- Introduction
- American Airlines Admirals Club New York JFK
- LAN Business Class: New York to Lima
- LAN Economy Class: Lima to Cusco
- Machu Picchu
- LAN Economy Class: Cusco to Lima
- Radisson Decapolis Miraflores
- SUMAQ Lounge Lima
- LAN Business Class Lima to Easter Island
- Easter Island
- LAN Business Class: Easter Island to Santiago
- Santiago
- LAN Neruda Lounge Santiago
- LAN Business Class: Santiago to Lima
- LAN Business Class: Lima to New York
- Yotel New York City
- American Airlines Transcontinental Business Class: New York to Los Angeles
After going through immigration, I dropped my bag off at the domestic check-in counter, only to have them reapply another tag to my bag. So much for checking it all the way through in New York. The ticket agents were worried about the frequent flyer numbers on my tickets. Although both the JFK-LIM and LIM-CUZ segments were booked through British Airways (one pre-Avios, the other post-Avios), the first ticket had my BA FF number while the second had my AAdvantage number. Both agents wanted to make sure that the correct program was on each, even though neither ticket would earn miles.
There was a plethora of Americanized eating options in the terminal pre-security, but I declined to sit down until past security, as I didn’t know how long that would take. Turns out when you can keep your shoes, your liquids, and your dignity, security doesn’t take that long.
I found an ATM and withdrew a few hundred Peruvian soles (S/2.66 for $1 at the time) and was pleased to find that the terminal offered free wi-fi. One of the cafés in the terminal had power outlet stations, so I grabbed a necessary S/8.00 cup of coffee, electing to pay cash to break a large bill (I know, I could have gotten ~6 Chase Ultimate Rewards points … terrible).
There are 14 domestic gates at LIM; gates 8-14 are on the spacious upstairs level and each gate is connected to a jet way. My flight left from gate 4, on the downstairs level. It’s amazing how stark the contrast is from gates 1-7 and gates 8-14. The lower level seems almost like a separate Low-Cost Carrier terminal, with snaking lines around seating areas for flights boarding not more than 10 feet from each other. This A319 boarded from a remote position, so a bus was required to get to the plane.
LAN 2047 operated by LAN Peru
Monday February 6, 2012
Lima (LIM) – Cusco (CUZ)
Depart: 09:05am
Arrive: 10:10am PET
Duration: 1h05m
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Seat: 2L (Economy – Window – Extended Legroom)
I had preselected 6A on the LAN website but was given 2L at JFK. This turned out to be beneficial, as the first 3 rows of the aircraft have extended legroom. While the service was definitely economy, the extra legroom was appreciated.
The sole service was a snack box and drink about 35 minutes into the flight.
Due to weather in CUZ, we circled the area for about 15 minutes before coming in to land. The pilots came in hot and fast, probably one of the fastest landings I’ve ever experienced. For a few seconds, I had a gut-wrenching feeling that we were on track to overrun the end of the runway, but it turns out the pilots simply wanted to turn-off at the middle of the runway so as to not have to double back.
Unlike at LIM, we got a jet way at CUZ. I collected my bag and made my way outside for a taxi to my hostel. The going rate for taxis in the airport is S/25-. If you go outside the airport, one can find a taxi around S/12- to S/15-. Determined to save whatever money possible, I tried to head toward the airport exit, but found a driver who was willing to negotiate down to S/20- from the airport. A bit tired, I took it, although I had to constantly decline his offers to take me to buy Machu Picchu tickets/train tickets/hotel rooms the entire ride. “Ya tengo, señor. Y ya pagué.”
