Cubana
01-26-2004, 02:29 AM
Hello you all,
I have been offline during this days because I was in holiday. Fed up of this ugly weather in The Netherlands, I decided to book a Varig flight to Uruguay. Beaches are incredible and also I have some relatives living there.
My mom, who was staying in The Hague, bought tickets for London, a city she really loves.
So I was flying to South America and then to England, which sounded really cool to me and even cooler to my Miles & More card, because I flew all Star Alliance airlines.
But let's stop talking and start the trip report. Here we go!
BEWARE: It is very long!
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I arrived to Schiphol about three hours in advance by train. I got off at the airport rail station and walked up to Schiphol Plaza. As usual, I went to the TV screens to check where I had to check-in. Surprise! The Varig flight AMS-CDG-GRU was cancelled! I just couldn't believe it.
However, I went to Varig counter at Terminal 3. There was nobody but a Dutchman who was also booked for the same flight than me. He told me he called both Varig information center in Amsterdam and Schiphol's. In the first one, nobody answered because of the national holiday (this all happened on January 1st). In the second, they told him we would be diverted through Frankfurt.
At about 17:30, two Varig employees arrived. They told me we were going to be diverted half of the passengers via Frankfurt and half via London Heathrow. I was choosen to go to Germany and was given a temporary handwriten boarding card, which I should show at Lufthansa's counter back in Terminal 1.
I walked all the way and reached the Lufthansa, SAS and bmi counters (they are all together). The Lufthansa steward told me she could check both me and my luggage to São Paulo, having to pick up my suitcase and recheck-in it there. I told her that was simply impossible because of my connection, since I only had fifty minutes between the arrival flight from Amsterdam and the departing flight to Montevideo. She didn't care and finally sent my luggage with a "GRU via FRA" tag.
I went back to Varig counters at Terminal 3. This was non-sence at all- I was going to miss my connection and the night before saw in Amadeus that the next flight to Montevideo was at 10 in the evening! Neither I nor the Varig employee could believe it. She was really nice and printed a "MVD via GRU via FRA" tag to stick in my suitcase- wait a minute, my suitcase was already gone to the storage place! We both went running to the Lufthansa counter and the Varig-girl told her colleague to please stick it. She said OK but she wasn't sure my luggage could make it because this was not authorized by the computer. To the hell with the computer, she finally did it.
After this very stressful episode, I said bye bye to my parents, who were helping me during the whole time, and went to gate B09.
At the gate it was full of Brazilian passengers. There was also a group of Indonesian people. That is why all announcements were done in Dutch, English, German and Bahasa, the last one by the head of the group, who also spoke English.
At 19:00 boarding started.
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to Frankfurt Rhein-Main (FRA)
01 January 2004
Lufthansa LH 4681
Boeing 737-300
D-ABEN "Neubrandenburg"
Delivered on 16 January 1992
Seat 14F (Economy class - window)
Estimaded/Actual time of departure: 19:30/20:15 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:35/21:05 (GMT +1)
[photoid=166124] [photoid=161417]
I found really strange when boarding that the plane had a new interior. New seats were installed, which made me upset because the old were really comfortable. Also gone are the days when you could strech your legs in Lufthansa's Economy class. The European economy, which was really good because of its seat pinch, is becoming more and more like its intercontinental sister- without leg room. This flight's load factor: ~ 45% (I had the whole row for myself).
Everything was going perfect until the captain made an annoucement. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are waiting for the de-ice but it is busy with other planes. It will come in about ten minutes." Ten minutes later, the same annoucement was again made.
Meanwhile, the crew offered us some orange juice and Dutch newspapers. I, fan of in-flight magazines, took advantage of the delay to pay a look to the new design of Lufthansa Magazin. It simply sucks, just like the old one. It is even worse because now you cannot realize where it is written in German and where in English.
At 20:00 the de-ice finally came to our plane. Since I was seated just next to the wing I could see it all. It was my first time watching a de-ice and found it kinda cool. At 20:15 we finally took off.
Service begun as soon as we reached the cruising altitude. It consisted in the usual I-am-getting-bored-of-it turkey sandwich. As for drinks, I asked for a Diet Coke. I was given this 15 cl cans but didn't ask for refill- 15 cl is OK for this very short flight.
Finally at 21:05 we landed at Frankfurt, while the crew really apologized for the delay and recommended passengers to Venice to "hurry" (I am quoting) because they were going to miss their connection.
When I left the plane, I heard a Brazilian woman asking who knew the airport well. I answered "I do", and I wasn't lying, I had been 3 weeks before there and in total I connected at Rhein-Main between 20 and 30 times.
So we all (five Varig passengers) went together to gate B43 (landed at A38) to the Varig plane. When we arrived we realized all of us but me were going to another gate. Passengers had been mixed between a Varig and a Lufthansa flight, both leaving for São Paulo at about the same time. I was scheduled for Varig, so I checked-in there. I had two nice surprises:
1) I was also given my boarding pass for my following flight to Montevideo
2) I had been upgraded! And the lady scanned my Miles & More card as if I was a Biz class passengers! I am so lucky!!
When I saw my boarding pass I just couldn't believe it had the word "Business" printed on it. So I entered the plane with a veery big smile in my face and was greeted very good by all the flight attendants.
Frankfurt Rhein-Main (FRA) to São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
01 January 2004
Varig Brasil RG 8741
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
Delivered on 28 October 1993
PP-VQG
Seat 12F (Business class - center)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 22:30/22:40 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 06:30/06:30 +1 day (GMT -2)
[photoid=210812] [photoid=159959]
I sat down in my Business class seat. I was stuck in the center between two other people, but I didn't care at all: I was flying Business instead of Economy! Load-factor of this flight: 95%.
Next to me there was a girl who also should be in Economy. Her sister worked for Varig, so she was flying non-rev. However, she was as lucky as me. On the other side, there was a man who didn't speak during the whole flight.
