Fumarolas en el Volcán Chaparrastique, San Miguel

Flying over the glories of El Salvador with a lovely crew made this heartsick traveler’s journey an easy one.

Flight Details
Seat 37A
Economy

Check in
I checked in online from the comfort of my hotel in San Salvador. I was unable to print my boarding pass but this was not a concern as there was no line at the airport. Central America’s largest airport is not yet equipped with self-service kiosks, but given the friendliness of the Salvadorians, the impersonal kiosk was not missed.

Luggage Allowance
After hearing sad tales of lost luggage from fellow travelers who spent the past week in the same clothes they arrived in (not with this airline), I was unwilling to risk losing my bags on the great Check-in Journey. And as my bag met the weight and size restrictions for carry-on baggage, I decided to forego checking in anything.

Cabin conditions
The United craft (following the merger of Continental and United) was clean but a little tired.

Customer service
This was a really friendly bunch. Willing to go that extra mile, the flight attendants aboard this flight were offering things before it even occurred to me to ask for them.

Entertainment
I bypassed paying for the DIRECTV cable on offer (US$5.99) to look out the window at the stunning views beneath me.

Meal Service
Again, my special meal request seemed to have disappeared into the ether, but the serving flight attendant managed to score some extra salads and ensured that I was well fed and watered.

On time performance
Thankfully as I had a tight connection, we arrived into Houston ten minutes earlier than scheduled.

My favourite thing
Sitting in the sun and watching El Salvador fade from view.

Images care of Eco Mayan Tours: http://www.ecomayantours.com.