Hi,
Check In at the dedicated Premium counter of LATAM was very friendly and quick this morning.
Security control also was quite quick using the dedicated Premium Fast Lane.
Once airside I walked around the nice and recently refurbished shopping zone, had some views on the apron outside and then made my way to the Lounge.
LATAM passengers are invited to use the Qantas Business Lounge here at Sydney.
The Lounge is big but feels rather old fashioned and not in best shape in many corners.
It was very crowded this morning and I struggled to find a seat.
Some views on the buffets that offered the typical breakfast basics.
My selection for breakfast:
After a while I left the Lounge and made my way to the boarding gate - some nice views on the waiting aircrafts included.
It was rather hard to get a good shot of my waiting LATAM Dreamliner.
Boarding via a dedicated Priority lane worked well and was quick. Onboard I was greeted friendly and took my window seat in the front cabin.
The seats of this Business Class are comfortable however offer no privacy at all.
Waiting on the seat was a big bag with a blanket and pillow.
A water bottle and nice amenity kit with basic contents was there as well.
The stowage area also had some rather basic headsets.
Waiting on the armrest was the menu for this flight - lunch was about to be served.
I was expecting a welcome drink to be offered on that long distance flight to Santiago via Auckland - but nothing was served. The cabin crew felt rather bored actually and did not make the best first impression. The only action happening on the ground was the crew coming around and taking lunch orders for the main & dessert course.
We taxied out on time and had a rather long way to our runway.
Powering into the Sydney skies before heading towards the Tasmanian Sea.
Service started about 25 minutes into the flight with a hot towel.
Although the flight was announced a rather relaxed 2 hours 35 minutes, no separate aperitif service happened.
About 45 minutes into the flight served the lunch tray plus warm breads and drinks from one trolley - it actually took rather long until the trolley reached my seat. The male crew member serving me was very cold and not very interactive. I asked for some white wine and water with the meal. However the whole meal itself tasted very tasty - I had the vegetarian pasta main dish.
No more drink refills were offered. So once my tray was cleared, I asked for a cup of coffee and some Baileys. The steward brought it but you could see he was not really happy about my additional drink order.
Soon we started our beautiful descend into Auckland Airport.
We passed Auckland downtown and the banked along the sea towards the runway.
Thanks for reading,
FlyAlex
This flight brings back good memories for me--wow I can't believe it's been 8 years since I've flown this route on LATAM! Even back then this business class product wasn't the best, and today it's downright ancient--especially for the very long AKL-SCL sector. I would have thought LA would try to put a refurbished 789 with new cabins on this route, but it seems they're not making much progress on the refurbs. I do remember the seats feeling spacious and being very comfortable despite being outdated.
Thanks for sharing!