After reaching the cruising altitude service started. This is the menu:
Varig RG 8741 from Frankfurt to São Paulo
Dinner
Appetizers
Smoked halibut and marinated shrimp served with spicy mango salad
-or-
Red pepper terrine accompanied by grilled zucchini, aubergine, tomato, rucola and pine nuts
Soup
Potato soup
Salad
Fresh seasonal mixed greens served with Spanish dressing
Main Dishes
Beef Filet
complemented by red wine sauce, Depuy lentils, pumpkin and potato cubes
Saddle of Pork
offered with barbeque sauce, country baked beans and potato wedges
Pan-fried Grouper with Cumin Sauce
served with sautéed grapes and Basmanti rice
Penne Pasta
napped with pesto and sun-dried tomato sauce
Dessert
Fresh Fruit Cheese
Mango yoghurt fruit cake with orange coulis
Nestlé Nespresso - Regular or decaffeinated Espresso
Selection of Teas
Chocolates
And this are the drinks:
Champagne
Henriot Blanc des Blancs non Vintage (France)
Taittinger Brut Reserve (France)
White Wines
Costebianche Chardonnay (Italy)
Hermanos Lurton DO Rueda (Spain)
Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône (France)
Grand'Art Alvarinho (Portugal)
Le Sauvignon de Bordeaux (France)
Port Wine (Vinho de Porto)
Vinho de Porto Graham's LBV (Portugal)
Red Wines
Danzante Merlot (Italy)
Merlot Reserva Anakena (Chile)
Malbec Septima (Argentina)
Apéritifs
Campari Bitter
Beefeater Gin
Wirorova Vodka
Brazilian Cachaça
Whiskies
Johnie Walker Red Label (Scotland)
Ballantine's Finest (Scotland)
Cognac and Liqueurs
Cognac Camus (France)
Marie Brizard - Mandarine (France)
Marie Brizard - Café (France)
Irish Bailey's (Ireland)
Beers
Selection of Brazilian and imported beers
Beverages
Selection of juices and soft drinks regular and diet
Mineral water
I choose the smoked halibut and the saddle of pork. To drink, I wanted the Argentinian Malbec (nationalism, yes) but they hadn't anymore. "Oh, you want to already feel like at home" told me the flight attendant. I had to decide among the others and went for the Chilean Merlot, that was not bad at all.
After dinner we were shown a movie (there are no personal TVs on board of any RG plane but for the 777s). Varig beeing the Brazilian flag carrier, it now has a "Cine Brasil - The best of the Brazilian cinema on Varig's flights" segment. The movie tonight was "A Partilha", which means "The Inheritance" in English. It was in Portuguese with English undertitles.
I switched to channel 12 (Brazilian Elegance) and read the "Folha de São Paulo" (newspaper) I was given just after boarding. When I finished, I read the Icaro Brasil magazine. Varig's in-flight magazine (Icaro Brasil) is, I believe, the very best in-flight magazine in the industry. The December number came with articles about the Iguazú Falls (Iguazú in Spanish; Iguaçu in Portuguese), a mini-serie about São Paulo and the Buenos Aires's Colón Theater, among others. It is just amazing.
I finally could sleep some 4 hours after that and was woken up by breakfast. It consisted in fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, croissants, rolls, pastries, preserves and butter, an assortment of chilled breakfast meats and cheese, egg and spinach roll, coffe or tea or milk or a juice.
The lack of PTVs on Varig's Business Class is resisted with the excellent service and food.
We finally landed at São Paulo's Guarulhos Airport at 06:30, just on time.
Transfer at São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
I had a bit less than two hours to spend at Guarulhos. When I arrived to the waiting area I walked a bit (after beeing seated for 11 hours I needed it) and watched the different planes parked there. I was surprised by two things:
1) There was a flight coming from Nagoya and continuing to Rio de Janeiro. I read here in JetPhotos that Varig had suspended it Nagoya service till the 30th of March.
2) When I reached my gate there was a strange bird over there- Pluna's brand new 757-200! I just couldn't believe how lucky I was beeing that day. A free upgrade and now Pluna's newest bird. That was really cool.
I bought a Veja magazine for R$ 6 (1 dollar is about 3 reais, so do the match by yourself) and read it before proceeding to board. Flight was full of Uruguayan passengers coming from connecting Varig flights (RG is the major shareholder of Pluna), specially from Spain and North America. There were also a few Brazilian, Spanish, Norwegian (!) and I was the only Argentine. However, Uruguayan are our brothers, so nobody realized I was from Argentina.
São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) to Montevideo Carrasco (MVD)
02 January 2004
Pluna Uruguay PU 231 - Codeshared with Varig Brasil RG 7362
Boeing 757-200
Delivered on 03 August 1994
CX-PUD
Seat 10C (Economy class - aisle)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 08:30/08:45 (GMT -2)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 10:05/10:05 (GMT -3)
[photoid=211078] [photoid=211058]
When I boarded I was greeted by the crew and went to my seat. When the male purser said "Boarding completo" ("Boarding completed") I could only count 72 passengers onboard. I sat down and as soon as we reached the cruising altitude the service started. It consisted on a apple pancake and a fruit salad. It was not bad but way to sweet. I love sweet food, but this was too much. However, I managed to eat it all. It seems to be I was hungry.
Flight continued without any problems. I switched to another seat for a while so that I could watch throughout the window. I also read Pluna's in-flight magazine, which is simply called "Pluna Uruguay". Varig's influence was enormous in that magazine, which almost perfectly copies Icaro. It is a shame it is issued once every two months instead of the normal monthly one. Pluna in-flight audio also seems to be good, but it wasn't switched on for this 2-hour flight.
At exactly 10:05 we desembarked at Montevideo's Comandante Berisso International Airport in Carrasco. MVD has no jetways, so arrival is made via buses that take you to the arrivals terminal. I made the immigration control in a breeze because I am a Mercosur national and when I got to the baggage belt I had to wait and- there it was! My suitcase arrived with the "MVD via GRU via FRA" tag sticked on it. I was really happy. Because of the origin of this flight (Brazil is also Mercosur, with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) we didn't have to make customs.
