TAM Airlines

JFK-GRU on B777 business class. In GRU the VIP lounge is well used and only has 3 bathrooms which is insufficient causing queues at times. There is only one shower room which is not enough in comparison to the number of passengers. On boarding we were met by a rude impolite crew. The seat is comfortable but not full flat. The entertainment system is fair and works well. Overall a poor experience.

JFK-GIG-GRU-JFK. I checked in through business class check-in entitled to star alliance gold member however it still took me more than 15 min just waiting for check-in. Boarding was messy with no particular order. Seat was tiny and recline as bad as US airlines. Attendants hardly understand English and the seat monitor was tiny with very limited channels. Return trip even worse even though it was same old A330. Other than good value I would not fly with them.

GRU-NAT roundtrip with connection at GIG in return leg. Planes were A320 poor legroom already default for this airline. No onboard entertainment on both GRU-NAT (almost a 4-hour flight) and NAT-GIG (3 hour-flight) routes. No announcements in English except in GIG-GRU leg. Free drinks and snacks despite the low-cost service level.

JFK–GIG–MAO–MIA in J class. Seats are outdated ground service poor and the domestic leg was awful. JFK to GIG on an A330 with a seat they call lie flat but actually is a sort of recliner where the backrest slides down but remains curved. Staff friendly food ok wine choices inspired and champagne a nice touch. Returning check-in at Manaus took over half an hour (only two agents on duty for a full 767) and another half an hour for security where there was no fast track. There was no lounge but after an hour standing in line it was close to boarding anyway. The 767 from Manaus has old-style recliners and ancient main screen IFE which is irritating if trying to read. There is no menu lunch arrived two hours after a 2pm departure and was awful. The four hour flight from Rio to Manaus is on a run down A320 cattle class throughout with poor seat pitch.

São Paulo GRU to Porto Alegre domestic flight. Delayed 1.5 hrs due unpredicted maintenance. The plane was replaced by a smaller model that did not have many reserved seats mine included. Was seated in vacant seat without a problem. Staff were nice and helpful. Snack of mixed nuts with premium quality beer soda or juice. Little for a lunchtime flight. I was pleased but not amazed - still much better than most Brazilian carriers. Flight arrived with one hour delay.

Flew from Rio back to London Dec 2011. Aircraft was the A330 which was spotless and staff could not be faulted they were in attendance for the whole duration. Drinks rounds were common place sweets hot towels offered. Only down side is the cattle barn they call a terminal in Rio!

I am from Brazil and live in the UK so use TAM almost every year. Although the service is reasonable there is always something to be desired. I book my flights well in advance leaving enough time for connections usually closer to the time they simply change the times making the connections rather challenging. In the last episode TAM changed the flight times in such a way that it left me with under 2 hours to connect. Anyone who has been to Brazil before will know that this is impractical as you need to go through immigration at the first international airport you land before proceeding to the domestic connection. We were stuck in long queues at immigration and long queues at the check-in desk to board the connection flight. TAM did absolutely nothing to prioritise us knowing we would be late. In fact TAM simply told us to remain in the queue and believe me everyone from that flight which needed to catch the onward flight "conveniently" missed the flight. We were then accommodated to the next flight which had a stop-over on the way and we left inside the aircraft parked by the gates for over two hours! In summary what was meant to be a very smooth flight turned out to be a nightmare with a total delay of 2.5 hours. Not great when you have toddlers with you!

I flew on an Airbus A321 from Brasilia to Fortaleza the aircraft is pretty good the space is fair but small. We all had power outlets on our seats and could use our mobiles in cruise flight. The food they gave us was a gilled cheese. The entertainment was good not great because we had shared TV's. The "reclining" seats were comfortable and the crew was kind.

Rio-London service. Was told it was direct when I booked. When I called on the day I was told there was a technical stop in SP. Turns out this Technical stop occurs every flight! So an unexpected 2.5 hr lay over in SP. Went to check-in at the business class desk in Rio my two window seats on both legs had been re-assigned. Poor English spoken at the desk and a shrug of the shoulders. Small pokey business lounge in the basement of the terminal. Then onto a bus and an all economy flight to SP. Again deplaned to bus small lounge so full people were standing up in the corridors. Onto a 777 and business class. Configured 2-3-2 so not much space. Plane looked like it had been flying for 25 years. Food was premium economy at best unimaginative and poorly presented. Ok entertainment good headphones and average staff. Uncomfortable bed which was not flat. Not a business class experience. It felt like a throw back to the 80s but at 2010 prices.

Buenos Aires-Rio de Janeiro. Business class with my wife and 2 sons. Airport staff were very helpful. The cabin was clean but my TV screen didn't work. The seat was comfortable but my wife's didn't work. The service aboard was poor and so was the food. Before departing the hostess offered only warm water. The inflight entertainment was non existent. Nevertheless the service for South American standards was acceptable.