Aviation reporter Grant Bradley traveled on LAN's Dreamliner launch flight.
Grant Bradley takes a hop across the Ditch.
The flight: LAN LA800 on Thursday, April 23.
The plane: A near-new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Chilean airline has just started using the aircraft on its Santiago-Auckland-Sydney route, replacing ageing A340s that didn't offer the same fuel savings. Any new plane is better than an older one and the Dreamlineris a particularly nice aircraft, with larger windows being the most obvious point of difference - even if you're stuck in the middle you can see the sky. LAN has stayed faithful to Boeing's vision of a high dome entry "lobby area" in the Premium Business cabin, where all passengers board and enjoy the spaciousness, even if just momentarily. Other carriers have squeezed the dome area for seats and galleys.
My seat: 4A, a window seat in the second section of the business cabin, which has a 2-2-2 configuration. It's a full lie-flat experience (the A340 didn't quite go the horizontal), nice and wide at about 58cm. The styling of the seat area and the interior of Business Class is conservative, simple, and uncluttered without trying too hard to wow. There are 30 seats up front and 217 in economy where Seat Guru has the seats at a fairly snug 81cm pitch and 43cm width.
On time? About seven minutes later than the scheduled departure time but easy to cut some slack here. This was the launch flight for this Dreamliner service and LAN regional management were hosting VIPs, travel trade reps and a couple of journalists, allowing us to have a good look around the plane before other passengers got on board. So this wasn't quite a standard flight. We made up time and got into Auckland 15 minutes ahead of time. However, FlightAware had the same service running late in the days around my flight. The long haul across the Pacific from Santiago into varying wind strengths affects the schedule.
The price: I didn't pay for my ticket but this is where LAN comes into its own. What it lacks in frequency (just once a day to Sydney and back) and a sociable getaway from Auckland (it's a 6.15am departure), it makes up for with price. A Sydney return midweek business-class fare booked less than a month out is $783, and that includes three pieces of baggage of up to 23kg each. Other carriers which offer Business Class across the Tasman - Qantas, Emirates, Virgin Australia and Air NZ - don't get close on price in my quick survey. They are all are at least double LAN's fares.
The Chilean airline's one-way economy fares start at $135 and there's a generous allowance of two bags of up to 23kg each. The airline regards the Tasman as an add-on to its main trans-Pacific business and is prepared to use low price to fill planes. It will add even more capacity later this year with a longer 9-series Dreamliner which will have a slightly remodelled interior.
Business class on board the LAN Dreamliner. Photo / Grant Bradley
The food: Another strong point, although the mid-morning menu was modified on this launch flight. LAN wanted to showcase its long-haul offering so we got the lunch you'd normally get on a trans-Pacific flight.
The airline is using LSG Sky Chefs catering out of Auckland and the meal was superb. Plenty of choice (my roast lamb ribs were among the meatiest I can remember) and a large range of Chilean wines on offer although a celebratory pisco sour was my limit.
The service: From our debonair pilot, who was generous with his time and access throughout his plane, to the unruffled cabin crew, there was a relaxed charm about the whole experience with a bit of Latin flair thrown in for good measure.
Fellow passengers: Apart from LAN's guests there appeared to be around a 50-50 mix of Spanish and English speakers getting on the plane, which was full.
Many of those in economy had the grim resolve of those with a trans-Pacific haul ahead of them after the Auckland stopover.
Toilets: Two up the front with state-of-the-art Dreamliner fit-out - auto sensor flush and taps. Nice.
Entertainment: Business Class seats get a 15.4 inch screen, with plenty of viewing options although I didn't have time to sample much. Each seat has AC and USB ports for charging devices.
The airport experience: LAN business-class passengers in Sydney use the Qantas lounge (the airlines are in the Oneworld alliance) which is a very pleasant place to be with a nice view of the tarmac and the city and a great variety of food and drink.
The bottom line: At those Business Class prices it's well worth a look if you want to try the front end of a Dreamliner. The seat is huge, the service terrific and a little exotic, and the food is just fine. It was a rare case of a flight being a bit too short for my liking.
Grant Bradley is the Business Herald's aviation reporter.
