I was up early again to check out and catch a cab to the
airport for the 7:50am flight to Santiago. The taxi trip only took 15 mins so
was at the airport nice and early and did not have to rush.
They were able to check me in all the way to Brisbane, and after clearing
security and immigration, I had a light breakfast with coffee whilst waiting
for departure. There was a 2 hour delay in leaving, allegedly due to the high
cross winds, however there were other aircraft taking off all the time, so
perhaps there was something wrong with the aircraft?
So I spent the time catching up with these notes, wandering and reading.
We finally boarded and I knew I had at least two hours to find the next
departure gate once we landed in Santiago. After landing, I found the LAN/TAM
VIP lounge which was only accessible through an elevator in Duty Free. This
lounge is new and is a One World lounge so QANTAS customers can make use of it.
Not that QANTAS will tell you that - I found out from the Internet. QANTAS
points you to the Admirals Club which is OK, but not as flash as the VIP
lounge. So, upon arrival, I was informed that the flight to Sydney was delayed
by about four hours, so I found an area to set up the laptop and continue
writing the MEPS post activity report. Four hours later we boarded, and I had
been granted another points upgrade so was in seat 14J - on the upper deck! I
have never been on the top deck of a 747, only the A380. There are not too many
seats up there and I had a spare seat next to me next to the window so moved
there instead.
I settled in for the 14 hour flight. There were no decent movies on the
in-flight entertainment system, so I watched a couple of shows I had downloaded
to my iPad instead. Lunch, which was really dinner, was beef and salad, which
was OK, but nothing to write home about really. It was then time to have a
sleep as I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I actually managed to
sleep for about 2 hours which was amazing. I didn't want to get too much sleep
as I knew I would have to sleep after arriving, in either Brisbane or Sydney,
at about midnight (after arriving at my hotel). However, my eyes had a plan of
their own and I fell asleep again sitting up. That took care of another couple
of hours, and after watching another movie on my iPad, it was time for dinner,
sorting myself out and getting ready to land.
Being in Business Class meant I was one of the first off the plane. All those
with connecting flights were told to look for their name and a corresponding
number on a white board and then see QANTAS ground staff for further
information. I found my name and number - #34, consulted with the ground staff,
got my new ticket information and hotel - The Stamford Plaza adjacent to the
domestic terminal. Got through Immigration without waiting for too long, and
then had to wait ages for my bag to materialize on the carousel. Customs was
next, and the two passengers in front of me, had not filled in their customs
form properly - they had not filled in question 11 - "have you been to
Africa, South America, and some other place in the last six weeks?" Given
our flight was the only arrival at that time, all the officials knew we had
come from South America. The blonde in front was asked where she came from -
"Chile" she said. She was then asked where Chile was, to which she
did not have an answer. She was asked again, and eventually she conceded that
Chile was indeed in South America!! So, by the time I got to the front of the
queue, I told the man that "yes, I have been in Argentina, which I know to
be in South America" and also told him that I had some muesli bars in my
possession that I had taken out of Australia, and was now bringing them back.
"Adios" he said, and I walked straight through. It certainly pays to
be honest and have a sense of humour.
I then had to find where the hotel shuttle buses left from - needed a cut lunch
to get there. Got to the Stamford Plaza around 10:30pm and by the time I
showered, etc, it was midnight when I turned out the light. Sleep did not come
easily due to the long sleep I had on the plane and the rushing I did to get
around.
I found out later the reason for the delay: the
aircraft that was to depart Sydney for Santiago had a faulty engine, so it had
to return to the dock, unload passengers and luggage, find another serviceable
aircraft, load it up. Also found out
that QANTAS mantra is “safety before schedule”, and I am quite happy with that.
One of the bar areas in the LAN / TAM lounge in Santiago
Our plane finally arrives in Santiago
Snow-capped Andes from the terminal ....
... and from the plane
My seat - #14J on the upper deck of the 747
Business Class on the top deck of the B747
My room - #1211 Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport
