Background:
This series will cover a quick weekend mileage run on CM down to UIO. I saw a cheap $380 round-trip fare in “E” fare class, which earns the full 100% mileage with OZ (5.2 cents/mile). This will be my first time flying CM, my first flight with split scimitar winglets, and my first trip to South America. The routing was picked to leave Friday evening after work and return Sunday night as to not burn any vacation days.
Part 1 – LAX-PTY [CM 362, Boeing B737-800, Business] – Here
Part 2 – PTY-UIO [CM 829, Boeing B737-800, Economy] – Here
Part 3 – UIO-PTY [CM 828, Boeing B737-800, Economy] – You are here
Part 4 – PTY-LAX [CM 302, Boeing B737-800, Business] – Here
This report will cover the trip from UIO to PTY. Despite having heavy service from both CM and AV, there are no *A Lounges at UIO. This report will cover the older CM B738 cabins.
Pre-flight:
Having noticed that the police were starting to close off roads near the historic center to reduce traffic flow in the heavy pedestrian areas, I figured the taxi ride would take longer than normal. I hailed a taxi at 11:40 and he quickly got me to the airport by 12:15. He spoke some English and we discussed the LDU Quito game he was listening to on the radio. We didn’t discuss fare and I simply paid the flat-fare ($26) posted at the airport as he pulled up right in front of the door to the International Departures side of UIO.
Hey there, stranger! Didn’t know AA had that large of interests in UIO to warrant these AAdvantage billboards.
UIO is a very new airport and has a pleasant Departure’s Lobby.
FIDS.
There is a checkpoint near the check-in counters where your have to show you are a ticketed passenger to get near the check-in counters. I guess this is to keep the hundreds of people seeing off their loved ones from crowding the check-in areas. They confirmed I had a passport and was travelling on CM before letting me through. This area was being used by CM (left) and AA (right). The AA counters were getting hit hard with the flight to MIA.
Hmm, CM looks like the only airline that you can’t use these kiosks to check-in at.
My credentials are checked as I head down the PreferAccess lane. The agent finishes up checking in the special assistance passenger before waving me up. She was quite friendly (obviously not a CM employee). She prints out my tickets and confirms my seat selections with me. She notices that I’m in an exit row for this flight and asks me if it is possible to move me to a different window seat. I ask for 33A, she looks up, “Are you sure you want that seat? It doesn’t recline, but I have some other window seats available.” I tell her 33A will be fine and ask about lounge access. UIO only has an airport run pay lounge, but no access is provided by CM. There is still a lot of construction going on, so maybe AV/CM will open a lounge at some point?
Security and Immigration were both very quick. The only nervous part was when three officers circled me as I was walking between security and immigration. They asked to see my documents and questioned me about the nature of my stay in Ecuador. After 2 minutes of questioning they let me continue to immigration. After immigration, you walk through duty free stores to access the concourse.
The airport feels really empty. There are very few shops and restaurants and not many people walking around.
I swing by my gate, A11.
Plenty of seating areas, including free charging points.
The view from the large glass windows at my gate.
My documents.
I grabbed a beer from one of the stands to enjoy while I sat and did some spotting.
EQ A319.
AA B757 arriving from MIA.
2K A319 (I guess 2K is now Avianca Ecuador).
LA A319 (LAN Ecuador).
AA B757 on pushback for departure to MIA.
KL B772 arriving from AMS (this plane does a UIO-GYE fifth freedom).
UPS B767.
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Copa Airlines, CM 828
Equipment: Boeing B737-800 [HP-1723CMP, delivered September 2011]
Departure: 15:17 (ATD: 15:30)
Arrival: 17:02 (ATA: 16:53)
Flight time: 1:23
Boarding started right on time with special assistance followed by PreferAccess. Down the jetbridge we go.
The window gives a great view of the KL B772 (notice all the scratches on the nose?).
My CM B738.
The Movistar sponsored jetbridge.
Boarding, the FA in the galley was actually greeting passengers.
Standard CO/UA/CM seats.
Finally reaching the back of the bus. The snacks are already in the oven ready to be warmed after take-off.
Seat pitch is descent.
But no IFE ;(
Audio controls.
Headphones I found in the seatback pocket, these must be what they hand out on longer flights.
