Airlines

[QUOTE=AllIWantisLove]Why? I've noticed that business class on the non-US airlines is a lot less expensive than business class on the US airlines. And since the overnight flight in coach is a real killer for me I've been thinking of looking into them.

What was your (apparently bad) experience on Varig?

Thanks, Bob[/QUOTE]I flew Varig from Brazil to BA on my first trip here. They wouldn't let you use a CD player or any MP3 players at that time. Seemed totally assanine to me, but that were the rules.

Some foreign airlines are great. I had a decent trip on LAN in Biz Class to Peru a couple of months ago, for less than $1k.

I'd check on [url]www.flyertalk.com[/url] for reports on different airlines, so you don't get stuck with something substandard.

I had an experience that was so bad it pains me to even recount it. It was off the charts. This happened last year, and there was some kind of labor dispute. The staff deliberately delayed my flight from Rio to SP for several hours and caused me to miss my connecting flight to the States. No one in SP to greet me. It was just incredible.

There was a businessman on that flight who had flown Varig many times and his wife kept warning him not to do it. Believe me, he swore them off after that.

Imagine sitting on the runway for a couple of hours with no air conditioning and NOBODY will tell you ANYTHING.

At least I got off in SP (though my baggage got lost) Guy sitting next to me took it threw to Miami and it got even worse. He tried to get off the plane but US Gestapo prevented him. Quite nightmarish.

So fly Varig at your own risk. You may never have a problem, but if you do, don't say I didn't warn you.

You can pay the airport exit tax with a combination on $US and pesos at a fair rate with no fuss. So you can use up the last of your pesos as you leave the land of the loose and Latin.

The airport tax was either $18 US, or $55.44 pesos when I flew out a few days ago for a short trip back to the USA before returning to BA.

If you have a few pesos left over, I'd save that to buy drinks and / or sandwiches at the little counter stand they have inside the gate areas while you wait for your flight. (although the food stand takes US dollars as well)

Last time I switched my return date so they put me on the Dallas flight (AA) instead of Miami. I don't mind the Miami flight at all. After dinner and drinks are served, it's already 2.5 hours into the flight. After that I try to take a nap, even if I don't fall asleep completely, I can daze for 3 or 4 hours. At that point it's only an hour or two or left before the plane starts to descend so it's smooth sailing.

This last flight for me to Dallas was so miserable. I woke up at like 2pm Bs As time that day so there was no way I was going to sleep at all on the plane. So after dinner, I was wide awake, looking at another 8 hours with the lights out. I felt bad to be the only one in the whole section with a light on to read, so I just Sat there staring at the seat ahead of me for 8 fucking hours. 10.5 hours vs. 8 is a huge difference.

On top of that, I think the plane to Dallas is smaller. So here I am up all night, and the plane is bouncing around like a little 2 seater over the middle of South America so not only am I bored out of my mind, I'm scared shitless.

Never again.

Marak5-

You are correct in that American Airlines does fly a smaller plane on the Dallas-Buenos Aires route than on the Miami-Buenos Aires flight. AA flies Boeing 767's on its flights Dallas-Buenos Aires and New York-Buenos Aires; on the Miami-Buenos Aires flight, they use the 777. Boeing 777 is superior to their 767 in every possible way- 777's have On-Demand video at every seat, even in Economy, and are larger, more comfortable, and newer than the 767's. The Boeing 777 is now the world's premier long distance aircraft and is in fact Boeing's best selling plane, and for good reason. I fly the direct AA 955 flight from JFK-EZE on a 767, it takes 10 hours, 40 minutes and its not that bad because I always get an emergency exit seat, and the two provided meals, while piss poor in quality, break up the trip into manageable periods.

Next time, get the emergency aisle seat, pop a few ambien or xanex, and pass the fuck out!

Suerte,

Dirk Diggler

They must have upgraded the Miami route to 777s *relatively* recently. Up to a year or so ago I used to fly that route all the time, and they were using the old 767s that must have been passed off to the relatively new Dallas route. Once the Delta/Atlanta route resumed I never took the Miami flight again.

Either way, coach is basically coach on most airlines (notable exception: Emirates). American gives you "more room" (a few inches) by drastically reducing your reclining space. Conversely, on the "less room" AirFrance777 from BA to Paris you can really recline, and if you're under 6'4 you can still strech your legs completely under the seat in front of you. I generally sleep 7-8 hours of that 13 hour flight because I'm almost laying down.

