Round The World and other travels

Flight Log 4 : JJ3558

Iguassu Falls, Brazil (IGU) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Boarding was via TAM's signature red carpet at the foot of the aircraft steps. As we settled - make that squeezed - into 6D and 6F, it immediately became apparent that the seat pitch was horribly tight : probably 30 inches and certainly worse than LAN. The booking strategy had worked again, but less remarkably so this time, as the flight was lightly loaded. Having said that, there was a most unusual concentration of passengers towards the front of the plane - certainly not what's usually done to keep the aircraft in trim. An unusual feature of the TAM cabin was that the middle seats on both sides were noticeably wider than the window and aisle seats, presumably as a sort of compensation for being stuck in the middle. Not a bad idea!

The distribution of sweets for departure was another unusual feature. Doing so for landing is more traditional, but even that is relatively uncommon these days. Thankfully, we were able to leave at 1300 rather than having to sit there awaiting our scheduled time. After performing a graceful pirouette at the end of the runway, we took off in the opposite direction to that in which the aircraft had landed. The in-flight offering consisted of a heated ham and cheese sandwich and some diet coke. At least it seemed marginally more nutritious than the LAN equivalent! As we cruised at 35,000ft, I managed to nod off for ten minutes or so.

Unexpectedly, we flew out over the ocean before turning back towards Sao Paulo. Seen from the air, the scale of the megalopolis is breathtaking : similar to Los Angeles, but with far more densely packed tall buildings. We touched down at Guarulhos at 1427 following a last-minute surge of power - oops! - and then deployed fierce reverse thrust.

Date: Fri 22 May 2009
Aircraft : Airbus A320
Scheduled dep : 1315
Actual departure : 1300
Scheduled arrival : 1450
Actual arrival : 1436
Cabin : Economy
Seat : 6F

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