Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 3 : LA4024

Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery (AEP) - Iguassu, Argentina (IGR)

Boarding started at 1125 and, as a oneworld Emerald, I was able to use the priority gate. The cabin was clean and new-looking, but the seat pitch was tight! There was a moveable curtain, but of course it would not be used on this all-Y flight. As the final passenger came on board, it became apparent that Bruce's booking strategy had worked well. The flight was very busy, but there were a couple of empty seats, and one of these was 6B. (He'd pre-assigned 6A and 6C in the hope that this would happen ; I daresay my Emerald status helped.) You didn't expect a pair of precious frequent flyers to do the full Economy experience, now, did you?

Although we were ready to go by 1140, we waited the ten minutes until our official departure time before pushing back and seemingly making our escape by squeezing our way past all the parked aircraft. Space really is at a premium at AEP! We made a very tight turn onto the runway - well in excess of 90 degrees - and by two minutes past noon, we were climbing out in the relatively clear conditions. The expected flight time was announced as 1hr 25mins.

The in-flight snack offering consisted of a somewhat over-packaged box, containing 9 (!) plain, dry crackers, a lemon biscuit and a chocolate teacake. I had some apple juice and a coffee to help moisten those crackers! Initially, pictures of Argentina were shown on the small overhead screens, including both Buenos Aires and Iguassu. This was followed by some extracts from the very funny Canadian TV show Just for Laughs, which I think must be the single most popular TV programme to be shown on airlines around the world. It certainly helped pass the time.

Touchdown at Iguassu was followed by severe braking, yet no reverse thrust, and when we turned off it was apparent that the runway wasn't particularly short. It was as though the pilot was desperate to achieve an on-time arrival. At such a quiet outpost, the doors were open within a couple of minutes. 

Date: Wed 20 May 2009
Aircraft : Airbus A320
Scheduled dep : 1150
Actual departure : 1150
Scheduled arrival : 1334
Actual arrival : 1332
Cabin : Economy
Seat : 6A

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