South American Adventure - Easter Island

1. Booking
2. DEN-IAD-ATL-MIA
3. Miami
4. MIA-SCL
5. SCL-IPC
6. Easter Island
7. IPC-SCL
8. Santiago
9. SCL-MVD
10. Montevideo
11. MVD-SCL-MIA-IAD-DEN

I had a few expectations for Easter Island.  First, since their economy is based on tourism, I expected a well-developed tourist infrastructure; secondly, I expected the moai statues to be impressive; and thirdly, I expected a beach.  Two of the three expectations were met. 

The neon blue waters around Easter Island

The Explorer Hotel looks like the only place at a Holiday Inn Express level or better.  Unfortunately it was booked.  I wound up at a place that had 3.5 stars on Expedia that turned out to be a decrepit dump at $80 a night.  Just be careful when booking as these hotels change their names to get a clean slate of reviews.  My hotel was very old, but just changed names, so there were no customer reviews.

Main Street in Easter Island

Easter Island is about as far west as Phoenix, but is in New York’s time zone, so it stays very bright very late.  I had plenty of time to see the park at the southern end of the island.  It’s a 3-4 hour round trip hike from town and uphill, so try to bum a ride if you can.  A nice foreign exchange student from Seattle offered me a ride up the hill.  The park has some rock carvings, old stone huts, and great views.  The hike down the hill is nice and brings you to the airport and town.  The weather was perfect and the water was an amazing shade of blue.

Easter Island National Park

Once in town I arranged for a 24 hour ATV rental so I could get around the island the next day.  There are a few rental places on the main street in town and it costs about $60 for a day.  There are a few restaurants in town too, but none seemed very popular.

LAN oneworld plane from Polynesia

The next day I woke up to find it raining, seriously heavy rain.  Like raining so hard I left my digital camera in the hotel and just took my underwater disposable.  I only had one full day on the island, so I went out in the downpour to see what there was to see.  I drove along the eastern coast to get to the other national park and see the sights along the way.  The roads are in generally poor shape outside of town and the ground is covered with volcanic rock or poop.  It’s hard to tell the difference usually.

Easter Island is a very empty place

There are some status and rock carvings along the way, but the island is very barren and desolate.  It is almost creepy.  I arrived at the national park that was the quarry for the moai statues.  This park is up to a medium level of difficulty for hiking around.  There was also no signage explaining what you were looking at.  The park is very impressive with dozens of status dotting the side of the hill and great views of the island and sea.  This is the one place you have to go to on your visit.

Moai on Easter Island

A short drive down the road is the most impressive restored moai collection.  All the signage there explains how the Japanese helped restore it, with nothing explaining what it is. 

I found the very small beach at the top of the island.  The sand was almost pink and it looked amazing.

More moai statues on Easter Island

The one nice road goes from the beach to the airport; it was the only route that didn’t kill my back.  The infrastructure is lacking all around the island.  No signage, generally bad roads, crappy hotels, stray or wild animals everywhere, but it doesn't phase to locals and the tourist weren't likely to return anyway, so why invest?

Beach on Easter Island

At night, the island seems over run with cockroaches.  During the day, stray dogs take over.  You can see what you need to with only 24 hours on the island.  I took 48 because I thought the island was much larger than it is.  It also let me see it again when the rain stopped so I could use my digital camera.  I’m glad to have seen it, but don’t feel a need to return.

Not much there

South American Adventure - SCL-IPC

1. Booking
2. DEN-IAD-ATL-MIA
3. Miami
4. MIA-SCL
5. SCL-IPC
6. Easter Island
7. IPC-SCL
8. Santiago
9. SCL-MVD
10. Montevideo
11. MVD-SCL-MIA-IAD-DEN

I made it into Chile without having to pay the $140 reciprocity fee and was excited for my trip to Easter Island.  I had about ninety minutes to kill before boarding, so I decided to wander the terminal and then hang out in the lounge.   The ground side of Santiago’s airport is pretty small and there isn’t much to see.  I went through the domestic security and did not have to take off my shoes, remove my laptop, worry about liquid restrictions, or have a naked image of me taken.  Accordingly, the line moved fast.  There isn’t much on the domestic side of the airport, with good reason, someone can show up 30 minutes before their departure and should catch their flight.

I went looking for the LAN lounge only to find that both locations are on the international side of the airport.  There was a pay lounge (or Platinum Amex/ Priority Pass) available, but I didn’t bother.  Instead I found a nice window and pulled out a magazine I had packed.  The time went by quickly.