The cabin from my seat. We have BSI, but only overhead monitors.
Seatback contents.
Boarding took FOREVER. I have never seen so many people sit in the wrong seats or need a FA to explain where their seat was. That said, the FAs were very proactive helping people find their seats and finding space in the overhead bins for their bags. They even were taking group pictures for some passengers. This is my most positive experience with CM crews. As we backed up, the safety video played on the overhead monitors. The monitors would not be used during the flight, not even to show the moving map.
Remote stands with EQ and 2K planes.
The line-up at UIO. My first time seeing the new LATAM livery in person and I’m not impressed. I agree with jetsetpanda that this was a step back from the current LA livery.
We take off to the north.
EQ A320.
LA Cargo B777.
The plane is struggling for air as we start our very slow climb out of UIO. I can’t imagine being on an A340 and taking off from this airport…
We have a roller coaster ride up to the cloud level before things start to smooth out.
Leaving Ecuador’s coast.
The disadvantage of being in the last row is that you are the last to be served. By the time I got my snack served, the pilot told the crew to begin preparations for arrival since we were 30-minutes out. Again, we are served a warm sandwich and a bag of plantain chips (no tray though).
This one was a bread roll filled with roast beef and melted cheese.
The drink cart arrived right after the meal cart. Again, no hot beverages. They only offer soft drinks, juices, water, and wine (what was visible on top of the cart, maybe beer below?). Just water for me.
The cabin with mood lighting as we approach PTY over a cloudy Pacific Ocean.
Soon, a sea of ships are visible below as we approach the Panama Canal.
Flying past downtown Panama City.
Dropping into PTY.
We touch down a little ahead of schedule and get a glimpse of the new terminal under construction.
AV A320 in *A livery and TA ERJ.
IB A343.
LH A343 in *A livery.
And to continue the *A theme, the CM B738 in *A livery.
And to come full circle, a KL B77W in the new livery is seen arriving from AMS.
We pull in next to our CM B738 brethren.
Deplaning is thankfully faster than boarding, and I’m up into the nice glass jetbridge.
No wonder these jetbridges look familiar, they are made by CIMC.
No transit security at PTY, you get dumped into the concourse and I will head towards the Copa Club for a quick cup of coffee before the PTY-LAX flight.
I’ll leave off this series as I start my layover in PTY before the return to LAX.
Merci Michael. ^^
No priority boarding for you since you are crediting the flight on OZ FFP. :p
"Finally reaching the back of the bus. The snacks are already in the oven ready to be warmed after take-off." -> What's the measurement on the right hand side bulkhead ?
The catering looks like a sandwich grabbed at the nearest Subway. :p
"No priority boarding for you since you are crediting the flight on OZ FFP. :p"
- Group 3 ;( but I still boarded with Group 1^^ Just flash my TK card while I board :)
"What's the measurement on the right hand side bulkhead ?"
- I tried to blow up that photo, but I can't clearly make out the text below the gauge. I'll take a closer look on my next CM flight, just remind me while we are sipping champagne in the *A Lounge pre-flight.
"The catering looks like a sandwich grabbed at the nearest Subway. :p"
- But still better than nothing or what UA would offer ;)
A+ Clement^^
Thank you Michael for sharing this return portion of your trip.
"Hmm, CM looks like the only airline that you can’t use these kiosks to check-in at."
- Maybe they want people to come up to the counter and receive a more "personal" treatment. ;)
"The only nervous part was when three officers circled me as I was walking between security and immigration."
- Sounds intimidating. What a relief when they allowed you to proceed.
"My first time seeing the new LATAM livery in person and I’m not impressed."
- Good to know that I'm not the only one. The livery in the tail reminds me of a DNA strand.
Amazing aerials and gorgeous airport surroundings.
The catering is pretty decent for such a short trip, especially in Y. Glad to see that the crew was friendly and quite the opposite of your two previous experiences.
Did the altitude affect you at all? It's pretty high up from what I understand.
"Maybe they want people to come up to the counter and receive a more "personal" treatment. ;)"
- It was personal, this one of the better check-in experiences with CM. Maybe because they weren't CM employees, but Swissport^^
"Sounds intimidating. What a relief when they allowed you to proceed."
