On the move part 7: LAN Premium Business class JFK-LIM

(September 19-20)

At the gate we were greeted by a flotilla of wheelchairs waiting to board the flight. At 11:15 boarding began, and we were among the first to board the plane (after the wheelchairs).  Our seats were 3A and 3C on the port side of the aircraft, halfway back in the business class section.  

Boarding our LAN flight

LAN 767-300 Business Class Cabin

The seats themselves were lie-flat, fully horizontal sleeper seats.  The seats are the same type often used for angled-flat seats (“wedgie seats”), but configured with additional pitch (more space between rows) enabling fully horizontal recline.  The aircraft was a 767-300 configured 2-2-2, which airline experts will realize makes the seats a tad on the narrow side (coach is 2-3-2 on this aircraft).  Nevertheless I cannot complain about a 6’4 totally flat bed for an eight-hour overnight flight.

A about to sit in our seats, 3A and 3C

Shortly after boarding beverages were offered along with a ramekin of nuts.  For drinks we chose Champagne and Pinot Noir.  Both were good.  The Champagne was excellent (and was actually French Champagne).  We perused the dinner options on the menu, although we planned to skip all meals on the flight as we hoped to sleep for the full eight hours.  The menu read like a typical business class menu, including an appetizer, three entrée choices including steak with veggies and potatoes or ravioli stuffed with something, followed by a choice of desserts including ice cream.  The menus were collected during the flight and we didn’t get a chance to snap a photo.

Taxi was pleasantly short for JFK, and soon we were in the air, fully reclined, and snuggled in for bed with our pillow and duvets. Even though all airlines provide eye masks and earplugs in amenity kits in premium cabins, we have learned to travel with our own eye masks and earplugs that we know will be comfortable.  C’s eye mask came from Lufthansa First Class, and A’s eye mask was purchased from Bed Bath and Beyond.  Earplugs came from our stay at the Hyatt Regency Boston earlier in the trip.

Having a fully horizontal bed makes sleeping a breeze on overnight flights.  We both slept the whole flight, and (unusually) A woke up less than C did.  We finally got up well into our descent in to Lima.  The flight attendants didn't wake us up until just before landing. The cabin during the flight overnight seemed unusually quiet.  Perhaps most people had the good sense to skip the meal(s), reducing clinking of silverware and glasses.  Also the cabin was only half full which surely helped.  At times during the night it seemed so quiet that I was tempted to remove my earplugs. 

Descent into Lima was quick but a bit bumpy, and soon we were on the ground.  Once at the gate, the LAN crew was extremely diligent holding back the coach passengers to allow business class passengers to pack up in peace and disembark first.  It would be so nice if US airlines would consistently do this! Curtains were fastened tightly closed and not opened until all business class passengers (even the stragglers like us who were filling out our landing cards at the gate) had disembarked.  On US airlines, typically the coach passengers rush up into business class jamming the aisles and making it difficult to access the overhead bins to pack up.  (yes, this belongs in @firstworldproblems, but it is annoying) Kudos to LAN for their good work in this area.

While it would have been nice to sample the food and service on LAN, sleep comes first on an overnight flight and in that area this flight was a resounding success.  We will have a chance to sample the LAN service later in the trip on our flight from Lima to Santiago (an international flight) and then from Santiago to Easter Island (a Chile domestic flight).