Getting in and out Carrasco Airport
Carrasco Airport is really small but very well furnished. You have three international car rentals (Avis, AI and Thrifty) and taxis. If you are going to the coast (my case) I recommend the bus. A very comfortable bus from Carrasco to Punta del Este, 150 km, takes 1:50 and costs 122 Uruguayan pesos, which is about 4 US dollars or 12.20 Argentinian pesos. There is also a good kiosk, a place to make phone calls and connect to the Internet and some other stores. Parking is free at Carrasco. For more information see http://www.aeropuerto.com.uy
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Two weeks later I returned to the same place, although that this time my aunt and my cousin brought me by car, which was really more comfortable and, of course, funnier than bus.
I arrived at Carrasco 2:30 hours before my flight left and was the very first person to check-in for it. I then said bye bye to my aunt and cousin and went to the waiting area.
I first waited a bit over there, listening to all the conversations between the ground personnel of Aerolíneas Argentinas, that had two flights coming in the same hour. There was an American passenger that wanted to travel from Montevideo to Buenos Aires but had a ticket valid for Punta del Este to Buenos Aires, and thought it was the same. At the end there was a seat empty so he could make it.
I then went to the café that is upstairs and had a sandwich and a Diet Coke. I enjoyed them together with a great view of the runway and a La Nación newspaper (I always read newspapers when waiting at airports). There were lots of Fokker 100 of Uair.com, a new Uruguayan low-cost airline. They have a start fare of 49 US Dollars everywhere. They fly to Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza in Argentina and Curitiba in Brazil. Their hub is Montevideo. More information: http://www.uair.com
Finally at 16:50 boarding started. We went by bus to our plane, a good old Pluna 737-200 which I had already flown three times.
Montevideo Carrasco (MVD) to São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
14 January 2004
Pluna Uruguay PU 228 - Codeshared with Varig Brasil RG 7369
Boeing 737-200
Delivered on 25 January 1982
CX-BOO
Seat 5L, switched to 4L (both Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 17:00/17:40 (GMT -3)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:20/20:30 (GMT -2)
[photoid=41834] [photoid=2754]
For unknown reasons we had to wait 50 minutes on board of the plane to finally take off. Rotating was really long, one of the longest I have ever seen, I guess because of the load factor (100%) and the hot outside temperature (it was about 30 degrees Celsius).
After take off I switched seats with a woman whose husband was seated next to me. As it also was a window I found it OK. Brazilian immigration forms were given after. "Estoy en tránsito" ("I'm in transit"), I told the flight attendant. Actually almost half of the plane "estaba en tránsito".
We were then served a light meal, which consisted in meat with potatoes and salad. It didn't taste bad at all. I asked for tonic water. A secret: neither in Uruguay nor in Argentina exists a big tonic water bottle, so when you ask for it on a plane they will always give you the whole 354 ml can. Make a note of it: passengers that asked for any other soda were given a glass only.
We finally landed at Guarulhos only ten minutes late, which surprised me because of our delay in this sort of short flight. Congratulations to the captain, who also told us exactly our route plan, which I loved.
Transfer at São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
I again bought a Veja magazine and an Argentinian Clarín newspaper so that I kept in touch about what's going on back home. I also made a little walk over the airport to watch the planes. I didn't do anything but reading during the rest of the time. Nothing exciting at all.
At 22:35, boarding started.
São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) via Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
14 January 2004
Varig Brasil RG 8720
Boeing 777-200ER
Delivered on 19 November 2001
PP-VRB "Ruben Berta"
Seat 19J (Economy class - aisle)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 23:10/23:15 (GMT -2)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 15:50/15:25 +1 day (GMT +1)
[photoid=195220] [photoid=190603]
When I entered I realized the passengers were mostly Europeans flying back home after vacations. Half of the people there had a bag with "Duty Free Brasif - Rio de Janeiro" written on it. There was also a small but important Latin American minority. There were not many Brazilians seen, contrary to the flight from Frankfurt.
As soon as we reached cruising altitude a meal was served. You could choose between meat and pasta. As I already had meat in the flight from Montevideo, I went for the pasta (spaghetti), which was really tasty. I asked for a guaraná (a Brazilian soda) to drink. Flight attendants came three times to refill our glasses, which was very nice. During dinner I played some solitaires in the PTV.
There was a Frechman in the seat before me that really annoyed me. He was always blaming me because I was "moving his headrest". For the first times I answered him nicely and in French (I am a French fluent-speaker) but then he started to piss me off and I always answered him in Dutch, so that he didn't understand. It was like magic: he never bothered me again.
After dinner I watched Austin Powers, the Goldmember, which I started to watch in my other PP-VRB flight, in January 2003, from São Paulo to Buenos Aires. It was OK. I also read a bit and watched some other TV programs, such as Carte Postal Gourmande (A French cuisine show) and Varig No Ar (Varig on the air). During the whole flight my PTV was never turned off: if I wasn't watching or playing something, it was tuned into the route map channel. I managed to sleep about four hours.
One hour before landing at Charles de Gaulle we were served breakfast. It consisted in an egg roll, fruits, bread and yoghurt. Exactly the same than in any other airline. I found it, as always, good. I am always hungry for the time they bring breakfast, who knows why.
Landing at Paris was smooth. Once we arrived, passengers to Amsterdam were kindly asked not to disembark the plane. For about half an hour, some cleaning people came to, obviously, clean the plane. Only two persons boarded at Paris. I had a nice chat with a Dutchgirl while waiting.
We took off veeery quickly andwith the same crew. For this 40 minutes flight I thought there won't be any service, but we were offered a ham sandwich and orange juice, which I found very nice. After only 25 minutes in the air we were announced we were starting the descent over Schiphol. This flight was made just at 500 kmph and having 5,000 meters as cruising altitude. There were only 30 people onboard.
We arrived to Schiphol ahead of schedule, which is always good. The luggage arrived but only after waiting 30 minutes for it to appear. Strange.