Santiago Chile Airport

Boarding started a little behind schedule, but went quickly.  LAN boards flights by row number and lines up everyone at the start.  Business class boarded first and I was jumping my way down the jet bridge with excitement.  I was stopped at the aircraft door because the crew was still preparing the plane.  After about 5 minutes, I took my seat and quickly settled in.  The 767 Business class to Easter Island is the same as the long haul international business class on LAN. 

LAN Business Class Meal to Easter Island

The flight boarded quickly and we were underway early.  A quick breakfast service was served soon after we crossed the coast line.  It was a simple (bland) omelet with veggies.  I wasn’t that hungry as I just had a similarly bland breakfast three hours prior on my last flight.

It is five hours over the ocean to Easter Island and I tried to sleep for most of them.  The flight attendant gave me a comforter and I quickly fell asleep.  I can sleep in United’s coach if I’m tried enough, so even though LAN’s business class seats aren't the most comfortable, I was out like a light.

Entrance to IPC terminal

I woke up about 45 minutes before landing and watched part of a movie.  I had a great view of the island as we came in to land.  Easter Island is a very small dot in a very large ocean.  We taxied to the terminal and the whole island seemed to come and meet the flight.  They use stairs at the front and back of the plane, then its a quick walk across the tarmac to the terminal.  There was a band playing and people with leis.  Before you enter the terminal building, purchase a national park pass from the small desk on the left.  It is $50 there, but $60 at the parks.  They also load you up with maps.  I quickly walked through the building and tried to find my name among the scores of drivers picking up passengers.

Duluth International Airport, A Favorite I've Never Flown

I like Duluth International Airport, it is one of my favorite airports in the world really and I’ve never flown out of there.  Duluth strikes me as a plucky little contender that wants to hit above its weight.  I subscribe to their email list and frequently get updates on them adding new destinations, frequencies, and even airport sponsored promotions.  Only Allegiant, Delta, and United have scheduled service, but the airport tries hard to give people incentive to fly with them instead of driving to MSP.  Duluth is a small airport and is more likely to have higher fares, but they offer unique benefits to help draw in customers.

DLH, Trying innovative ways to grow traffic

Here are some examples of how Duluth tries to grab customers and attention. They give United passengers three days of free parking, a big step to help bring down the total cost of a trip.  They run frequent promotions for free tickets.  I got one in my inbox today to promote the Allegiant flights and a few weeks ago, they were giving away United tickets to celebrate the two year anniversary of service to ORD.  They are also building a new terminal to enhance the passenger experience.  This is most likely a giant waste of money due to the low traffic numbers and the existing terminal seemed fine anyway (see Indianapolis for a larger scale example), but is another way they are trying to pull in customers.  Plucky little Duluth airport is fun to follow and I’d like to see more airports try to compete with innovative and creative solutions. 

South American Adventure - MIA-SCL

1. Booking
2. DEN-IAD-ATL-MIA
3. Miami
4. MIA-SCL
5. SCL-IPC
6. Easter Island
7. IPC-SCL
8. Santiago
9. SCL-MVD
10. Montevideo
11. MVD-SCL-MIA-IAD-DEN

I arrived at MIA very early for my flight because I wanted to see everything LAN had to offer.  Turns out I was a tad optimistic.  There was a dedicated check in counter for Business passengers with no line, while there were over 60 people in line for the coach counter.  Check in was fast and I was given my MIA-SCL boarding pass and a lounge invitation. 

Last time without a line

MIA, if you are not connecting, is a nice airport.  There were plenty of good views, I saw the Lufthansa A380 push back, decent food options, and great duty free shopping available.  There wasn’t even a line at security.  I stopped into most of the shops in south terminal and then went to the LAN contract lounge, Club America – J.  The lounge has a First Class side and a Business Class side, both had the same offerings.  I was directed to the smaller First Class side.  The lounge had free wifi, light snacks, soups, sodas, and off brand liquor.  Like many lounges there is a shortage of outlets and they are not easy to access.  There was a computer room with a few machines for shared use (though most users didn’t feel inclined to share).  The food offerings were mostly chips and cookies with a few finger sandwiches that were never refilled; I was generally disappointed after enjoying the wide spread offered by Lufthansa earlier in the trip.  Also, the lounge became very full, lots of poorly behaved kids, later in the night just before most of the LAN flights started go.

