My entry in the Ephesus cat collection:
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Avianca is in complete shambles right now and shouldnāt be flown. But Copa and LATAM are fine.
(Iāve only flown Avianca and Copa. Neither was remarkable.)
I have read some horror stories on Reddit. But also people who fly it regularly without issues. It seems that if thereās no schedule change or anything, itās fine. But if thereās a problem like a canceled flight you can be fucked. Itās a shame, thereās a perfect direct flight from Bogota to LA but I donāt think I can risk it.
Korean Air and Delta donāt seem to have a great partnership jfc. Trying to change seats/upgrade on the Korean Air leg of a Delta flight and both airlines say the other airline has to handle it. Canāt do it online, clown show.
I havenāt flown to South America since the start of the pandemic, but LATAM is the most trustworthy of those three imo.
I have two cousins who worked for Avianca for a long time and when the company filed for bankruptcy they werenāt paid their benefits (one month severance per year of service, among other things). It was a very crappy situation, and I donāt know how the company has been doing since the bankruptcy filings.
Having said all that, BogotĆ” is Aviancaās main hub in South America, so likely they take care of the LAX-Bogota route pretty well?
I am so tempted to roll the Avianca dice, the BOG-LAX flight is head and shoulders above the other options. But the reviews on Tripadvisor, good lord.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Airline_Review-d8729028-Reviews-Avianca
Yikes! Though TripAdvisor LATAMās reviews donāt look that much better either.
But honestly, itās not much different than flying any of the major US domestic airlines. They all can be totally fine until thereās some unforseen event and unless you have status with the airline, itās a shitshow.
Iām reminding myself that very few people think āOMG that was a great experience, Iām going to go leave that airline a 5 star review.ā Of course all the people moved to take the time to leave reviews are livid.
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I am rolling the Avianca dice. I selected the highest class economy fare available and it allowed me to select the business-class style fold flat seats. I will be absolutely astonished if that works out but I guess weāll see!
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I flew Aeromexico business class when it was the same fare as economy on other airlines and it worked out great.
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The key is low expectations. As long as you go in with that mindset, youāll be fine.
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Lay flat seats are next to God. Iām completely spoiled for international travel. I donāt know if I can ever do coach again. The flight is just miserable, and add an extra day of jet lag on both ends.
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One of my superpowers is that I can sleep anytime, anywhere, in just about any position.
Unfortunately, my abilities are declining with age. Iām still good at sleeping but not elite.
But even now, with the right pill, I can sleep through an entire 10 hr flight. Just stick me in a coach window seat and Iāll be out for the whole thing. Thatās like a multi-thousand dollar value.
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I can get some sleep. But itās really crappy. And my back hurts. Being 6ā1 250 lbs doesnāt help.
I donāt fit in the Delta lay flat beds, never tried them on any other airline. Obvously theyāre way better than normal seats but I still get cramped up and sleep like shit. Upcoming flight to Singapore is going to be awful 
I used to work for one guy that would always buy two seats, first class ofc.
Sounds like youāve outgrown coachā¦ happens
I canāt think of a single first class seating arrangement Iāve ever seen where one could take up two seats. It would be useless in lay flats. And the others always have some kind of unmovable post between the seats.
They do couples seats and this guy canāt fit sideways in one seat
was meaning intercontinental - not seattle to vegasā¦ or mehico
Whatās a couples seat? And whoās they?
Iām talking about international too. There are no lay-flats from Seattle to Vegas. But even Seattle to Vegas thereās usually an unmovable divider between the two seats.