Review of Avianca flight from Bogota to Cali in Economy

Context

Hello everyone, I've been quite busy this semester so I have accumulated quite a backlog on FRs.
This one is on a trip to Colombia's third largest city: Santiago de Cali, commonly known as Cali, and nicknamed "la Sultana del Valle" or "la Sucursal del Cielo".
So a cousin was getting married in Cali, and we organised a family trip to that city. I had not been to Cali in 16 years so I was looking forward a lot to this trip. I booked both flights on AV, BOG-CLO being on an A320, and CLO-BOG on an A321, unfortunately for me, I wouldn't score the return flight as my mum asked me to drive with her back to Bogotá (a 9h drive!)

At Bogotá's Eldorado Airport

I was travelling with my uncle, his wife, my little cousin, my aunt and my other cousin (this is what we call in Colombia a "paseo de olla"), we took an Uber to the airport and since nobody was checking bags and we had done web check in our phones we skipped the counters…I went anyways to a Self Check In Kiosk to print my souvenir BP. We had lunch at a Pizza parlor in the food court and then we were on to Avianca's National Concourse.

BOG's 60+ year old Terminal…. nowadays the ATC tower has been demolished and the whole building should be gone by year's end.

The A321 I wanted to score (AV-Colombia flies these planes from BOG to the largest cities in Colombia: MDE, CLO, BAQ and CTG, and also to CCS sometimes)

LAN's Concourse is shared with the International one…hence the Dreamliner in the backdrop
Nothing else too interesting to see other than AV's Airbus… so we went to the Bogotá Beer Company pub and ordered some beers while our flight was called to board.

What we didn't expected is that boarding was called quickly and we had to rush our beers (I ended up tipsy afterwards, which would be helpful for the day's events)

Boarding and Taxi to the Runway

Boarding was done quickly, we were to fly one of AV's newest Airbuses

Our ride for the day

AV's cabin is the best in South America IMO, let's hope it gets standardised quickly throughout the fleet

Space is appropriate and the seat is equipped with more than enough for our 30 minute ride to Cali (please compare to the 9h drive!)

I'm gonna miss this livery, it was way better than the current one
Taxing out we can spot the tenants at the other national concourse:
LCC VivaColombia

and
LAN

A view to CATAM, the Colombian Air Force Military Transport Command with their Hercules and 737s

We were headed to take off from Runway 31L which would give us a straight SW departure; this little A318 was one the last takeoff from RWY 13R

Followed by this glorious 727…nothing will ever compare to these majestic aircraft

The flight map shows the position of the Airport at the outskirts of Bogotá, and our predicted route over Mosquera

Since runway configuration was changed, we took our time waiting for take off…in the meanwhile we saw the ones going before us
A UPS 767

Then one of AV's 787, I reckon this one was headed to LIM

A company 319, just like the one I flew between BOG and IAD

This to show who's the boss in Bogotá

Quite a congestion was forming up

A LAN 767 getting ready for its next mission at the Cargo apron…probably for the Night's flight to SCL ?

A tiny SATENA ATR42 between the new(L) and old (R) ATC towers at BOG

Watching the 787 take off was glorious, there's a lot of work going on at the wings when taking off, is something I had never noticed on other planes

The SATENA ATR queues in

Since SATENA is Government owned, it gets its piece of the Government's propaganda for the Peace Talks with the largest guerrilla in the country.

From adorable silver 757s and gorgeous 767s AA has come down to this….meh

Take Off

AV's National Concourse

The new ATC Tower…it was very criticised, I think is gorgeous

And we are over Bogotá's Savannah, RWY 13L/31R is visible and so the Western rims of Bogotá, the sky was hazy because of the huge wildfires in Bogotá Hills, January was one of the hardest months for Colombia so far, we were awfully hit by droughts, extremely high temperatures ( Bogotá's temp was, at a day like this around 25ºC, when our average is around 14ºC !)