Getting in and out of Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
I believe the best way to get to/from Schiphol is by train. From The Hague it only takes 25 minutes and just 10 from Amsterdam. The ticket costs (from The Hague central station) 6 euros. Services depart every half an hour.
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And here I was again. Less than 72 hours from landed at Schiphol, I was taking off again, this time for London. We choose bmi British Midland for this flight. It was only 10 euros more expensive than easyJet (70 euros + TAX instead of 60 + TAX) and it arrived to Heathrow, not Luton. I was surprised how the bmi boarding passes are really similar to the old Lufthansa's. The only big different was the colour- they are blue, not grey.
We (my parents and I) went to the bmi counters, which are located in Terminal 1, just next to Lufthansa's and SAS's. Since both my mom and I are Lufthansa Silver we checked in at Business Class counters, which were empty. We then headed for the passport control (the UK is not a Schengen country) and X-Ray.
Once in the airside of the airport, we paid a look in the free shop, but didn't buy anything. We then went to our gate, D18. Our plane arrived a bit after we did, and it was bmi's A321 painted with the Star Alliance c/s, which was really cool.
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to London Heathrow (LHR)
17 January 2004
bmi British Midland BD104
Airbus A321-200
Delivered on 22 February 2002
G-MIDL
Seat 21A (Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 11:30/11:45 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 11:45/12:00 (GMT)
[photoid=214598] [photoid=192484]
As soon as we entered the plane we were greeted by a very British flight attendant. She said "Good morning, sir" or "Good morning, madam" to everyone but to me. She told me "Hey there, what's up?" and that made me laugh. I took a newspaper we were offered and went to my seat.
bmi's seats are really comfortable and the leg-room OK. We did a very long taxi to reach our really remote runway. After take off we were offered some sodas and peanuts. Our flight attendant was from Spain, so we had a nice chat with him. He was really funny.
We had to do 15 minutes of tourism over the British country before landing at Heathrow. I spent them paying a look to bmi's Voyager in-flight magazine. It isn't great, but it insults British Airways every time it can, so that was funny. E.g.: "Join our Diamond Club- you will be a Gold member 14 times faster than with British Airways!".
Landing at Heathrow was good and our luggages appared very quickly. Passport control was also done in a breeze.
Getting in and out of London Heathrow (LHR)
I am a fan of public transportation and this is not the exception. The Piccadilly subway line gets you in less than half an hour in central London for 3.60 pounds. There are two stations: Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3 and Heathrow Terminal 4. To connect from Terminal 4 to the others or viceversa, take the first train to Hatton Cross and change there.
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The Piccadilly line beeing under reparations this last weekend, Transport for London advised people going to LHR to be prepared for a 1-hour journey. We had to take the Tube to Acton Town and change there for buses, that went non-stop to Heathrow. It all took only 25 minutes.
When we went to the bmi counters we were asked to please come back in half an hour, which we did. After getting our boarding passes we entered the airside of Heathrow. We tried to get into bmi's lounge but that wasn't possible because we are Star Alliance Silver and only Star Alliance Gold can do it. Damn it.
However, I bought a The Guardian newspaper and read it. Meanwhile my parents went to do some shopping.
We went for a coffe in Costa and then headed for our gate, number 36. We waited about 15 minutes there and boarding started.
London Heathrow (LHR) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
24 January 2004
bmi British Midland BD 113
Airbus A321-200
Delivered on 16 July 1999
G-MIDJ
Seat 12A (Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 18:15/18:20 (GMT)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:25/20:20 (GMT +1)
[photoid=216730] [photoid=182281]
I was a bit upset that this bird was still carrying the old livery, which is way less smarter than the new one. This flight was only 60% full, which sounds normal for a Saturday-night one. This was strange for me, considering my two last flights had been very loaded: Varig's 95% and the AMS-LHR bmi, 100%.
After reaching the cruising altitude we were offered some sandwiches and soda, which was better than the peanuts of the other flight. Flight attendants were very friendly.
Flight went without any problem and spent it all reading my The Guardian because it was dark outside.
Once we arrived at Schiphol passport control went like a breeze, but again baggage took half an hour to appear. What the hell is going on with Globe Ground Amsterdam? Hope they will change soon.
Marks (/10)
Lufthansa LH 4681 AMS-FRA
Ground Staff: 5
Plane: 7
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 8
Flight: 10
Varig RG 8741 FRA-GRU
Ground Staff: 10
Plane: 6
In-Flight Entertainment: 6.5
Cabin Attendants: 9
Flight: 7
Pluna PU 231 GRU-MVD
Ground Staff: 8
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 7
Flight: 9
Pluna PU 228 MVD-GRU
Ground Staff: 9
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 8
Flight: 10
Varig RG 8720 GRU-AMS via CDG
Ground Staff: Not Applicable
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: 10
Cabin Attendants: 7
Flight: 9
bmi British Midland BD 104 AMS-LHR
Ground Staff: 10
Plane: 9
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 10
Flight: 8.5
bmi British Midland BD 110 LHR-AMS
Ground Staff: 8.5
Plane: 9
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 9
Flight: 9.5
So, let's do some Math:
Lufthansa: 7.5/10
Varig: ~ 8/10
Pluna: ~ 8.4/10
bmi British Midland: ~ 9.18/10
Conclusions
Lufthansa still is the world's number 1 airline for me. They are good, the new seats are not bad and service is always fine. If they only were a bit more generous with the leg-room it would be great.
Varig was also great. They took ver much care of me by upgrading me to Business. I did not miss my connecting flight, which was good. Their Business class needs to be upgraded quickly. I would not pay for it, except if flying to any of their destinations operated with 777. The 777 was simply magnificent.
Pluna was OK, like always. They do their job, planes are a bit old but well maintained. I simply wish them all the best.
I was really surprised by bmi. I was hoping something like a Ryanair with food and it was an excellent airline. I would not hesitate to fly them again, only after Lufthansa.
I hope you enjoyed my trip report. I am sorry for the English mistakes. Comments and questions are welcomed.
