Review of Sky Airline flight from Santiago to Valdivia in Economy

Should I write another report on this route?

I look at Rucio, who watches me in silence from my bedroom door. He understands my questioning face and says "Meow."

Wise cat.

The day after

Only the night before I was coming back from Pichilemu, where I went to vote on accepting or rejecting a new constitution for my country. You can read all the details in my previous report.

Now it's time to go back home. Actually, I should be working today - a Monday - but I'm on a leave of absence.

Thinking how wonderful it is to swap a classroom full of noisy students for a flight, I stroll happily along the domestic terminal…

…towards security check…

…which is full today!

The process is always quick here, though.

I find this very particular trash bin by one of the tables after safety check. "Shoe covers only." I wonder what's so special about shoe covers that they deserve a dedicated trash bin.

We have to wait a little in our descent from the third floor to the second as we board…

…while barely-one-year-old CC-DCA waits on the apron. You should know that CC-DCA is more than an Airbus 321neo. It's an NX!! Ooh! What does it mean?

Well, according to this information posted on Quora, "The X, stands for the Airbus A321neo equipped with Airbus Cabin Flex configuration, which means the interior of the aircraft can be easily reconfigured by the airline or operator, and, the NX aircraft features a different door and emergency exits configurations than on the A321CEO and early Airbus A321neo aircraft (along with some airlines ordering the old door configuration like ANA). The different door/window exits increases the aircraft’s overall capacity. The most common configuration is that the second door on early A321 are replaced by either a pair or two pairs of overwing emergency exits, while some aircraft have the 3rd door disabled."

So please, show some respect.

"No students today," I said? Think again Pilpintu!

Meet Vicente, who was just coming back from Dominican Republic with his mother. A good boy. Well, You could say I'm one of the few who tolerate him! haha He reminds me so much of myself when I was his age, particularly because of his love of dark humor and his offensive, nonsensical remarks (in an effort to be funny.) He even tried to make fun of me when he saw rainbow flag pins on my backpack. Go figure! But he reacted well to some friendly treatment. They say that "familiarity breeds contempt." It's not always so. Even if they want to appear rebellious, young people long for the approval of adults who treat them as if they were family. Even that of the gay teacher!

Et voilà, our nx cabin. I like square seatbacks (rather than JetSmart's rounded seatbacks) They look wider, and they seem to give more room for your head and your back, and even some more privacy! Or maybe they ARE wider? I will take Cecilio (my measuring tape) with me in my next trip.

Legroom is OK. (I'm 170cm in height)

And there's a USB port for each passenger right in front of your face.

I didn't recline my seat this time, but the possibility is there.

I can lower the large tray table comfortably. It doesn't stick into my belly, which has happened on other airlines. (Shame on me, and shame on the airline!)

Some things seem to be here to stay after the pandemic, like the QR-code menus. Good thing, too! Less wasted paper.

Unfortunately, the BOB is unimpressive (even though it's better than JetSmart's) AAAAND… whatever happened to my mechada sandwich??!!

Where am I??

Pushback at 12:25 and few minutes later…

…we leave Santiago behind…

…turn towards the coast above Talagante…

… and enfilamos* southwards along the Cordillera de la Costa. (* see the third meaning. Mostly used in rural Chile)

Cauquenes lies 320km south of Santiago, on river Cauquenes, which ran dry for the first time in 2020 due to a long drought.

I like these angled photos. It looks like outer space! lol

Quillón and its "municipal resort," Avendaño lagoon. I've seen videos of the lagoon in summer. Heavily crowded! Add to this the industrial pollution of the area, and the lagoon turns into…

…a thick soup of toxic materials and all kinds of bodily fluids. EW!! So toxic that the access to the lagoon was banned last February…

…after a series of cases of dermatitis.

Definitely not a place for a squeamish guy like me!

Aah… this looks much better.

Near Temuco we start descending slowly, with a view on lake Villarrica and volcanoes Villarrica and Quetrupillán.

But they are too far away to get a good photo with my cellphone.

The sight of this little airport puzzles me. Why haven't I seen it before?

Hm… This is really weird. It looks too big to be a private airstrip. One thing I'm sure of - it reminds me much of Pichoy! (ZAL)

But I'm completely lost. Were are we?  That river below… it looks much like river Pichoy.

And this river looks a lot like river San Pedro, which becomes river Calle Calle as it flows through my city. Where on earth are we??

And those roads… so similar to the south access road in my city, and Las Gaviotas neighborhood! We bank to the left and make a U-turn towards the north.

Oh my…! So we are flying above…

…Valdivia!!!

I can't believe it! This is the first time I see my city from above.

And I can literally see my house from here!

I could have brought my own parachute…

…and jumped straight into my backyard! XD (The red roof in the circle is my house)

This is why this region is called Los Ríos (The Rivers) And yes, we have a little problem with smog, too. Not as terrible as in Santiago, though. The air is clean most of the year.

The wetlands around the city are a rather new geographical feature. They are a result of the 9.6 degree earthquake that shook Valdivia in 1960, the strongest earthquake ever recorded. Land sunk about two meters in some places, and was flooded by the surrounding rivers. Now they are home to beautiful black-neck swans and other birds.

So the river that looked like river San Pedro WAS actually river San Pedro! lol Valdivia can still be seen in the distance.

And of course, river Pichoy.

What a nice surprise, that unexpected tour of the city! Now I can recognize Pichoy!

Oh! You're spoiling me, Pichoy! I'll be treated to a stroll around the apron!

As I've said before, Sky Airline feels like a balanced offer between an LCC and the comfort of a legacy airline. Not as posh as Latam, but not as meh as JetSmart.

All the aircraft in their fleet are new. You know what you will get.

Pichoy's imposing control tower. lol

Cute plump nose!

FIVE thous….!! My gosh!!

I can't leave without leaving the details of this flight here, and without saying…

…thanks for reading!