AV's 787 resting before their night missions to deep SoAm and Europe

Passing over Funza and San Andrés Country Club

Now over Mosquera

This is Serrezuela Country Club

This zone is called Mondoñedo, it has gone a process of desertification and it was really unique, it had cacti and all….but no body cared about its environmental importance and allowed mining to take place there

A few clicks after is Mondoñedo landfill

This zone is called Canoas….check the difference of the grass between the Hacienda and the rest of the land, coincidentially we were discussing about this Hacienda during the trip, I was told it is one of the most expensive properties in the region.

Cloudy skies….without rain sadly.

Anapoima

Mesa de Yeguas Country Club

Tocaima, can you see the difference in the green fields around Bogotá River and the rest?

The haze is present all around the region…we can't see the Nevados

These fields and mountains should be greener, but they were in a sickly yellow…a very depressing sight

Now over El Peñon Country Club in the city of Girardot

And now Girardot. In the days of yore, all cargo entered the country at Barranquilla and then it was shipped to the interior of the country by boat through the Magdalena River (think of the Mississippi river boats), Girardot was Bogotá's harbor and it used to be a very important city. Now all cargo is either taken by freight trucks or plane and river cargo has died. Girardot is a resort city for Bogotanos seeking some warm weather (but those days Girardot was avoided because of the prohibitive heat….I was there a week before and temperatures reached 45ºC!). The drought is visible if you see how much the Magdalena River receded.

Gualanday viaduct is visible, it carries Colombia's most important highway as it Connects the central region with the pacific region and Ecuador, and on to the rest of South America

Check the dried up rivers, it was cringeworthy

Now we prepared to cross the Central Andes, the mountains seemed green and healthy enough…

Around this time we were given our traditional boxed juices, coffee and water were also offered.
And now over the Páramos (terrain over 3500m over the sea level)

These ecosystems are fundamental for the water cycle in Colombia, and it is where the water for 70% of our population is produced.

Normally the clouds condensate so much that it is mostly rainy over there, and so small lakes form up and eventually they overflow into rivers.

But temperatures have risen so much that wildfires were there too, and these places are so remote there's no way firefighters can reach them. Waterbombers were being used to quelch wildfires in other places, the priority being those posing risks to the population (e.g.: the wildfires in Bogotá)

Then the view was blocked by clouds and some turbulence took place…this always happens when crossing the Andes.
And you could tell we were in Valle del Cauca department because of its huge cane fields

Over Palmira, Valle del Cauca's second biggest city

Over the canefields…

Oh look, a Cane Train!

Now over La Gorgona, part of Candelaria, Valle del Cauca

Crossing the Cali-Palmira motorway means landing is imminent

Landed in RWY 01

Corrosion corner with a delerict 727 and what it seems a DC7 or 6

A National Police ATR

We parked at the National Concourse….with a view of the ATC Tower

Welcome to Cali's Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Intl

CLO's terminal currently consists of a pair of Concourses, a national and an international one, with a rotunda at the end in which the gates are located.
The National Concourse features a mini food court and some shops in its interior.

The building is undergoing renovations, and a new international terminal is being built. The place looked bright and airy. Quite nice!

Our plane at destination

Then we went down to the arrivals level to the baggage claim. The corridor features open air views into the international Concourse which was hosting a TACA ERJ preparing for its return flight to SAL

I made a visit to the WC, I found this sign at the urinal funny: "just for today, hit the target!"

Baggage claim area, a bit crowded but way better that what you find in other Colombian airports

Getting to Cali

So Cali's airport is around 30km away from Cali, reachable by a motorway. People drive very fast there, and our taxi drivers weren't the exception. These guys were irresponsibly driving around 100km/h and using their phones to chat. Then out of the blue a stopped car showed up and we couldn't stop in time…and we crashed into it, a few seconds afterwards the taxi where my uncle and his family were crashed against us. Remember I was a bit tipsy, well it was fortunate for me as I was very relaxed at the moment and I think that helped in avoiding any harm. Fortunately there weren't any serious harm to any of us. Another taxi picked up the rest of the group and I stayed with my cousin while the cars were moved so we could salvage our baggage.
Scary episode behind, we were on to a very fun marriage party with lots of dancing and delicious feasting. Cali was awesome, I was impressed by the beauty of the city and how organised it has become. Sorry no pics for a tourism bonus :(