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In this new flight report, I tell you how to fly from San Cristóbal Galapagos to Guayaquil with LATAM Ecuador and additionally, we tried the paid service on board LATAM Market in an Airbus A319.
Thanks to the support of LATAM Airlines Ecuador, travel to Galapagos, specifically the Island of San Cristóbal to carry out the installation of a new receiver of Flight Radar 24 that is already operational. Within this opportunity, I will be able to tell you how this experience is and how it works already in flight, the LATAM Market.
ticket purchase
Shopping at LATAM.com is easy, It is not for nothing that the airline has received various recognitions and awards for its e-commerce platform.
The basic steps are as follows:
- Selection of destinations, date and number of passengers.
- Rate Selection.
- Selection of additional.
- Personal data of the passengers.
- Payment.
Payment in Ecuador can be under two modalities. The first under reserve that lasts 24 hours to be able to pay the same in 2 national banks and credit card, where all cards are accepted and even, Diners Club.
Additional services
With the implementation of LATAM's new way of flying on domestic flights of all its subsidiaries, that resembles a low cost or low cost modality, the airline now offers cheaper basic fares, but instead you sacrifice food service and the free suitcase of 23 kilos we were used to.
With the new model the additional services are:
- Suitcase in hold.
- seat with more space (first row and emergency exit).
- seats further forward (second and third row).
- preferred row (accessed when buying seats with more space or forward).
- LATAM Pass Customers Black Signature Category, Black and Platinum access the above points free of charge.
- Special needs.
Luggage
With the new way of flying, the lowest and most basic airline fare, called Promo Rate and the Light Rate do not include any luggage, but if, hand luggage up to 8 kilos of weight.
The first extra baggage costs $10, the second $20 and the third (maximum 3 suitcases) $70.
Details about baggage handling on domestic LATAM Airlines flights can be found here: www.nlarenas.com/2017/07/llega-mercado-latam-ecuador/
Check-In
LATAM allows web check-in from 48 a 2 hours before your flight. This can be done from their website and print the boarding pass or send the electronic pass to your email.
Too, from the airline mobile app, which you can perform the check-in and obtain the boarding pass directly.
If you use the application or requested that the electronic pass be sent to your email, you don't need to print anything, just show boarding pass, which is a QR code at the boarding gate or security controls and that's it.
Airport and Boarding
If you don't have suitcases, with electronic or physical check-in and boarding pass, you can go directly to the boarding gate.
But if you need to send a suitcase to the hold, you must go to the check-in counter at the airport. Being a flight to Galapagos, you must be at the airport at least 2 hours before flight departure, since the luggage goes through sanitary and nature inspection controls to prevent visitors from bringing animals, plants or other illegally.
in San Cristobal, Galapagos, the check is quite fast by the airline staff, who serve 3 passenger checkpoints, so there are no queues, even more so when taking into account that with the new way of flying, passengers prefer to carry their carry-on baggage 8 kilos and not pay for extra luggage.
A characteristic in the boarding process in San Cristóbal and that does not occur in other airports, is that the boarding pass is reviewed by the airline staff moments before the passengers enter the immigration and security filters of the airport. from that point, passengers go to the waiting room and then to the plane, since the control before going to the boarding gate of the airports, it was already done.
On board
as you read, on domestic flights, LATAM Airlines in all its subsidiaries only offers, free water to its passengers, but has a range of various local Ecuadorian products along with sandwiches, drinks and snacks. These products change according to each country.
How could we not pass up the opportunity?, since on short flights within Ecuador like a Quito – Guayaquil the LATAM Market is limited to snacks and coffee due to the promptness that the service requires, is that the flight to Galapagos from 1 hour and 30 minutes is the perfect route to test this service.
In flight
During flight, passengers can connect to the LATAM Entertainment WiFi network to be able to use the onboard entertainment system.
This system must be installed on each mobile device such as laptops, tablets or cell phones. LATAM Entertainment has a wide variety of movies, series, song, documentaries, others and a map to follow the flight in real time.
noteworthy, that if they use this service that has no cost, they must have their device in Airplane Mode, enable WiFi only, but above all, wear hearing aids, since nobody wants to be bothered with the noise of a movie during the entire flight.
an interesting detail, on all flights from Quito to Galapagos and return, safety announcements were made with audio and demonstration by the crew and not by the overhead screens.
Conclution
LATAM Airlines Ecuador service on domestic flights, personally, I consider that it maintains the standards prior to the implementation of the LATAM Market.
The warmth of the crew remains, the cleanliness and condition of the plane as well, in punctuality there are no doubts, since during the 2017 It was the most punctual in Ecuador, but the only change is that there is no longer the free candy that they gave before, instead there is free water and a wide range of products at prices that are acceptable and close to what they cost in any airport.
I have received some comments indicating that the general service of the airline has declined and has been affected since its change from LAN to LATAM, but I couldn't find that turning point where you can say yes, the service has changed.
At least in Ecuador, for such short flights 30 minutes on the continent and 1 hour and 30 minutes to Galapagos, the service is more than enough and within the standard we are used to in the country.
The LATAM Market changed the way of seeing the airline, but some people have seen it as a sophistication of the service, what should be indicated, the products have a very good quality and the price is not high when compared to what those same products would cost inside an airport.
Additional data
- To fly to Galapagos, they should always buy the immigration card ENGLISH TCC, which has a cost of $20 dollars for Ecuadorians, $50 for countries of the Andean Community and Mercosur, and $100 for the rest of the tourists. Never lose this document, otherwise, they will have to pay the full value again.
- at the airport of departure (only Quito and Guayaquil) luggage will always be checked for inspection of merchandise prohibited from entering Galapagos, same for output.
- The entry and migratory control to the Islands must be carried out with a passport for foreigners and an ID for Ecuadorians.
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