Cheers
Marcos
I have been offline during this days because I was in holiday. Fed up of this ugly weather in The Netherlands, I decided to book a Varig flight to Uruguay. Beaches are incredible and also I have some relatives living there.
My mom, who was staying in The Hague, bought tickets for London, a city she really loves.
So I was flying to South America and then to England, which sounded really cool to me and even cooler to my Miles & More card, because I flew all Star Alliance airlines.
But let's stop talking and start the trip report. Here we go!
BEWARE: It is very long!
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I arrived to Schiphol about three hours in advance by train. I got off at the airport rail station and walked up to Schiphol Plaza. As usual, I went to the TV screens to check where I had to check-in. Surprise! The Varig flight AMS-CDG-GRU was cancelled! I just couldn't believe it.
However, I went to Varig counter at Terminal 3. There was nobody but a Dutchman who was also booked for the same flight than me. He told me he called both Varig information center in Amsterdam and Schiphol's. In the first one, nobody answered because of the national holiday (this all happened on January 1st). In the second, they told him we would be diverted through Frankfurt.
At about 17:30, two Varig employees arrived. They told me we were going to be diverted half of the passengers via Frankfurt and half via London Heathrow. I was choosen to go to Germany and was given a temporary handwriten boarding card, which I should show at Lufthansa's counter back in Terminal 1.
I walked all the way and reached the Lufthansa, SAS and bmi counters (they are all together). The Lufthansa steward told me she could check both me and my luggage to São Paulo, having to pick up my suitcase and recheck-in it there. I told her that was simply impossible because of my connection, since I only had fifty minutes between the arrival flight from Amsterdam and the departing flight to Montevideo. She didn't care and finally sent my luggage with a "GRU via FRA" tag.
I went back to Varig counters at Terminal 3. This was non-sence at all- I was going to miss my connection and the night before saw in Amadeus that the next flight to Montevideo was at 10 in the evening! Neither I nor the Varig employee could believe it. She was really nice and printed a "MVD via GRU via FRA" tag to stick in my suitcase- wait a minute, my suitcase was already gone to the storage place! We both went running to the Lufthansa counter and the Varig-girl told her colleague to please stick it. She said OK but she wasn't sure my luggage could make it because this was not authorized by the computer. To the hell with the computer, she finally did it.
After this very stressful episode, I said bye bye to my parents, who were helping me during the whole time, and went to gate B09.
At the gate it was full of Brazilian passengers. There was also a group of Indonesian people. That is why all announcements were done in Dutch, English, German and Bahasa, the last one by the head of the group, who also spoke English.
At 19:00 boarding started.
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to Frankfurt Rhein-Main (FRA)
01 January 2004
Lufthansa LH 4681
Boeing 737-300
D-ABEN "Neubrandenburg"
Delivered on 16 January 1992
Seat 14F (Economy class - window)
Estimaded/Actual time of departure: 19:30/20:15 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:35/21:05 (GMT +1)
[photoid=166124] [photoid=161417]
I found really strange when boarding that the plane had a new interior. New seats were installed, which made me upset because the old were really comfortable. Also gone are the days when you could strech your legs in Lufthansa's Economy class. The European economy, which was really good because of its seat pinch, is becoming more and more like its intercontinental sister- without leg room. This flight's load factor: ~ 45% (I had the whole row for myself).
Everything was going perfect until the captain made an annoucement. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are waiting for the de-ice but it is busy with other planes. It will come in about ten minutes." Ten minutes later, the same annoucement was again made.
Meanwhile, the crew offered us some orange juice and Dutch newspapers. I, fan of in-flight magazines, took advantage of the delay to pay a look to the new design of Lufthansa Magazin. It simply sucks, just like the old one. It is even worse because now you cannot realize where it is written in German and where in English.
At 20:00 the de-ice finally came to our plane. Since I was seated just next to the wing I could see it all. It was my first time watching a de-ice and found it kinda cool. At 20:15 we finally took off.
Service begun as soon as we reached the cruising altitude. It consisted in the usual I-am-getting-bored-of-it turkey sandwich. As for drinks, I asked for a Diet Coke. I was given this 15 cl cans but didn't ask for refill- 15 cl is OK for this very short flight.
Finally at 21:05 we landed at Frankfurt, while the crew really apologized for the delay and recommended passengers to Venice to "hurry" (I am quoting) because they were going to miss their connection.
When I left the plane, I heard a Brazilian woman asking who knew the airport well. I answered "I do", and I wasn't lying, I had been 3 weeks before there and in total I connected at Rhein-Main between 20 and 30 times.
So we all (five Varig passengers) went together to gate B43 (landed at A38) to the Varig plane. When we arrived we realized all of us but me were going to another gate. Passengers had been mixed between a Varig and a Lufthansa flight, both leaving for São Paulo at about the same time. I was scheduled for Varig, so I checked-in there. I had two nice surprises:
1) I was also given my boarding pass for my following flight to Montevideo
2) I had been upgraded! And the lady scanned my Miles & More card as if I was a Biz class passengers! I am so lucky!!
When I saw my boarding pass I just couldn't believe it had the word "Business" printed on it. So I entered the plane with a veery big smile in my face and was greeted very good by all the flight attendants.
Frankfurt Rhein-Main (FRA) to São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
01 January 2004
Varig Brasil RG 8741
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
Delivered on 28 October 1993
PP-VQG
Seat 12F (Business class - center)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 22:30/22:40 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 06:30/06:30 +1 day (GMT -2)
[photoid=210812] [photoid=159959]
I sat down in my Business class seat. I was stuck in the center between two other people, but I didn't care at all: I was flying Business instead of Economy! Load-factor of this flight: 95%.
Next to me there was a girl who also should be in Economy. Her sister worked for Varig, so she was flying non-rev. However, she was as lucky as me. On the other side, there was a man who didn't speak during the whole flight.