I avoid Miami if possible because its not a US hub like Dallas or Atlanta (thats the best flight <Delta> IMO). You often have to wait hours in Miami for a connection to many major US cities. Additionally, I think I read that Atlanta has more customs officials/booths than any other airport. I always breeze thru before I even wake up and catch a connection in no time flat.

PS Not that I fly coach anymore. I'm just talking from past experience;)

I thought the area in the back was for luggage. Now that I don't work for an airline anymore I'm going to have to pay attention to this coach stuff.

Moore.

Are the planes on the Delta flight new? What size plane is it?

I have flown Delta a few times in the USA and to Costa Rica, but all the planes seemed a bit older.

As far as the connection in Miami goes, I have had no problems. It might be because I arrived in Miami on odd days (Saturday and I think Tuesday) but both times the plane landed around 6 30 am, I breezed through, and I got a connection to ORD within 2 hours.

All of the 767s I ever saw are configured with 2 seats by the window, 3 in the middle then another 2 by the other window. United 777 have 2-5-2 most of the airlines will tell you on their scedule page what equipment is flying.

[QUOTE=Marak5]Moore.

Are the planes on the Delta flight new? What size plane is it?

I have flown Delta a few times in the USA and to Costa Rica, but all the planes seemed a bit older.

As far as the connection in Miami goes, I have had no problems. It might be because I arrived in Miami on odd days (Saturday and I think Tuesday) but both times the plane landed around 6 30 am, I breezed through, and I got a connection to ORD within 2 hours.[/QUOTE]

As of last week Delta was still flying a 767-300 on the ATL-EZE route. United also flies the 767-300 as does AA from Dallas, NYC and one of the MIA flights. Continental flies the smaller 767-200 from IAH to EZE. AA flies a 777 from MIA as well.

United has a portion of economy which is known as "Economy Plus" in the first 10 or so rows of economy which has a couple of more inches of legroom.

[QUOTE=Sky Ryder]As of last week Delta was still flying a 767-300 on the ATL-EZE route. United also flies the 767-300 as does AA from Dallas, NYC and one of the MIA flights. Continental flies the smaller 767-200 from IAH to EZE. AA flies a 777 from MIA as well.

United has a portion of economy which is known as "Economy Plus" in the first 10 or so rows of economy which has a couple of more inches of legroom.[/QUOTE]Generally the seats in front of the exit rows on domestic flights, not sure about international flights. If you have no status you can't get them preassigned before the day of departure. On the day of departure VERY early in the morning call the 800 number tell them you suffer from claustraphobia and will be VERY uncomfortable unless you can sit towards the front of the cabin. If they say they have nothing available ask for a supervisor. According to the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) the airline must accomodate any reasonable request if your fucked up in some way.

Airfares to and from EZE on the normal websites (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, and the airlines own sites) are just out of sight ~ $1,000 to $1,400, depending on the airline (AA being lower, UA on the high end) I just looked into booking a flight to EZE and found that the fares offered using the utility found at [url]www.sidestep.com[/url] came through with fares around $900 on UA, which is a $500 saving. Might be worth looking into if you are pondering a trip to Argentina. That extra $500 you can save buys a lot of poon once you are in country.

[QUOTE=Hunt99]Airfares to and from EZE on the normal websites (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, and the airlines own sites) are just out of sight ~ $1,000 to $1,400, depending on the airline.[/QUOTE]Often times the fares from one city may be artificially high. The best method that I've found is to go to Travelocity Dream Maps, enter EZE for origination city, and set the dollar limit to 1000 or so.

[url]http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl[/url]

Now fares won't *always* be the exact same when you're going the reverse direction (for example origination in Costa Rica is cheaper) but it will give you a good idea of the price range.

Right now, New York has the lowest fare of only $519 plus tax on Avianca. This would not be my first choice of airlines, but you can get some majors for a couple of hundred more.

While Travelocity does seem a bit buggy sometimes (it shows that an airline flys from you city, but every time you click on a date, it says it doesn't) it's the tool that I used the most.

There are also consolidator tickets that can save you big bucks on a ticket. Check out your local Sunday paper. I would always use a credit card to buy tickets, to protect yourself against an airline going out of business, or other travel agent problems.

[QUOTE=Daddy Rulz]Generally the seats in front of the exit rows on domestic flights, not sure about international flights.[/QUOTE]UA has E+ with 4 extra inch of pitch on international flights too including the 767-300ER it uses for the EZE routes. They are available pre-assigned at no cost to MP elites, Star Alliance Silver and Gold members, and full coach fare passengers. Another way is to buy E+ access for about $300 per year. UA also sells them on a one time basis during check in.