smckay
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Posts
- 621
Our latest adventure in May 2025 is a trip to Peru and Ecuador.
Ride along with us as we work the second-last Platinum-released award seat flights starting on April 23.
Awake at Stupid O’Clock to catch the 06:05 Hobart to Sydney flight. The day started poorly with the off-airport parking company not leaving their yard until 06:10 when check-in closed at 06:20. We got to the desk at 06:18.
Therefore lounge time was 2 muffins and 2/3 cup of coffee.
Seats 2D & 2F on an A220. This was our second last trip booked when I was somebody - QF Platinum - so we luckily had J seats from HBA to SCL. Both trips were all requested seats that were granted by the Bot.
A phenomenon not seen on mainland flights was 2 empty rows in business.
Crew were doing their job no more, but the CSM sparked up on hearing we were doing Machu Picchu and Galapagos, with the announcement she was going next year.
Meal was basic - the choice of a corn cake with 2 sausages or a feta omelette with mushroom.
In a twist, we were served first which I thought was interesting seeing that row 1 was occupied - with Plats in 1A and C. However, once the CSM served 1A & C it was revealed that 1D & 1F were on staff travel - and their daughter’s allowance at that. Unlucky for them there was only corn cake left. QF back to miserable by loading 6 meals in total.
The meals were simply food and no more.
The A220 in business is a nice thing. Wireless phone chargers, USB ports, place to hold your phone or tablet securely, a leg and foot rest. I think the chairs and cabin is better than the clunky old 737.
Transit in Sydney was trouble free. Scan the boarding pass, down some stairs and over to the immigration entry. Security and immigration was as normal - people not listening and leaving iPads in bags, not bagging LAGS. I got done for wearing hiking shoes and trying to sneak through the scanner. Had I pulled my jeans down to cover them I was have beaten the system but today the System won.
Being dropped to QF Gold is a bit of an inconvenience as we now have to walk all the way back to the business lounge (joke - calm down Karen) but we arrived there with a couple of hours to kill. Breakfast consisted of baked beans, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs along with the usual suspects of pastries, cereal and fruit.
Cawfee was a well made Vittoria.
Boarding was an experience. The gate lady was straight outta LAX - she was not letting any non-group 1 and 2 rogue come near her scanner. But bona fide 1 & 2 folks were multiple and varied. Whilst they looked very much like a Latam domestic flight crowd, they were all entitled rogues and eventually we worked it out and shuffled through.
As I was Somebody when I booked these, we were plonked in 3A and 3K which we chose for the table against the aisle which I think gives some privacy i.e. your behind is not in the aisle when you are curled up.
The usual pre-departure stuff went on - fill out your breakfast card within 5 minutes as well be back to collect them (ignored), champagne and water was offered and accepted and PJ’s were doled out.
Take off was delayed a bit but we eventually got there.
The 787 is a quiet plane on take off, second only to the A380 for me, and once in the air we had a good look at Sydney as we took off to the West and looped around to the South. There were a few bumps on the way up, possibly due to an ANA 787 going before us but I made my 120 second count just fine.
Service started just after seat belts off. First was the meal order, with the words ‘the drink of your choice’. So I asked for the Margherita and then what reds were on offer. Being told I could have a Pinot Noir or a Shiraz I asked for the Pinot to be told I’d be offered that with the meal and I should only do my meal order right now. “But missus you said the drink of my choice”….
My choice of the lamb tasting plate was not bad. The lamb was hard and fatty, the goats cheese was a delight with that creamy goat flavour quickly followed by lemon. The pickles were good but I left the plums. Neil’s greens were still made by the work experience kid and had the brown ends on the stems.
The main was a mixed bag. I’m a serial beef fillet eater in J and at the time of writing on the plane I am sure the portion size has been reduced a lot. If I remember when I get home I’ll look at previous trip pics. Also, it was tender but tough if that makes sense. The polenta chips! Hot damn they were good.
