Avianca Boeing 787 Business Class - Bogota to Lima: Lovely plane, beyond
horrible crew.
A few months I booked a
United award ticket from New York to Peru and added a segment in Business Class
on the Avianca 787 between Bogota and Lima.
I was really looking
forward to this flight since it was the first wide body plane that Avianca would
operate with a 1-2-1 cabin instead of the usual 2-2-2.
But while the hard
product was for the most part excellent, the crew was incompetent to say the
least. Slow service and ignored customer requests on multiple occasions.
Under no circumstances
would I recommend flying Avianca long haul either using Cash or for
miles unless your only option is Avianca.
But enough about the
negatives, here is one of the first Trip Reports featuring the Avianca 787
in Business Class.
Avianca’s headquarter in
Bogota features a decent lounge with different finger foods, wines and beers.
As a Star Gold and Business Class ticket holder I had access to the Diamond
part of the lounge which had a bit more seating options.
The flight was slightly
delayed, with our departure time coming and going and no announcements, finally
they called boarding and it was time to try this new bird.
The cabin is split into
two a main section with 5 rows of lie flat business and a second section with 2
additional rows making a total of 28 seats.
Service started off well
with the crew serving some cold nuts with a choice of Champagne, Orange Juice
or Water. No Pisco Sour on offer even on a flight to Peru, here is where LAN
wins. On every Business Class flight to/from Peru, I’ve been offered a Pisco
Sour.
Afterwards it was all
downhill, no menus, but on a sub three hour flight, this is not a deal breaker.
The Flight attendant came
around and mentioned the meal options as Beef or Chicken but with no additional
details, this could be expected in coach, but this is business class on a flight
that was less than 1/3 load in Business class. How hard is it to mention the
side dish? I ended up with the beef which wasn't bad...
The service was done from
a cart and I requested a Whisky with my meal, and was told it would be coming
out shortly, as the crew has limited options on the cart. I was seated in 1A
and was expecting the drink to come out shortly so I could enjoy it with my
meal.
But then the FA then
proceeded to serve the entire aisle before returning to the galley, which means
that after 15 minutes I had finished my entrée sans drink. Finally when picking
up my tray my drink was served.
The pilot turned on the
fasten-seatbelt sign since we hit a bit of rough air but then proceeded to leave
it on for close to an hour, during this time the crew did not move at all. I
understand that the safety of the crew is paramount, but when we’ve had at
least 20 minutes of soft air, and people are moving around the cabin going to
the bathroom, accommodating carry-ons, the crew could make an effort to provide
some service.
But this being Avianca,
customer service was not even in the crew manual, at one point I even pressed
the FA call button and the call was ignored. I literally had to go to galley
and ask them why my call was ignored, I speak fluent Spanish and was just given
a shrug.
Shortly after it was time
to land in Lima, Peru and for the first time in a long time I was glad to be
off a plane, this crew to call them incompetent and unprofessional would be an
understatement, which is a true pity because the plane is a true gem, great
seat, great IFE and tons of space, but a crew can make or break a flight and in
this case they broke it.
In conclusion, a lovely
plan but horrible crew and doubt I would spend cash or miles to fly Avianca
again, unless it was a spectacular bargain.
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