After reaching the cruising altitude service started. This is the menu:
Varig RG 8741 from Frankfurt to São Paulo
Dinner
Appetizers
Smoked halibut and marinated shrimp served with spicy mango salad
-or-
Red pepper terrine accompanied by grilled zucchini, aubergine, tomato, rucola and pine nuts
Soup
Potato soup
Salad
Fresh seasonal mixed greens served with Spanish dressing
Main Dishes
Beef Filet
complemented by red wine sauce, Depuy lentils, pumpkin and potato cubes
Saddle of Pork
offered with barbeque sauce, country baked beans and potato wedges
Pan-fried Grouper with Cumin Sauce
served with sautéed grapes and Basmanti rice
Penne Pasta
napped with pesto and sun-dried tomato sauce
Dessert
Fresh Fruit Cheese
Mango yoghurt fruit cake with orange coulis
Nestlé Nespresso - Regular or decaffeinated Espresso
Selection of Teas
Chocolates
And this are the drinks:
Champagne
Henriot Blanc des Blancs non Vintage (France)
Taittinger Brut Reserve (France)
White Wines
Costebianche Chardonnay (Italy)
Hermanos Lurton DO Rueda (Spain)
Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône (France)
Grand'Art Alvarinho (Portugal)
Le Sauvignon de Bordeaux (France)
Port Wine (Vinho de Porto)
Vinho de Porto Graham's LBV (Portugal)
Red Wines
Danzante Merlot (Italy)
Merlot Reserva Anakena (Chile)
Malbec Septima (Argentina)
Apéritifs
Campari Bitter
Beefeater Gin
Wirorova Vodka
Brazilian Cachaça
Whiskies
Johnie Walker Red Label (Scotland)
Ballantine's Finest (Scotland)
Cognac and Liqueurs
Cognac Camus (France)
Marie Brizard - Mandarine (France)
Marie Brizard - Café (France)
Irish Bailey's (Ireland)
Beers
Selection of Brazilian and imported beers
Beverages
Selection of juices and soft drinks regular and diet
Mineral water
I choose the smoked halibut and the saddle of pork. To drink, I wanted the Argentinian Malbec (nationalism, yes) but they hadn't anymore. "Oh, you want to already feel like at home" told me the flight attendant. I had to decide among the others and went for the Chilean Merlot, that was not bad at all.
After dinner we were shown a movie (there are no personal TVs on board of any RG plane but for the 777s). Varig beeing the Brazilian flag carrier, it now has a "Cine Brasil - The best of the Brazilian cinema on Varig's flights" segment. The movie tonight was "A Partilha", which means "The Inheritance" in English. It was in Portuguese with English undertitles.
I switched to channel 12 (Brazilian Elegance) and read the "Folha de São Paulo" (newspaper) I was given just after boarding. When I finished, I read the Icaro Brasil magazine. Varig's in-flight magazine (Icaro Brasil) is, I believe, the very best in-flight magazine in the industry. The December number came with articles about the Iguazú Falls (Iguazú in Spanish; Iguaçu in Portuguese), a mini-serie about São Paulo and the Buenos Aires's Colón Theater, among others. It is just amazing.
I finally could sleep some 4 hours after that and was woken up by breakfast. It consisted in fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, croissants, rolls, pastries, preserves and butter, an assortment of chilled breakfast meats and cheese, egg and spinach roll, coffe or tea or milk or a juice.
The lack of PTVs on Varig's Business Class is resisted with the excellent service and food.
We finally landed at São Paulo's Guarulhos Airport at 06:30, just on time.
Transfer at São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
I had a bit less than two hours to spend at Guarulhos. When I arrived to the waiting area I walked a bit (after beeing seated for 11 hours I needed it) and watched the different planes parked there. I was surprised by two things:
1) There was a flight coming from Nagoya and continuing to Rio de Janeiro. I read here in JetPhotos that Varig had suspended it Nagoya service till the 30th of March.
2) When I reached my gate there was a strange bird over there- Pluna's brand new 757-200! I just couldn't believe how lucky I was beeing that day. A free upgrade and now Pluna's newest bird. That was really cool.
I bought a Veja magazine for R$ 6 (1 dollar is about 3 reais, so do the match by yourself) and read it before proceeding to board. Flight was full of Uruguayan passengers coming from connecting Varig flights (RG is the major shareholder of Pluna), specially from Spain and North America. There were also a few Brazilian, Spanish, Norwegian (!) and I was the only Argentine. However, Uruguayan are our brothers, so nobody realized I was from Argentina.
São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) to Montevideo Carrasco (MVD)
02 January 2004
Pluna Uruguay PU 231 - Codeshared with Varig Brasil RG 7362
Boeing 757-200
Delivered on 03 August 1994
CX-PUD
Seat 10C (Economy class - aisle)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 08:30/08:45 (GMT -2)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 10:05/10:05 (GMT -3)
[photoid=211078] [photoid=211058]
When I boarded I was greeted by the crew and went to my seat. When the male purser said "Boarding completo" ("Boarding completed") I could only count 72 passengers onboard. I sat down and as soon as we reached the cruising altitude the service started. It consisted on a apple pancake and a fruit salad. It was not bad but way to sweet. I love sweet food, but this was too much. However, I managed to eat it all. It seems to be I was hungry.
Flight continued without any problems. I switched to another seat for a while so that I could watch throughout the window. I also read Pluna's in-flight magazine, which is simply called "Pluna Uruguay". Varig's influence was enormous in that magazine, which almost perfectly copies Icaro. It is a shame it is issued once every two months instead of the normal monthly one. Pluna in-flight audio also seems to be good, but it wasn't switched on for this 2-hour flight.
At exactly 10:05 we desembarked at Montevideo's Comandante Berisso International Airport in Carrasco. MVD has no jetways, so arrival is made via buses that take you to the arrivals terminal. I made the immigration control in a breeze because I am a Mercosur national and when I got to the baggage belt I had to wait and- there it was! My suitcase arrived with the "MVD via GRU via FRA" tag sticked on it. I was really happy. Because of the origin of this flight (Brazil is also Mercosur, with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) we didn't have to make customs.