All of a sudden mains were finished and dessert was on offer. I should have had the cheese but 2A asked for ice cream and I could only obey, and so ordered the ice cream sandwich. Which was dry-ice-frozen and required 10 minutes to thaw. But the result was worth the wait and I asked for another one. Because I Used To Be Somebody and I could. But not enough for the CSM to swing by and have a chat. I do miss being felt special. Although he is generous with his wine pours and smiles nicely when I try to be intellectual.
About this time we crossed the South Island of New Zealand and saw some amazing views of the alpine region. Channeling my inner Kiwi it was epic Bro’.
The wines were both good. The Pinot was very light both in colour and taste. I then tried the Shiraz and it was more to my liking so I sat on that. Barossa Shiraz to me is a good balance between a robust wine and one with depth. Some Shiraz are just a strong wine without character and seems to overpower you. But I’m only a Bogan beer drinker so take that comment as you will.
Meal service was done after 3 hours and the cabin grew dark. Most of the people have changed into their QF PJ’s and are ready for sleep, and most of those folks look very South American, and as it’s after midnight in Santiago I understand why.
UnZud has now been left behind and we are on a 10 hour leg over cold, hard, uninviting water.
06:30 local time saw me awake after a poor few hours sleep. Ambling down to the snack bar I spoke with the CSM who was very friendly. We ended up discussing status and recognition. Apparantly Qantas are now directing that only P1 and above are worthy of a greeting and if you are WP or less you’re nobody. We both agreed that’s a funny way to treat a fairly large part of your customer base.
Something didn’t agree with me - perhaps the bottle of Shiraz I was given over a few hours- and I awoke with an upset stomach. Plus with the dinner still fresh I opted for a breakfast of coffee, juice and a sourdough crumpet.
Arrival in Santiago was routine, as was immigration and customs. Grabbed our bags, wandered off to the Latam desk to enquire of an earlier flight.
We did have a 14:30 flight to Lima booked but changed it after some suggestion that about 4 hours was not enough time, and coupled with the real possibility of QF delaying either flight we re-booked to a 19:40 departure which meant a midnight arrival into our hotel. The nice lady at the service counter found us a 13:30 flight for the cost of $57USD each extra. At this point it was a case of shut up and take my money and so we were booked on LA520 departing at 13:30, meaning a quick stop in the Latam lounge.
The lounge was a nice place. Spacious, lots of seating and multiple food stations with a variety of options. There was an open bar but with tenders and the quite obvious large glass jar dead centre. Luckily we were past alcohol and just went water to hydrate. Both of us now had upset stomachs to the point of staying close to a bathroom.
The lounge was well set up with a kids room well away from the adults, a movie room playing a soccer game and a sleep room which looked to have about 5 beds in it. Not completely private and there might be a risk of someone lifting your belongings but one of the better setups I’ve seen.
Latam ask that you are at the gate 1 hour before boarding so we duly trudged down to the gate and spent the 30 minutes of potential lounge time waiting at the gate and trying to work out the Spanish announcements. After a couple of false starts we joined the line for group 1 boarding.
I have booked all internal flights as premium economy for a couple of reasons; lounge access as even though I am One World Sapphire I’m wary of being bounced and the other is the seating. My experience of South American flights is a scrum with no prisoners taken so I’m happy to pay the cost to have a seat and a bag space just for me.
On board the seats are the same as European business; economy seats with the middle not used and a bit more leg room. Different to your BA business is the centre seat only has a place holder so you can still use the seat as storage.
We got seated, got 2 roller bags and a backpack stowed up top and sat back. In between the relentless queue the hostess managed to deliver both a 600ml water and an amenity kit. The kit was unexpected and similar to a business flight with socks, shades, plugs and toothbrush.
The plane was a tired old A320. It rattled and shook on the runway as we took off and continued to rattle whilst climbing. As I scored 1D I was watching the 2 crew and they both were happily talking away seemingly not aware of the takeoff and anything unusual. Call me a prat but I am big on situational awareness and I just didn’t see them being in the moment.