Club America - J, before the rush

LAN doesn’t board on time or in a very organized manner anywhere in their network.  Boarding started about 25 minutes late for no apparent reason.  I was at the front of the mess and made it on board without too much pushing around.  The Business cabin on the 767 had new lay flat seats with a 15in screen.  The cabin was 5 rows of 2x2x2 seating and 100% full.  I had a window seat and was quickly situated.   

One of several LAN 767-300's at MIA

LAN Business Class Seat

When the airline has no first class, what type of food service in the highest class should you expect?  I hope hoping for first class presentation, first class attention, and business class portions and courses.  It wound up it was all business class, but with coach class service.  The drink service started about 40 minutes after takeoff, a long wait for such a late departure.  Airlines should be quick to start service to maximize sleeping time on overnight flights like this.  I started with a salmon appetizer accompanied with salad and cheeses.  That was followed by a small fillet with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies.  I opted for ice cream for dessert.  The meal was good and the wines offered were excellent South American offerings, but this was offset by slow and not attentive service (there was a long stretch when my wine and water glasses were empty).

Appetizer - LAN Business Class

Main - LAN Business Class

Desert - LAN Business Class

After dinner I settled into my seat to watch a movie before bed.  The was a large selection and wide variety of films to pick (I watched 500 Days of Summer and it was a real bummer).  After the movie, I put my seat down to the flat position and went almost right to sleep.  The seats are described as parallel to the floor flat seats, not angled flat.  It’s true, but it felt like each seat section was a little bit lower than the last, like a stepped configuration.  This made it feel more slanted than I liked, but I drank a lot of red wine and it was late, so I was out like a light in any setting.

Breakfast was offered before arrival.  I opted for the full breakfast served 45 minutes before arrival over the quick bite meal served just before landing.  The meal consisted of scrambled eggs, potatoes and some fruit.  It was very bland.

Full Breakfast

The plane landed on time and there was a quick taxi to the gate.  Once the seatbelt sign came off two flight attendants rushed down the aisle and closed the curtains separating coach. I’ve never seen this before, but it’s a cool way to keep business class passengers from feeling rushed.  SCL charges a $140 fee to Americans to come into Chile (not charged for international transit passengers), but I used Irish passport and avoided the charge.  LAN does not give out customs fast track passes, so the immigration line took about 40 minutes to clear.  After customs, I went through a duty free shop, down to baggage claim, through agricultural inspection (all your bags will go through a screener), and finally into Chile.  Plan on it taking an hour without checked bags and 90 minutes with.

Chase Freedom vs. Amex Open

Chase Freedom is offering 5% back this quarter on Amazon.com and gas.  Sounds great, but my SPG Small Business Amex (same cost as the personal version, but more rewards) offers me 5% back on Amazon.com plus SPG points all the time.  The Open Savings program gives me a 5% rebate (posts in a few days) on my spending at Office Max on purchases over $100.  Office Max sells gift cards for Amazon.com, eBay, and many other retailers.  I also earn SPG points like usual on my purchase. There is an Office Max a short walk from where I work, so its no trouble at all to grab some gift cards (and office supply stores are fun to wander around). Chase Freedom is not looking that great this quarter, but it picks up next quarter.

Time to Panic

The new year means all your status trackers reset to 0.  I'm starting to freak out over this because I have a greatly reduced slate of business travel in 2012, so I need to make up more out of pocket.  I used to be able to become a 1K in October only with business travel.  Now I'm lucky to gather 20,000 miles for work travel.  

0's Scare Me

It's time to start collecting any cheap miles I can find.  Lucky for me, Southwest is starting new service to Providence, RI and United may match Southwest's low introductory fares, so cheap same day weekend trips may be out there.  

Points Inflation Strikes Again

It’s been a rough few months for points inflation. British Airways killed their zone based reward charts that had some great values and moved to a segment mileage pricing model.  Now My Coke Rewards has raised the price of a free soda from 30 points (24 points when I joined) to 40 points, a 33% increase.  Luckily I didn’t have a large balance in either program so I did not lose very much. 

It was 30 points last week

This does serve as a warning against sitting on large balances in programs because the prices can change without warning.  I have a diversified mileage collection with several carries, several hotel chains, and credit card points holdings.  Once you have enough for two round trips in first to anywhere you would want to go (or about 300,000 miles), you should think about diversifying your holdings.