Getting in and out Carrasco Airport
Carrasco Airport is really small but very well furnished. You have three international car rentals (Avis, AI and Thrifty) and taxis. If you are going to the coast (my case) I recommend the bus. A very comfortable bus from Carrasco to Punta del Este, 150 km, takes 1:50 and costs 122 Uruguayan pesos, which is about 4 US dollars or 12.20 Argentinian pesos. There is also a good kiosk, a place to make phone calls and connect to the Internet and some other stores. Parking is free at Carrasco. For more information see http://www.aeropuerto.com.uy
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Two weeks later I returned to the same place, although that this time my aunt and my cousin brought me by car, which was really more comfortable and, of course, funnier than bus.
I arrived at Carrasco 2:30 hours before my flight left and was the very first person to check-in for it. I then said bye bye to my aunt and cousin and went to the waiting area.
I first waited a bit over there, listening to all the conversations between the ground personnel of Aerolíneas Argentinas, that had two flights coming in the same hour. There was an American passenger that wanted to travel from Montevideo to Buenos Aires but had a ticket valid for Punta del Este to Buenos Aires, and thought it was the same. At the end there was a seat empty so he could make it.
I then went to the café that is upstairs and had a sandwich and a Diet Coke. I enjoyed them together with a great view of the runway and a La Nación newspaper (I always read newspapers when waiting at airports). There were lots of Fokker 100 of Uair.com, a new Uruguayan low-cost airline. They have a start fare of 49 US Dollars everywhere. They fly to Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza in Argentina and Curitiba in Brazil. Their hub is Montevideo. More information: http://www.uair.com
Finally at 16:50 boarding started. We went by bus to our plane, a good old Pluna 737-200 which I had already flown three times.
Montevideo Carrasco (MVD) to São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
14 January 2004
Pluna Uruguay PU 228 - Codeshared with Varig Brasil RG 7369
Boeing 737-200
Delivered on 25 January 1982
CX-BOO
Seat 5L, switched to 4L (both Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 17:00/17:40 (GMT -3)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:20/20:30 (GMT -2)
[photoid=41834] [photoid=2754]
For unknown reasons we had to wait 50 minutes on board of the plane to finally take off. Rotating was really long, one of the longest I have ever seen, I guess because of the load factor (100%) and the hot outside temperature (it was about 30 degrees Celsius).
After take off I switched seats with a woman whose husband was seated next to me. As it also was a window I found it OK. Brazilian immigration forms were given after. "Estoy en tránsito" ("I'm in transit"), I told the flight attendant. Actually almost half of the plane "estaba en tránsito".
We were then served a light meal, which consisted in meat with potatoes and salad. It didn't taste bad at all. I asked for tonic water. A secret: neither in Uruguay nor in Argentina exists a big tonic water bottle, so when you ask for it on a plane they will always give you the whole 354 ml can. Make a note of it: passengers that asked for any other soda were given a glass only.
We finally landed at Guarulhos only ten minutes late, which surprised me because of our delay in this sort of short flight. Congratulations to the captain, who also told us exactly our route plan, which I loved.
Transfer at São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)
I again bought a Veja magazine and an Argentinian Clarín newspaper so that I kept in touch about what's going on back home. I also made a little walk over the airport to watch the planes. I didn't do anything but reading during the rest of the time. Nothing exciting at all.
At 22:35, boarding started.
São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) via Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
14 January 2004
Varig Brasil RG 8720
Boeing 777-200ER
Delivered on 19 November 2001
PP-VRB "Ruben Berta"
Seat 19J (Economy class - aisle)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 23:10/23:15 (GMT -2)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 15:50/15:25 +1 day (GMT +1)
[photoid=195220] [photoid=190603]
When I entered I realized the passengers were mostly Europeans flying back home after vacations. Half of the people there had a bag with "Duty Free Brasif - Rio de Janeiro" written on it. There was also a small but important Latin American minority. There were not many Brazilians seen, contrary to the flight from Frankfurt.
As soon as we reached cruising altitude a meal was served. You could choose between meat and pasta. As I already had meat in the flight from Montevideo, I went for the pasta (spaghetti), which was really tasty. I asked for a guaraná (a Brazilian soda) to drink. Flight attendants came three times to refill our glasses, which was very nice. During dinner I played some solitaires in the PTV.
There was a Frechman in the seat before me that really annoyed me. He was always blaming me because I was "moving his headrest". For the first times I answered him nicely and in French (I am a French fluent-speaker) but then he started to piss me off and I always answered him in Dutch, so that he didn't understand. It was like magic: he never bothered me again.
After dinner I watched Austin Powers, the Goldmember, which I started to watch in my other PP-VRB flight, in January 2003, from São Paulo to Buenos Aires. It was OK. I also read a bit and watched some other TV programs, such as Carte Postal Gourmande (A French cuisine show) and Varig No Ar (Varig on the air). During the whole flight my PTV was never turned off: if I wasn't watching or playing something, it was tuned into the route map channel. I managed to sleep about four hours.
One hour before landing at Charles de Gaulle we were served breakfast. It consisted in an egg roll, fruits, bread and yoghurt. Exactly the same than in any other airline. I found it, as always, good. I am always hungry for the time they bring breakfast, who knows why.
Landing at Paris was smooth. Once we arrived, passengers to Amsterdam were kindly asked not to disembark the plane. For about half an hour, some cleaning people came to, obviously, clean the plane. Only two persons boarded at Paris. I had a nice chat with a Dutchgirl while waiting.
We took off veeery quickly andwith the same crew. For this 40 minutes flight I thought there won't be any service, but we were offered a ham sandwich and orange juice, which I found very nice. After only 25 minutes in the air we were announced we were starting the descent over Schiphol. This flight was made just at 500 kmph and having 5,000 meters as cruising altitude. There were only 30 people onboard.
We arrived to Schiphol ahead of schedule, which is always good. The luggage arrived but only after waiting 30 minutes for it to appear. Strange.
Getting in and out of Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
I believe the best way to get to/from Schiphol is by train. From The Hague it only takes 25 minutes and just 10 from Amsterdam. The ticket costs (from The Hague central station) 6 euros. Services depart every half an hour.