The meal on offer was linguini or salad. I went the salad and it was a good choice. The guacamole was good and the salsa stuff was even better. Fruit was crisp and fresh but the blueberries were approaching their use by date.
Beer was a local one, advertised as a lager but more of a drought with a medium heavy body. More golden ale than golden lager.
After the meal was cleared the galley curtain was pulled across and comms stopped except for brief intervals of drinks top ups. I sat back and tried to watch the amazing scenery, whilst trying not to head butt the wall in front of me as lack of sleep was now becoming an issue.
Differences to Australian flights; you can keep the window shades down on take off and landing. You can keep your tablets out. Things that could fly out and whack you, such as a new 600ml bottle of water can be left loose and not stored.
The life jacket is demonstrated after the oxygen in the safety briefing.
Landing was a bit of a thump but nothing broke and we were off the plane in a decent time. Immigration was just a long wait similar to US experiences. But the lines moved ok, the questions by the official were cursory, except for the request to see my boarding pass. It had left the chat somehow and I couldn’t find it. Lack of sleep was nearly making me say something dumb like I needed it to get on the plane so why do you need it but I resisted and didn’t get an appointment in a small private room. The immigration lady looked at +1’s and waved us on our way.
The Premium Economy choice was now starting to pay off - priority bags were at the carousel waiting in a small roped off area and we waltzed up and grabbed them like a DYKWIA champ.
We’d booked a taxi datum for the hotel transfer, and the change of plane/time was no hassle. I replied to their confirmation email in Santiago, they replied before we left the lounge and at the exit was a man with a sign with my name on it. Simples.
Then, our introduction to Lima traffic started. And what an introduction. Rush hour on a Friday night. The rules are there are no rules; indicators are there simply to make the corner of the car look nice. Lane markings are a mistake made by a Government Authority and pedestrian crossings are a game show where you try to beat the people walking on them. To merge you simply look forward and turn the wheel to the direction you wish to take. The winner is the person who chickens out first (and I have seen proof that 2 non-chickens had duelled with each other by the gouge’s down the sides of cars).
When turning at an intersection you can queue up either side of the first person and the challenge is to be the first to enter the road. If you can achieve at least 3 cars lined up behind you, as it means they believe in you to be the first across the gap and there must be an app that provides recognition of this talent. Turning across 2 lanes of traffic from the curb side lane is a feat that anyone can achieve.
Horns are unreliable and must be tested once every minute whilst driving. But, if you come across Old Mate doing the 3-car turn blocking a lane, protocol is to wait about 90 seconds before you use the horn to alert him that he/she could have turned in the .45 of a second gap in the oncoming traffic.
The traffic is not so much dense as more of a solid line of vehicles all spaced about 8 microns apart all trying to go to the same place at once. It is just insane and we must have zigged and zagged 20 times trying to avoid it. But there is so much traffic here you cannot avoid it, you just have to roll with it.
Our man got us there in the end and we happily paid him $20USD which was a 2 dollar tip. His sudden enthusiasm to deliver our bags to reception was revealed on day 3.
After a fraught 60 minutes we arrived at our hotel, roughly 29 hours after leaving home. And a maximum of 4 hours sleep.
We booked Tierra Viva Miraflores Larco as it was 1. Through Qantas and I got additional points to use for a future award booking and 2. It was reasonably priced with an included breakfast. Check in was smooth and uneventful and we wandered off to our 5th floor room for some much needed sleep.
Or not. Cheap hotels mean cheap insulation and we copped plenty of life’s noises all night long. Luckily the roof top night club and bar just next door did not penetrate the walls but managed to find a route through the exhaust fan in the bathroom, but closing the door fixed that.
The bed is massive - it seems to be 2 Queens joined, but on a creaky wooden base. Air conditioning was efficient and cooled us down.
Ride along with us as we work the second-last Platinum-released award seat flights starting on April 23.
