Hi everyone! This is my third FR here so I hope you like it!
JJ8131
Date: 09/01/14
From: Rosario ROS
To: Sao Paulo GRU
Departure: 17.15 (17.05 real)
Arrival: 21.15 (20.30 real)
That day I arrived the airport 2 hours before the flight. I had already checked in online but I couldn’t print the boarding pass so I asked the agent at the counter to print me mine. As I was flying only with my cabin baggage the agent weighed it and told me it was a little bit heavy, but that she’ll let it pass for this time. She warned me that on my way back from GRU I’ll have to dispatch it.
TAM counters
ROS Airport
The tarmac seen from the landside
As there aren’t many international flights from ROS, they open migrations and customs especially for each flight, so approximately 1 hour and a half before the flight we were invited to clear migrations and customs. On the boarding area there is also a very small duty free shop.
Sol Lineas Aereas Saab 340
TAM Airbus 320
My passport and boarding pass
At 16.15 they started the boarding process, first passengers sitting on the back of the plane, and then passengers sitting on the front part.
The plane was an Airbus 320-200, the PR-MHP. My seat was 7A, I chose it when I checked in online. The flight was a 90% full; most of passengers were Argentineans who connected flights in GRU to many cities in Brazil or other international destinations such as New York, Miami, Paris and Milan.
The legroom was ok.
The view from my window
At 16.50 they closed the doors and the captain Patrick introduced himself and the rest of the crew. He announced that the flight time will be approximately 2 hours and a half.
At 17.05 we took off and headed north-west.
The Terminal
Taking off
San Lorenzo port
My seat was extremely uncomfortable; the back was so hard it made my kidneys hurt! Thanks God it was just a short flight, I can’t imagine how it would be to fly many hours sitting there!
TAM started this new route on January the 2nd. this year
One hour before taking off they served the snack. It consisted in a drink (coffee, tea, Coke, Sprite and the Brazilian classic Guaraná) and a vanilla flavored muffin. It was really poor…
The snak
The on-board entertainment consisted on public screens where they broadcasted a program about the best restaurants in Latin America, they a chapter of the TV series “The Big Bang Theory” and a chapter of “Modern Family”, when it finished they put on the flight route.
The on board magazines
The cabin from my seat
The flight route
Also there were some magazines. The TAM magazine came in Portuguese and English; in some other flights they offer a Portuguese and Spanish version.
At 20 hours Brazilian time the captain announced we were about to descent over Sao Paulo. It is incredible how huge is this city. You can only appreciate it from the sky; it takes many flight minutes to take from one side to the other!
The descent
Finally at 20.30 we landed, and then we had to wait like 45 minutes inside the plane to get a free place to stop the plane and descent!
KLM Boeing 773
Terminal 1 check in area
When I got off I had to run a lot to get to my bus to downtown, on the way I saw KLM’s Boeing 773 called “Iguazu Falls National Park”
Thanks for sharing this new FR! Considering TAM's good reputation and the fact that they often offer small meals on short Brazilian domestic flights, it is surprising that they only served a muffin on this international flight.
Hey! Thanks for your comment! I couldn't believe it when they served me that muffin! I was expecting at least a sandwich or something
Thanks for this FR.
I'm also surprised by the catering as it's exactly the same as what TAM serves on much shorter flights.
I was surprised as well! hehehe
Thanks for this report !
The Argentinian Passeport is really beautiful !
Hey! Thanks a lot!
Thanks for sharing this FR
A greedy catering :(