say: Flat, flat, flat and a bonus of good bedding!! Some airlines I still say no to meals/food on board regardless of first or bussiness but my theory for food is it's the airport of departure that makes the difference more than the airline?

  6. lucky OMAAT

    @ jorge -- The seat is similar to American in terms of width but is fully flat and has more pitch. While it might not look comfortable, I think there's no argument that it's better than American's angled flat seat.

  7. Paul Guest

    @Jackie: As an S.A.-based passenger, I'm intrigued to find out what you mean by "(we) deserve what (we) get."

  8. Simon Member

    Gosh, the shape of that omelette - eek!

  9. jorge Guest

    That seat does not look appealing at all. I think American offers better product ( did I say that? ).

  10. Jackie Guest

    Thanks to idiotic authorities granting LAN+TAM merger and thinking no anti-trust will result, Oneworld will soon control like 95+% of long-haul MIA-SouthAmerica seats ... they have exactly ZERO incentive to be remotely competitive.

    The only ones screwed are S.A. based passengers. They deserve what they get.

  11. RingRunner Guest

    The service sounds par for the course on LAN Chile as well, both in English and Spanish. Glad you enjoyed the seat, though I found it disconcertingly narrow. Felt tighter than the 20" advertised - and you already noted the limited shoulder space.

  12. lucky OMAAT

    @ Robert Hanson -- I will with the trip report, absolutely.

  13. Robert Hanson Diamond

    Are you going to do a post on what you loved about BA? Other than Tierra Santa, of course. :D

  14. lucky OMAAT

    @ SANspotter -- I mean the seats weren't super comfortable compared to reverse herringbone seats, but given that they're fully flat they're still much better than what's on offer from most airlines to Buenos Aires.

  15. lucky OMAAT

    @ D -- Nope, just the duvet and pillow. There were no slippers, unfortunately.

  16. SANspotter Guest

    I'm surprised that you thought the seats were really comfortable - I haven't flown LAN business class myself, but those seats don't look as comfy as you describe!

  17. D Guest

    Two quick questions:
    1. Were there seat covers other than the duvet to sleep on? Doesn't seem to be, but just to confirm...
    2. I don't see any pajamas in the amenity kit, but I saw socks. Were slippers included too?
    Thanks, as always, Lucky!

  18. lucky OMAAT

    @ minnesotan -- That would be LAN Chile.

  19. minnesotan Guest

    Is there any way to tell which LAN subsidiary will operate my flights booked with AA? Mine is 7700 and 7701 in May.

  20. Max New Member

    Ehh all the LANs are hit-or-miss when it comes to soft product. Usually miss. But I can definitely perceive an improvement in service when I interact with LAN staff fully in Spanish. I'm sure they appreciate the effort from Americans, even if it's in broken Spanish.

  21. puck Member

    LAN Chile is much better.

  22. Jorg Guest

    Ehhhh... never mind my previous comment. I'm so used to you being negative about Aerolineas Argentinas that I automatically assumed you were talking about them :). That's a good first comment on a blog :(.

    (short side note: even though it was my first comment, the last weeks I've been reading 238 pages - very interesting blog!)

  23. Jorg Guest

    How Aerolineas Argentinas has changed... I remember flying them internal flights in Argentina about 10 years ago and I was treated well on every single flight (in total we took 5). Nice flight attendants, good food, every flight on time(ish) - I don't consider 15 minutes later than schedule late -, I really liked my experience with them. And that was in coach.

    Okay, when someone refused to turn off his cell phone, the FA...

    How Aerolineas Argentinas has changed... I remember flying them internal flights in Argentina about 10 years ago and I was treated well on every single flight (in total we took 5). Nice flight attendants, good food, every flight on time(ish) - I don't consider 15 minutes later than schedule late -, I really liked my experience with them. And that was in coach.

    Okay, when someone refused to turn off his cell phone, the FA gave him hell: after all it's still Latin America ;).

  24. Tyler A Guest

    I bet the flight attendant kept poking you to get a feel for your body ;) Basically, she thought you were hot!

  25. Jeff Guest

    I flew Lan Argetina from Buenos Aires to Mendoza and was very happy I did. Seeing Aerolina Argentina cancel flights at will, LAN was a hands down no brainer for travel for inner Argentina travel. We had a great crew on both the inbound and outbound flights, so can't speak to other opinion on MIA-EZE.

    BA had a great culture, but going to Mendoza is a must as it broke up the trip some....

    I flew Lan Argetina from Buenos Aires to Mendoza and was very happy I did. Seeing Aerolina Argentina cancel flights at will, LAN was a hands down no brainer for travel for inner Argentina travel. We had a great crew on both the inbound and outbound flights, so can't speak to other opinion on MIA-EZE.

    BA had a great culture, but going to Mendoza is a must as it broke up the trip some. We were starting to get a little bored on our 5th day, but would not say it didnt live up to the Hype in my opinion.

  26. The Weekly Flyer New Member

    I feel like Buenos Aires didn't live up to the hype, at least on our trip there.

    I guess I should have lowered my expectations, but I think the city itself, not the country, is over rated.

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lucky OMAAT

@ Lu -- I took the flight on April 11.

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Lu Guest

Hi... I want to know on what date do you took the Flight from Miami to buenos aires. Was the Flight number 4521? Thank you!

0
Geri J. Guest

While I agree that the LAN flight you were on had a strangely old-school Business Class lounge, it would have been informative had you shown photos of the other classes. My husband and I are based in Ecuador. While I have no experience with flying Business or First Class with LAN Ecuador, their Coach product is superior to most of the airlines based in the U.S. And after your review and photos of the new American Coach configuration, it sure looks cramped and tight compared to the LAN Ecuador Coach setup.

0
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