TAM Airlines

Flight Puerto Seguro - Sao Paulo. The flight was planned for 2 hours in time for the connection from GRU to LHR. However half way through the plane circled for a long time while a heavy thunderstorm raced around. After one hour we landed in Rio De Janeiro which was only announced in Portuguese. Nothing in English which was surprising as English is regarded the main language in the airline world. Eventually we were on the ground for 3 hours lost our connection flight and during 3 hours only offered a glass of water from a crew which found more fun in entertaining themselves (and a few passengers) than explaining what was going on. For safety reasons it is OK to delay but information should be announced in main languages. When in GRU we were offered hotel and food and one-way taxi and was booked on next day flight to Europe. Rather slow but with good service from the staff in GRU.

No organization at check-in no proper boarding English announcements poor and service onboard is lacking. This is ignoring the absurd seats in the A320 in Business Class. It's reach for the global market is somewhat hampered if year after year they keep getting what the passenger wants wrong. Check-in for this GRU-MVD flight was one big fat holiday queue with cardholders business passengers and the poor souls who thought they were avoiding big lines by checking in online included. Why bother buying premium or using more miles or checking in TAM's subpar website before the airport rush? This mess continues at boarding. The agent was ghastly and barked at us. As for our bags they were ticketed on a different flight for reasons I am yet to understand. Lastly drinks were scant and food was dreadful and inappropriate for the flight. I added an extra star for the trip satisfaction only because despite all of that the quiet Business cabin was exactly that.

LHR to EZE via GRU. One way economy return in business. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the plane the food and the staff. The staff were very pleasant both ways. They don't constantly offer you drinks as you might get in BA but I could never afford business in BA. The lounge at EZE is good. Get drinks food wifi. The lounge at GRU is very busy but I had a great shower there. Totally flat bed in business. Economy was just standard as you would get anywhere. I would definitely fly TAM again.

Travelling between LHR and MVD for the Christmas holidays and back again. Original outbound night flight was cancelled which I discovered because I couldn't complete online check-in. I contacted my agent - they hadn't been informed of any cancellation. I then spent two hours on the phone to the TAM enquiries before being informed that the flight was in fact cancelled. Staff were rude ill-informed and unhelpful. The reason eventually given was mechanical failure. Flight was rescheduled for the next morning at 8 am. Once at Sao Paulo there was a further delay as once the plane was ready to take off the crew had just exceeded the number of hours they were allowed to fly. Return flight was on December 31st. Failure of the air-con system left us stuck on the plane for over an hour before being informed we would have to disembark and board another plane once it was ready. There was no further information within the airport and no apology from the airline no water pr refreshments provided and little help for those travelling with children. Due to land at LHR at 1.15pm on the 1st. Arrived at 6.15 pm. TAM proved itself entirely unreliable on both the outbound and inbound flight. I would have happily paid more for a flight which had managed to maintain its schedule.

Flew from SCL to GRU on B777 Seat 7K. Was in transit from Sydney so check in was not applicable. Flight delayed about 1 hour leaving Santiago with few updates as to reason. Flight crew were very polite friendly and hospitable. Menu variety was limited but most people would have been catered for. Wine selection very good with excellent choices from Chile Argentina and Europe. Seat is comfortable but is the inclined flat bed of which I am not a fan of. Most top quality airlines should have lie flat beds. Storage areas were large as too was the legroom. Overall a very pleasant experience.

EZE to GRU in business class on 330 Airbus. Seat recline worked intermittently and IFE had to be constantly rebooted so it was impossible to watch anything. No apologies from staff. No announcement made on arrival of the local time and we had a connecting flight and I hadn't noted that Brazil was an hour ahead of Argentina. Business lounges are not of the same standard as other Oneworld carriers. At GRU we changed planes 777-300 to LHR. Staff on this flight were more attentive and courteous. IFE worked but volume level at max was still too quiet. Breakfast order is taken in advance and nicely presented. Business seat was long enough for me but not for husband whose feet were trapped under the seat in front. I found the seat to be hard. Not bad quality for price paid.

GRU-GIG-GRU. Flew from Sao Paulo to Rio. Domestic cabin crew do not speak English. No English announcements. Flight delayed from GRU. If it wasn't for a gentleman sitting next to me I would not know the reason. I wrote a feedback to the airline to tell then my experience and there answer was " In Brazil there's no law that says that English announcements have to be made on domestic flights." Very surprised.

Sao Paulo (Congonhas) - Belo Horizonte. Early morning flight seat factor: 100%. New and clean Airbus A319. Nice and smiling cabin crew. A tasty sandwich offered for breakfast along with coffee tea and other cold beverages. Flight attendants did speak very good English. The ticket was not cheap but worth what I paid. Overall a pleasant experience. Took off on time and did land in BH 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

We flew from Heathrow via San Paulo to Lima and returned via Madrid to Heathrow during a package holiday to Peru and I have to say having read some of the reviews that we had very pleasant flights. The planes seemed new to me were clean and comfortable and the food not bad for airline food. I was expecting the worse but all the tit bits I took just in case were not needed. We even had snacks on the internal flights and free drinks so can't complain. However I would advise taking your own supply of water as once dinner had been served and the lights dimmed for the over night flight we saw no sign of the cabin staff until breakfast. The staff never cracked a smile though I can't say they were unhelpful they just didn't seem particular keen and friendly. The only time we saw a smile is when they asked an elderly lady to move seats and then promptly sat an off duty air hostess in the vacated seat because there was an empty seat alongside! A lesson learned if I'm asked to move seats I want to know why I wouldn't mind for a family to be together but not for cabin crew to have a better seat. Saying all that I would fly TAM again! I have certainly flown in better but I have also flown worse so if cost is an issue or its part of a holiday package then don't worry too much. Happily our luggage was fine by the way even though we had connecting flights. Once checked in at Heathrow and on our return at Lima we didn't see it again until the end of flights.

JJ8043 MIA/BSB Boeing 767-300. Check-in was Ok! Lounge Ok too. Cabin crew looked tired and after the dinner service you hardly saw them they spent the whole time talking in the galley. Plane was new a previous LAN aircraft but cabin and business class seats already worn out. Cabin not very clean and did not smell nice like most of TAM aircraft's.