- If this happened on the street in Quito, I'd be really nervous, but since it was in the airport, I figured everything would have to be above board with the amount of security around.
"The livery in the tail reminds me of a DNA strand."
- Astute observation Dr. Watson (like that double meaning?).
"The catering is pretty decent for such a short trip, especially in Y."
- A hot snack is always better than a cold snack.
"Did the altitude affect you at all?"
- It's a pretty hilly city, so when mixing the high altitude and jetlag, I did feel more sluggish than normal, but I wasn't doing anything extreme enough to feel any altitude sickness problems.
Thanks for your comments Adan!
Ecuador has lovely sights, thanks for sharing them with us.
That CM plane reminded me of one I grabbed between BOG and PTY two years ago. Actually this is not the oldest cabin in their fleet, it is an in between cabin. The oldest one is just like the 1990s Continental...to our standards: dreadful.
Nice to see that CM crews may behave civil for a change at least once!
"That CM plane reminded me of one I grabbed between BOG and PTY two years ago. Actually this is not the oldest cabin in their fleet, it is an in between cabin."
- Oh, okay. Are the oldest cabins only on the CM Colombia planes? Those are the older B738s without split scimitar winglets.
"Nice to see that CM crews may behave civil for a change at least once!"
- It was rare indeed, the only good crew from my 4 flights in this series.
Gracias Chibcha!
Hello! Thanks for sharing this very interesting FR.
Being Chilean, I am not only unimpressed, but also shocked, disgusted, REVOLTED!! They didn't only drop the last traces of their Chilean identity (the lone star and their colors) but also adopted these... ribbons!! What do they even mean!?!? Of all the possible colors and shapes, they had to pick the dullest combination. Is white paint cheaper than other colors? Because those planes look like ambulances! What kind of "Latin American identity" (as if such thing existed) are they trying to sell?? Looks more like the colors of Antarctica to me. Now, if at least these changes meant some improvement in their catering... but I'm afraid I would be expecting too much from them.
Well, I needed to get that out of my system. Now, as for your FR, I have never been to Ecuador and your photographs left me speechless! Those intense, lush green of those mountains is breathtaking! It's definitely a sight from another world. I'm adding Quito to my list of places to visit.
The warm sandwich doesn't look bad at all. I'll be flying LATAM next October. If I get nothing more than the usual lousy peanut bag they will hear from me. >:(
Best :)
Sorry...
*THE intense, lush green of those mountains
Not sure how I completely missed your comment when I was replying. My bad!
"Being Chilean, I am not only unimpressed, but also shocked, disgusted, REVOLTED!!"
- Definitely a big step back. The "DNA strand" as jetsetpanda called it is completely bizarre. I have no idea what that is supposed to represent.
"Those intense, lush green of those mountains is breathtaking! It's definitely a sight from another world. I'm adding Quito to my list of places to visit."
- Just go when there aren't any earthquakes. I was lucky and had an earthquake the week before AND after I was there. Quito might be pretty far from the faults, but you don't want to be in a foreign country when natural disasters start happening...
"I'll be flying LATAM next October. If I get nothing more than the usual lousy peanut bag they will hear from me. >:("
- I'll be on CM again next week on an even shorter flight so I'll be interested to see what they do on a <1.5 hour flight where there isn't time to do the two cart runs for meals and drinks.
Thanks for all your comments and sorry about the delay!!!
Great report as usual, NGO85! Thank you for sharing it with us.
What time of camera do you use again? Your photos are always so clear!
Best,
Matthew
Thanks for stopping by Matthew!
"What time of camera do you use again? Your photos are always so clear"
- Nikon D3300. It's compact enough to easily tote around.
Thank you for sharing this FR with us!
Nice shots from the terminal at UIO, it's pretty nice to have large seating areas. A lot of airports fail to have adequate amount of seats for gates.
Fantastic spotting shots from UIO!
The cabin looks clean, seems like a comfortable ride for short hops.
Absolutely breathtaking scenery!
The snack doesn't look bad for a flight of this length.
Nice spotting shots at PTY!
Have a good one, see you!
Nice pics on takeoff. I flew Copa in November from Lima to PTY. The sandwich you showed looked like my sandwich, except different meat. Mine was Turkey. And mine was just as flat as yours.