Awake at Stupid O’Clock to catch the 06:05 Hobart to Sydney flight. The day started poorly with the off-airport parking company not leaving their yard until 06:10 when check-in closed at 06:20. We got to the desk at 06:18.
Therefore lounge time was 2 muffins and 2/3 cup of coffee.
Seats 2D & 2F on an A220. This was our second last trip booked when I was somebody - QF Platinum - so we luckily had J seats from HBA to SCL. Both trips were all requested seats that were granted by the Bot.
A phenomenon not seen on mainland flights was 2 empty rows in business.
Crew were doing their job no more, but the CSM sparked up on hearing we were doing Machu Picchu and Galapagos, with the announcement she was going next year.
Meal was basic - the choice of a corn cake with 2 sausages or a feta omelette with mushroom.
In a twist, we were served first which I thought was interesting seeing that row 1 was occupied - with Plats in 1A and C. However, once the CSM served 1A & C it was revealed that 1D & 1F were on staff travel - and their daughter’s allowance at that. Unlucky for them there was only corn cake left. QF back to miserable by loading 6 meals in total.
The meals were simply food and no more.
The A220 in business is a nice thing. Wireless phone chargers, USB ports, place to hold your phone or tablet securely, a leg and foot rest. I think the chairs and cabin is better than the clunky old 737.
Transit in Sydney was trouble free. Scan the boarding pass, down some stairs and over to the immigration entry. Security and immigration was as normal - people not listening and leaving iPads in bags, not bagging LAGS. I got done for wearing hiking shoes and trying to sneak through the scanner. Had I pulled my jeans down to cover them I was have beaten the system but today the System won.
Being dropped to QF Gold is a bit of an inconvenience as we now have to walk all the way back to the business lounge (joke - calm down Karen) but we arrived there with a couple of hours to kill. Breakfast consisted of baked beans, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs along with the usual suspects of pastries, cereal and fruit.
Cawfee was a well made Vittoria.
Boarding was an experience. The gate lady was straight outta LAX - she was not letting any non-group 1 and 2 rogue come near her scanner. But bona fide 1 & 2 folks were multiple and varied. Whilst they looked very much like a Latam domestic flight crowd, they were all entitled rogues and eventually we worked it out and shuffled through.
As I was Somebody when I booked these, we were plonked in 3A and 3K which we chose for the table against the aisle which I think gives some privacy i.e. your behind is not in the aisle when you are curled up.
The usual pre-departure stuff went on - fill out your breakfast card within 5 minutes as well be back to collect them (ignored), champagne and water was offered and accepted and PJ’s were doled out.
Take off was delayed a bit but we eventually got there.
The 787 is a quiet plane on take off, second only to the A380 for me, and once in the air we had a good look at Sydney as we took off to the West and looped around to the South. There were a few bumps on the way up, possibly due to an ANA 787 going before us but I made my 120 second count just fine.
Service started just after seat belts off. First was the meal order, with the words ‘the drink of your choice’. So I asked for the Margherita and then what reds were on offer. Being told I could have a Pinot Noir or a Shiraz I asked for the Pinot to be told I’d be offered that with the meal and I should only do my meal order right now. “But missus you said the drink of my choice”….
My choice of the lamb tasting plate was not bad. The lamb was hard and fatty, the goats cheese was a delight with that creamy goat flavour quickly followed by lemon. The pickles were good but I left the plums. Neil’s greens were still made by the work experience kid and had the brown ends on the stems.
The main was a mixed bag. I’m a serial beef fillet eater in J and at the time of writing on the plane I am sure the portion size has been reduced a lot. If I remember when I get home I’ll look at previous trip pics. Also, it was tender but tough if that makes sense. The polenta chips! Hot damn they were good.
