This is the fifth of a six-part recount of my recent trip to Central America.
- Washington Dulles to San Salvador on TACA
- My Adventure in San Salvador
- Aborted Landing on TACA: SAL-PTY
- 24 Hours in Panama City
- Short-Haul Flying on LACSA: PTY-SJO-SAL
- Accused of Being a Terrorist: SAL to IAD on TACA
—————————–
The ride to the airport was much different than my ride from the airport. Rather than standing on a crowded bus, I shared a cab with a British guy on his way to Lima. I had spent my entire time in Panama City on the “dodgy” side of the island and as we passed massive high rises and casinos on the way to the airport, I was reminded that my time in the city was not nearly long enough to fully explore it.
I inquired about a business class upgrade again while checking in for my LACSA (a subsidiary of TACA) flight to San Jose, Costa Rica but was told business class was full. Once again, however, I was moved to the bulkhead on my next two flights.
Breakfast was next. I had allowed plenty of time to get to the airport and now had an hour to spare with no lounge access. A large restaurant above the check-in level offered a substantial breakfast menu and I ordered steak with scrambled eggs and potatoes. Let’s just say the steak gave United Airlines a run for their money…
LACSA 672
PTY-SJO
Embraer RJ-190
DEP: 8:35a
ARR: 8:45a
1 hr, 10 min
The ERJ-190 was again clean and modern. I had hoped to pick up where I left on my movie from Saturday, but the AVOD selection varied slightly. Most of the same movies were available, but not State of Play. Service was efficient for the short flight and a croissant with ham inside was served (cold).
To read about my unfortunate experience on the ground in Costa Rica, click here. All I will add is that I do include Costa Rica on the list of countries I have visited. I may not have a passport stamp (and it was a nifty one too), but I was somewhere during my 3.5 hours on the ground and I certainly had a chance to exchange conversations with the locals—the surly ones. I even got to go outside, on my way out to the remote gate for the A319 aircraft that would take me from San José to San Salvador.
LACSA 620
SJO-SAL
A319
DEP: 12:27p
ARR: 1:47p
1 hr, 20 min
The flight was packed and the cabin temperature was uncomfortably warm prior to liftoff. The all-male crew was not overly friendly, but did honor my request to store my painting in the front coat closet.
A small empanada was served, filled with a mystery meat that could have been chicken or could have been beef. I couldn’t tell, but it was good. The aircraft was not outfitted with individual IFE units, but the Canadian version of “Candid Camera” (just like on LAN) was shown during the flight, perfect for a multi-lingual audience. We landed on-time in SAL.
Your airport breakfast seems similar to UA’s in quality except you get a LOT of not so delicious food instead of a miniscule portion. Ever noticed how HUGE the mid-con breakfast is on CO compared to UA?
@HunterSFO: Have you tried UA’s latest breakfast yet. Honestly, I think it’s pretty darn tasty. Scrambled eggs with green peppers and cheese with a chorizo/potato hash on the side + sausage. Served with yogurt and a fruit bowl. No cinnamon rolls though, like on CO…
The breakfast steak above, though, was like UA’s nasty steak ex-IAD in Business Class.