Tried & Tested

TAM Airlines B777-300ER Business class

18 May 2010 by Tom Otley

BACKGROUND TAM flies once a day from Guarulhos International Terminal 1, Sao Paulo to London Heathrow Terminal 1, departing in the winter schedule at 2115 with flight JJ808X and arriving at 1500 the next day into London. The flight time is ten hours and 30 minutes.

On the Brazil to London route, TAM introduced B777-300ER aircraft in 2008 (it now has four of them) and at the end of 2009 it reconfigured the premium cabin to introduce a row of first class seating (four seats in total), so that on these aircraft there are four seats in first, 56 in business and 302 in economy.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS Arriving at Terminal 1 for international departures, just inside the door on the left there is a dedicated check-in for international business class passengers. After receiving my boarding card (TAM does not offer online check-in for international flights) I walked through security.

THE LOUNGE TAM has its own business class and first class lounge which is one floor up above the immigration area, accessed by lifts and an escalator immediately to your left. For some reason the London flight was departing from Terminal 2 airside, so anyone flying economy would have been redirected by security to Terminal 2 before being allowed airside. You would not want to do this if you’re a Star Alliance Gold Card holder, and so would have to show your card and explain you want to use the lounge.

The lounge was fairly small, though bizarrely it has a grand piano where at the time someone was playing some very polished hotel lobby music. He wasn’t in uniform, and so may either have been a talented passenger whiling away the time, or someone paid to help us do the same. There was a small selection of snacks and drinks, and free wifi.

Our flight was called an hour before departure, and, staying on this upper level, we walked for ten minutes over to Terminal 2 then down some escalators to Gate 27. There was no dedicated queue for premium passengers here, but I was told by an experienced TAM flyer that I should simply walk to the front of the queue and say I was business, which worked. I walked straight on board where I had my jacket taken and was offered a glass of champagne (or orange juice or water).

THE SEAT To the rear of the four seats in first class there is a dividing wall, and then the first of two cabins of business class seats. This first cabin has three rows of 2-3-2 configured seating (AC – DFG – HK). There is then a galley with two washrooms (one on either side) and then the second cabin of business class, which is larger, with rows eight to 12 in the same configuration. At first glance row eight in this cabin seemed to have more leg room, but this may be because the other rows in business class extend forwards under the seat in front, which is of course not possible for row eight since it is bulkhead.

At the rear of business there is the first of two economy class cabins. This one has only three rows of seats at the sides and four rows in the middle (the discrepancy being because of the two washrooms dividing this economy cabin with the larger one behind it). Economy is mainly 3-4-3 with a seat pitch of 32 inches, width of 17 inches and a screen size of nine inches.

For a seat plan of the aircraft, click here.

In the business class cabin the seats have a pitch of 63 inches and when fully-reclined have a length of 70 inches. The width is 20 inches and the screen size for the in-flight entertainment (IFE) is 15 inches. There are over 20 video channels, 11 music channels and all audio and video on demand (AVOD) meaning you can stop, start, pause and rewind (this is true in all cabins). The overall colour scheme is taupe, or a pale olive green for the surround to the seats, and a deep red for the seat covers and amenity kits which were handed out. There is a video of the seat in action on TAM’s microsite: http://www.passiontoflyandserve.com.br/pt/

The seat is very similar to the angled lie flat of airlines such as fellow Star Alliance member Lufthansa, as well as Air France. I found it very easy to sleep in, but then I am used to these seats and was very tired. There were no flight announcements to disturb sleep, which again, was welcome.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? The front row of the first cabin (row five) has advantages because there is a little footfall past you into the first class cabin (meals are prepared at the front of the aircraft for first class and the washrooms are reserved for those four passengers). That said, the front cabin is quieter than the main business class cabin, so I would go for row six, and any seat apart from the middle one of the three in the middle row (seat F). With the seats fully-reclined it can be difficult to get access to the aisle over your sleeping neighbour, but of course if you are in the aisle seat it’s just as difficult for the neighbour to climb over you. So in the event of an accident, would you prefer to fall on someone or be fallen upon? (I was fortunate, the aisle seat for my window seat remained unoccupied.)

In the main business class cabin the seats to avoid are the last row (12) because economy class may disturb, and possibly row eight since the washrooms and galley are immediately in front of you.  On this flight I was in 10H (aisle) and was undisturbed as I slept.

FOOD AND DRINK The menus were prepared by the acclaimed Brazilian chef, Helena Rizzo; the chef responsible for the award winning São Paulo restaurant, Mani, on Rua Joaquim Antunes, 210 in Jardim Paulistano (www.restaurantemani.com.br). Appetizers were a choice of green leaves served with smoked meca marinated with fine herbs and pink pepper or green leaves accompanied by smoked filet mignon roast beef with fine herbs and poached pear. There was also carrot and orange cream soup. Main courses were weakfish filet covered by creamy sauce with Pernot served with Seven Grain rice, leek and baked tomato; chicken fillet in mushroom crust in malbec jus served with mashed potatoes with mascarpone cheese and vegetables and agnolotti stuffed with ricotta cheese, nuts and raisins covered with creamy white wine sauce and concasse tomato sauce.

The wines were the same as served on the outward leg of the route. They had been chosen by Arthur Azevedo, CEO of the Brazilian Association of Sommeliers in São Paulo. The champagne was Drappier Carte d’Or;  whites: Weingut Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner (Kamptal, Austria) or Selbach-Oster Bereich Bernkastel QbA (Mosel/ Germany); reds: Fayat-Thunevin (Lalande de Pomerol, Bordeaux, France) or Ysios Reserva, Rioja, Spain.
I was very tired and so did not eat, so instead reclined my seat and slept for seven hours. When I woke a bottle of water had been provided. I then worked using the in-seat power for laptops.

A few hours before landing breakfast was served, a choice of scrambled eggs with bacon and chives served with tomato or warm ham and cheese sandwich.

ARRIVAL We arrived slightly early at London Heathrow and after a smooth descent had a very bumpy landing. I wasn’t sure if the applause from the forward business class cabin was ironic or just relieved.

VERDICT An excellent direct service in a very comfortable lie-flat seat. The food, however, on the basis of the outward flight and this breakfast on the return was disappointing.

PRICE A mid-week return in June starts at £2,246 (from TAM's website).

CONTACT tam.com.br

Tom Otley

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