All of a sudden mains were finished and dessert was on offer. I should have had the cheese but 2A asked for ice cream and I could only obey, and so ordered the ice cream sandwich. Which was dry-ice-frozen and required 10 minutes to thaw. But the result was worth the wait and I asked for another one. Because I Used To Be Somebody and I could. But not enough for the CSM to swing by and have a chat. I do miss being felt special. Although he is generous with his wine pours and smiles nicely when I try to be intellectual.
About this time we crossed the South Island of New Zealand and saw some amazing views of the alpine region. Channeling my inner Kiwi it was epic Bro’.
The wines were both good. The Pinot was very light both in colour and taste. I then tried the Shiraz and it was more to my liking so I sat on that. Barossa Shiraz to me is a good balance between a robust wine and one with depth. Some Shiraz are just a strong wine without character and seems to overpower you. But I’m only a Bogan beer drinker so take that comment as you will.
Meal service was done after 3 hours and the cabin grew dark. Most of the people have changed into their QF PJ’s and are ready for sleep, and most of those folks look very South American, and as it’s after midnight in Santiago I understand why.
UnZud has now been left behind and we are on a 10 hour leg over cold, hard, uninviting water.
06:30 local time saw me awake after a poor few hours sleep. Ambling down to the snack bar I spoke with the CSM who was very friendly. We ended up discussing status and recognition. Apparantly Qantas are now directing that only P1 and above are worthy of a greeting and if you are WP or less you’re nobody. We both agreed that’s a funny way to treat a fairly large part of your customer base.
Something didn’t agree with me - perhaps the bottle of Shiraz I was given over a few hours- and I awoke with an upset stomach. Plus with the dinner still fresh I opted for a breakfast of coffee, juice and a sourdough crumpet.
Arrival in Santiago was routine, as was immigration and customs. Grabbed our bags, wandered off to the Latam desk to enquire of an earlier flight.
We did have a 14:30 flight to Lima booked but changed it after some suggestion that about 4 hours was not enough time, and coupled with the real possibility of QF delaying either flight we re-booked to a 19:40 departure which meant a midnight arrival into our hotel. The nice lady at the service counter found us a 13:30 flight for the cost of $57USD each extra. At this point it was a case of shut up and take my money and so we were booked on LA520 departing at 13:30, meaning a quick stop in the Latam lounge.
The lounge was a nice place. Spacious, lots of seating and multiple food stations with a variety of options. There was an open bar but with tenders and the quite obvious large glass jar dead centre. Luckily we were past alcohol and just went water to hydrate. Both of us now had upset stomachs to the point of staying close to a bathroom.
The lounge was well set up with a kids room well away from the adults, a movie room playing a soccer game and a sleep room which looked to have about 5 beds in it. Not completely private and there might be a risk of someone lifting your belongings but one of the better setups I’ve seen.
Latam ask that you are at the gate 1 hour before boarding so we duly trudged down to the gate and spent the 30 minutes of potential lounge time waiting at the gate and trying to work out the Spanish announcements. After a couple of false starts we joined the line for group 1 boarding.
I have booked all internal flights as premium economy for a couple of reasons; lounge access as even though I am One World Sapphire I’m wary of being bounced and the other is the seating. My experience of South American flights is a scrum with no prisoners taken so I’m happy to pay the cost to have a seat and a bag space just for me.
On board the seats are the same as European business; economy seats with the middle not used and a bit more leg room. Different to your BA business is the centre seat only has a place holder so you can still use the seat as storage.
We got seated, got 2 roller bags and a backpack stowed up top and sat back. In between the relentless queue the hostess managed to deliver both a 600ml water and an amenity kit. The kit was unexpected and similar to a business flight with socks, shades, plugs and toothbrush.
The plane was a tired old A320. It rattled and shook on the runway as we took off and continued to rattle whilst climbing. As I scored 1D I was watching the 2 crew and they both were happily talking away seemingly not aware of the takeoff and anything unusual. Call me a prat but I am big on situational awareness and I just didn’t see them being in the moment.
The meal on offer was linguini or salad. I went the salad and it was a good choice. The guacamole was good and the salsa stuff was even better. Fruit was crisp and fresh but the blueberries were approaching their use by date.
