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Home  >  IAD • TACA • Trip Reports  >  Washington Dulles to San Salvador on TACA
IADTACATrip Reports

Washington Dulles to San Salvador on TACA

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 10, 2010December 6, 2016 2 Comments

This is the first 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
—————————–

Last April I took a weekend jaunt down to Panama City on a $170 r/t fare from IAD on TACA. I had heard some bad stories about TACA from my friend Dave, but it seems TACA has really improved the last few years. Although I only flew in economy class on this trip, I was impressed with the onboard service.

 

TACA 581

IAD-SAL

A321

4 hrs, 35 min

Check-in was a breeze. I had checked in online the previous night and quickly had my boarding pass reprinted by a well-staffed check-in desk toward the center of the Main Terminal at Dulles.

TACA flights depart from Terminal B. At the gate, I inquired about an upgrade and was told that there were seats available for $199. Not knowing what TACA business class seats were like or the service levels I would recieve onboard, I passed.

Boarding was done from front to back, though it was more of a free for all. Onboard, the A321 was clean and modern with leather seats throughout the cabin. Legroom was tight, but not unbearable. There were no individual IFE units; only overhead monitors. By the time boarding concluded, every seat was full. We departed about 20 minutes late.

Once we leveled off, meal service began. A hot lunch was served with two choices offered, chicken or pasta. The chicken dish featured chunks of chicken thighs with yellow rice—quite tasty. Both lunches included a cold bread roll with butter, a small Milky Way bar, and a frozen Dole fruit/ice cream cup.

I was working on a legal brief during the flight so I did not tune into the IFE, but there were a few music channels and a Hollywood movie shown.
A couple more beverage runs were made after meal service and the flight crew was very affable, though their English skills were limited. We landed on-time in SAL.
TACA met my expectations. I wouldn’t say they are better than Mexicana, LAN, or Avianca, but they are on-par and offer a very respectable product. As an added bonus, they are a United Airlines partner so I also received miles for the flight.

A321 in SAL

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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2 Comments

  1. jose Cartagena Reply
    December 30, 2013 at 5:18 pm

    Hello,

    I read your article and saw that you mentioned that All Taca flights are on the B terminal. Can you confirm this, as i have purchased this flight for my mother and want to make this flight as easy as i can for her. Thank you.

    Regards,

    Jose

  2. Matthew Reply
    December 30, 2013 at 6:09 pm

    Hi Jose,

    I can confirm this is still true.

    -Matthew

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