[Anonymous]

[FivestarFred]

Talk about going to Lisbon the long way just to try out a product. I did get the usual very cheap biz fare on this fifth freedom route. I connected from LCY on BA but hadn’t through checked so after being bussed to the terminal I collected my bag and took the sky train to terminal 1B and checked in at the LAN/TAM joint desks.

Check-in
Initially directed by agent standing by queues to use self check-in kiosk – lots of info required in Spanish (not sure if there was an English option) which I’d already inserted online then rejected after pressing a wrong button. Didn’t need to use the kiosk after all another agent told me. Short wait in business queue then quick check-in and bag tagged to final destination of LIS.

Lounge
Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge used by LAN which is above gate 42 (flight departed from gate 23 a short walk away) and is a nice and comfortable lounge with tarmac views. Small food offering and standard drinks. Lounge has many power sockets, high desks for laptops and a shower.

Boarding
No separate queue for business and everyone boarded through 2L just in front of the second smaller biz cabin.

Friendly welcome. Pointed to seat rather than escorted. Blanket and small pillow in overhead locker. Headphones on seat. Offered choice of pisco sour, champagne or water plus bowl of mixed nuts. Coats taken as required. Newspapers and magazines offered from a trolley but only Spanish and German.

Two sections of biz cabin separated by only a small wardrobe so looks like one huge cabin. Centre overhead lockers making cabin appear smaller than other 787s. Two toilets at the front. Cabin looks very new and was very clean.

Flight
Safety video shown at the gate and during push back. Pushed back on time at 19:35 and takeoff at 19:52. Flight time advised by captain as 2hrs. IFE available from gate to gate. 14in screen. Limited viewing options – a few TV shows and documentaries plus a few films.

Seats in 2-2-2 config totalling 30 biz seats with 29 taken up on this flight. Space under footrest for shoes and bags. Two nooks for quite far away next to TV screen for small items. Coat hook next to screen. USB and plug socket under centre armrest next to remote control and bottled water holder. Average sized tray table plus small shelf next to TV screen. Comfortable seat for lounging but pretty snug in bed mode for my 1.9m frame. Hardly any privacy though there was what appeared to be a small dividing screen but couldn’t see any means of raising it. You can see your neighbour’s TV screen clearly. Adjustable reading light plus a couple of buttons next to your head with MR and DND which I could only guess at the second one.

Warm towels handed out at 20:23 and meal service commenced from the front at 20:31 with the drinks served at the same time. No menus given out and no choice of meal offered. Small tray of food handed out containing a cold poached chicken breast with salad next to it and a small bowl of mixed sliced fruit and grapes on the side. Bread rolls offered from a basket. Selection of wines and beers available but you have to ask to see the bottles as no wine list either. Chilean and Spanish red wines on offer. Clear up of meal trays started at 20:55.

The crew were pleasant but I wouldn’t say very engaging.

I had a short rest after the meal and descent into Madrid commenced around 21:45. We landed roughly on time at 22:12 which gave an eventual flight time of 2hrs 20mins and I had just enough time to walk for ages to go through passport control, change terminals with the long skytrain ride, security check and make my next flight which departed at 23:10!

All in all a nice experience and cheap way to get tier points but I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it again especially if connecting. Quite a few people on my flight also had connections so we were all running like mad.

As an aside, the short IB flight to LIS was excellent. Granted only 4/14 seats taken but the crew were warm and engaging and the food was way better than the LAN flight.

[FDOS_UK]

FivestarFred – 22/04/2016 02:59 BST

Excellent review.

It reminded me of when I was a young kid travelling on business and rather than fly LBA or MAN-LHR-LIS, I’d go LBA or MAN-PAR-LIS (or some similar route) to get on a DC10 or some other ‘exotic’ bird using 5th freedom rights.

I’d forgotten that, thanks for prompting pleasant memories 🙂

[icenspice]

‘Running like mad’ made me laugh Five star Fred.

If you don’t mind, I would like to ask how many TPs you earned on the FRA-MAD sector and where you booked it?

Was the connection from T4 to T4S?

[JordanD]

Should be 40TPs – I’m due to do the same in the other direction (MAD-FRA) in May. Very interesting to read the details – look forward to trying the route out myself (and my first time on a 787).

One interesting thing to note is that it is operated as an extra-Schengen route, so passports and immigration must be done at both ends … am connecting at FRA onto LHR on BA, so intrigued to see if I can buy duty free in MAD and take through to LHR.

[SGJNI1961]

I did the round trip FRA-MAD-FRA last weekend. The lounge in MAD was a better place to spend time but both were ok.The flight was booked on the Lan website which was odd as they require 24 hours to confirm and I ended up ringing the call centre, the staff were very helpful but the connection was awful, it took a while. I saw dates when the RETURN fare in J was £99!!!!! F&B was basic as were the drinks and the seats are 2-2-2 but what do you need for 2 hours and 80 TPs? Crew were mostly invisible but friendly when serving. A hell of a walk out from T4S gate through to the hotel bus stop. FRA was empty on Friday but noticeably busier on Saturday. Used the JAL F lounge on the way back at FRA, it was small and very busy but ok for 40 mins I posted elsewhere about the Ramp tour option and Maple Lounge at FRA.

[FivestarFred]

I booked the FRA-MAD-LIS return on the LAN website and got instant confirmation. I also did this trip last weekend but interestingly the IB points have posted onto my BAEC account (40 tier points each way between MAD and LIS) but the LA ones haven’t yet. The extra cost to add on the LIS tag was minimal so a great way to get an extra 80 tier points. I had three hours in MAD on the return as that’s the only connection possible but it passed quickly.

Indeed the LAN flights are classed as international. I also connected on to BA at FRA on the return but didn’t through check my bag (forgot to ask) and so had to go through passport control and re-check. Not sure if I’d have been able to do an airside transit otherwise.

Used the JL lounge too. Lovely welcome as always but indeed small and basic lounge with no tarmac views.

There’s an additional full security check for the BA flight at the gate and we were again bussed to a remote stand.

[MartynSinclair]

You can do an airside transit between T1 & T2 at FRA. The same shuttle that does the landside transit ferrys the airside transits.

Half the transit is only accessible airside and the other half is only accessible landside. Same at the arriving terminal – half airside, half landide… clever.

However, I find arriving in T2 its just as quick to go landside than to faff about getting the shuttle airside… if transferring to T1…

[SGJNI1961]

My LAN TPs also have yet to appear. Agree with MartynSinclair about the shuttle train now that a fellow pax educated me on the way home and thanks for the suggestion of the JAL F lounge!

[B737-200]

After reading this and your report, I think I am that “fellow pax”, thanks for the invite to the JAL F lounge.

According to another forum, LAN can take up to 6 weeks to credit TP’s from this run.

[B737-200]

My LAN TP’s were credited this week, just under 4 weeks since the flight.

[SGJNI1961]

@ B737-200
Hi! I got my TP’s sometime last week. Nice to have met you and thanks for the help, saved me another bloody long walk. Glad you enjoyed our all too short time in the JAL lounge. Gliders with engines, just wrong!!! LOL.

[FivestarFred]

Interestingly my outbound tier points and miles posted a week ago but the return leg is still outstanding even though the flights were three days apart…

[B737-200]

@SGJNI1961 – I used to think the same thing but the more you think about it, the more sense it makes! I prefer the self-sustainer “Turbo” versions where you just pop out a small engine from the fuselage if you need it, saves landing in a field and waiting for a retrieve crew but the self-launchers are just a brilliant concept – best of both worlds!!

Anyway, I digress and take this thread off-topic, apologies.

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