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And here I was again. Less than 72 hours from landed at Schiphol, I was taking off again, this time for London. We choose bmi British Midland for this flight. It was only 10 euros more expensive than easyJet (70 euros + TAX instead of 60 + TAX) and it arrived to Heathrow, not Luton. I was surprised how the bmi boarding passes are really similar to the old Lufthansa's. The only big different was the colour- they are blue, not grey.
We (my parents and I) went to the bmi counters, which are located in Terminal 1, just next to Lufthansa's and SAS's. Since both my mom and I are Lufthansa Silver we checked in at Business Class counters, which were empty. We then headed for the passport control (the UK is not a Schengen country) and X-Ray.
Once in the airside of the airport, we paid a look in the free shop, but didn't buy anything. We then went to our gate, D18. Our plane arrived a bit after we did, and it was bmi's A321 painted with the Star Alliance c/s, which was really cool.
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to London Heathrow (LHR)
17 January 2004
bmi British Midland BD104
Airbus A321-200
Delivered on 22 February 2002
G-MIDL
Seat 21A (Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 11:30/11:45 (GMT +1)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 11:45/12:00 (GMT)
[photoid=214598] [photoid=192484]
As soon as we entered the plane we were greeted by a very British flight attendant. She said "Good morning, sir" or "Good morning, madam" to everyone but to me. She told me "Hey there, what's up?" and that made me laugh. I took a newspaper we were offered and went to my seat.
bmi's seats are really comfortable and the leg-room OK. We did a very long taxi to reach our really remote runway. After take off we were offered some sodas and peanuts. Our flight attendant was from Spain, so we had a nice chat with him. He was really funny.
We had to do 15 minutes of tourism over the British country before landing at Heathrow. I spent them paying a look to bmi's Voyager in-flight magazine. It isn't great, but it insults British Airways every time it can, so that was funny. E.g.: "Join our Diamond Club- you will be a Gold member 14 times faster than with British Airways!".
Landing at Heathrow was good and our luggages appared very quickly. Passport control was also done in a breeze.
Getting in and out of London Heathrow (LHR)
I am a fan of public transportation and this is not the exception. The Piccadilly subway line gets you in less than half an hour in central London for 3.60 pounds. There are two stations: Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3 and Heathrow Terminal 4. To connect from Terminal 4 to the others or viceversa, take the first train to Hatton Cross and change there.
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The Piccadilly line beeing under reparations this last weekend, Transport for London advised people going to LHR to be prepared for a 1-hour journey. We had to take the Tube to Acton Town and change there for buses, that went non-stop to Heathrow. It all took only 25 minutes.
When we went to the bmi counters we were asked to please come back in half an hour, which we did. After getting our boarding passes we entered the airside of Heathrow. We tried to get into bmi's lounge but that wasn't possible because we are Star Alliance Silver and only Star Alliance Gold can do it. Damn it.
However, I bought a The Guardian newspaper and read it. Meanwhile my parents went to do some shopping.
We went for a coffe in Costa and then headed for our gate, number 36. We waited about 15 minutes there and boarding started.
London Heathrow (LHR) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
24 January 2004
bmi British Midland BD 113
Airbus A321-200
Delivered on 16 July 1999
G-MIDJ
Seat 12A (Economy class - window)
Estimated/Actual time of departure: 18:15/18:20 (GMT)
Estimated/Actual time of arrival: 20:25/20:20 (GMT +1)
[photoid=216730] [photoid=182281]
I was a bit upset that this bird was still carrying the old livery, which is way less smarter than the new one. This flight was only 60% full, which sounds normal for a Saturday-night one. This was strange for me, considering my two last flights had been very loaded: Varig's 95% and the AMS-LHR bmi, 100%.
After reaching the cruising altitude we were offered some sandwiches and soda, which was better than the peanuts of the other flight. Flight attendants were very friendly.
Flight went without any problem and spent it all reading my The Guardian because it was dark outside.
Once we arrived at Schiphol passport control went like a breeze, but again baggage took half an hour to appear. What the hell is going on with Globe Ground Amsterdam? Hope they will change soon.
Marks (/10)
Lufthansa LH 4681 AMS-FRA
Ground Staff: 5
Plane: 7
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 8
Flight: 10
Varig RG 8741 FRA-GRU
Ground Staff: 10
Plane: 6
In-Flight Entertainment: 6.5
Cabin Attendants: 9
Flight: 7
Pluna PU 231 GRU-MVD
Ground Staff: 8
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 7
Flight: 9
Pluna PU 228 MVD-GRU
Ground Staff: 9
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 8
Flight: 10
Varig RG 8720 GRU-AMS via CDG
Ground Staff: Not Applicable
Plane: 8
In-Flight Entertainment: 10
Cabin Attendants: 7
Flight: 9
bmi British Midland BD 104 AMS-LHR
Ground Staff: 10
Plane: 9
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 10
Flight: 8.5
bmi British Midland BD 110 LHR-AMS
Ground Staff: 8.5
Plane: 9
In-Flight Entertainment: Not Applicable
Cabin Attendants: 9
Flight: 9.5
So, let's do some Math:
Lufthansa: 7.5/10
Varig: ~ 8/10
Pluna: ~ 8.4/10
bmi British Midland: ~ 9.18/10
Conclusions
Lufthansa still is the world's number 1 airline for me. They are good, the new seats are not bad and service is always fine. If they only were a bit more generous with the leg-room it would be great.
Varig was also great. They took ver much care of me by upgrading me to Business. I did not miss my connecting flight, which was good. Their Business class needs to be upgraded quickly. I would not pay for it, except if flying to any of their destinations operated with 777. The 777 was simply magnificent.
Pluna was OK, like always. They do their job, planes are a bit old but well maintained. I simply wish them all the best.
I was really surprised by bmi. I was hoping something like a Ryanair with food and it was an excellent airline. I would not hesitate to fly them again, only after Lufthansa.
I hope you enjoyed my trip report. I am sorry for the English mistakes. Comments and questions are welcomed.
Cheers
Marcos