Beer was a local one, advertised as a lager but more of a drought with a medium heavy body. More golden ale than golden lager.
After the meal was cleared the galley curtain was pulled across and comms stopped except for brief intervals of drinks top ups. I sat back and tried to watch the amazing scenery, whilst trying not to head butt the wall in front of me as lack of sleep was now becoming an issue.
Differences to Australian flights; you can keep the window shades down on take off and landing. You can keep your tablets out. Things that could fly out and whack you, such as a new 600ml bottle of water can be left loose and not stored.
The life jacket is demonstrated after the oxygen in the safety briefing.
Landing was a bit of a thump but nothing broke and we were off the plane in a decent time. Immigration was just a long wait similar to US experiences. But the lines moved ok, the questions by the official were cursory, except for the request to see my boarding pass. It had left the chat somehow and I couldn’t find it. Lack of sleep was nearly making me say something dumb like I needed it to get on the plane so why do you need it but I resisted and didn’t get an appointment in a small private room. The immigration lady looked at +1’s and waved us on our way.
The Premium Economy choice was now starting to pay off - priority bags were at the carousel waiting in a small roped off area and we waltzed up and grabbed them like a DYKWIA champ.
We’d booked a taxi datum for the hotel transfer, and the change of plane/time was no hassle. I replied to their confirmation email in Santiago, they replied before we left the lounge and at the exit was a man with a sign with my name on it. Simples.
Then, our introduction to Lima traffic started. And what an introduction. Rush hour on a Friday night. The rules are there are no rules; indicators are there simply to make the corner of the car look nice. Lane markings are a mistake made by a Government Authority and pedestrian crossings are a game show where you try to beat the people walking on them. To merge you simply look forward and turn the wheel to the direction you wish to take. The winner is the person who chickens out first (and I have seen proof that 2 non-chickens had duelled with each other by the gouge’s down the sides of cars).
When turning at an intersection you can queue up either side of the first person and the challenge is to be the first to enter the road. If you can achieve at least 3 cars lined up behind you, as it means they believe in you to be the first across the gap and there must be an app that provides recognition of this talent. Turning across 2 lanes of traffic from the curb side lane is a feat that anyone can achieve.
Horns are unreliable and must be tested once every minute whilst driving. But, if you come across Old Mate doing the 3-car turn blocking a lane, protocol is to wait about 90 seconds before you use the horn to alert him that he/she could have turned in the .45 of a second gap in the oncoming traffic.
The traffic is not so much dense as more of a solid line of vehicles all spaced about 8 microns apart all trying to go to the same place at once. It is just insane and we must have zigged and zagged 20 times trying to avoid it. But there is so much traffic here you cannot avoid it, you just have to roll with it.
Our man got us there in the end and we happily paid him $20USD which was a 2 dollar tip. His sudden enthusiasm to deliver our bags to reception was revealed on day 3.
After a fraught 60 minutes we arrived at our hotel, roughly 29 hours after leaving home. And a maximum of 4 hours sleep.
We booked Tierra Viva Miraflores Larco as it was 1. Through Qantas and I got additional points to use for a future award booking and 2. It was reasonably priced with an included breakfast. Check in was smooth and uneventful and we wandered off to our 5th floor room for some much needed sleep.
Or not. Cheap hotels mean cheap insulation and we copped plenty of life’s noises all night long. Luckily the roof top night club and bar just next door did not penetrate the walls but managed to find a route through the exhaust fan in the bathroom, but closing the door fixed that.
The bed is massive - it seems to be 2 Queens joined, but on a creaky wooden base. Air conditioning was efficient and cooled us down.
) to stay the night at the hotel just outside the entrance to MP, but it did include all meals and drinks I think. Back then, we did not need a guide so wandered around MP over 2 days ourselves (had to buy a pass for both days)...we even climbed Wayna Picchu which nearly killed me as I was still suffering from altitude sickness!
