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By Manos Angelakis
AeroGal
AeroGal (Aerolineas Galápagos) is an airline established in 1985, based in Quito, Ecuador; it’s the first Ecuadorian airline after the now defunct Ecuatoriana de Aviacion to offer non-stop flights from Guayaquil, to New York and Miami. It also operates passenger and cargo flights within Ecuador, between the mainland and the Galápagos Islands, and between Ecuador and Colombia.
We left from JFK International right after midnight on a Boeing 767-300ER. The flight to Guayaquil was 6 ½ hours. The business class was comfortable in a 2-1-2 configuration and, even though it did not have the newer lie flat seat/beds, it  really did not matter, as the seats have lumbar support and an adjustable leg-rest that allows for very comfortable reclining. If you are traveling solo, the single seats at the cabin’s center would be preferable, since you can sleep without hearing a seatmate’s snoring!
Unfortunately, AeroGal doesn’t have a business class lounge at JFK yet, though the lounges in both Guayaquil and Quito  were exceedingly nice, offering very comfortable seating, conference and meeting space if needed, internet access, a finger-sandwich, fruit, salad and pastry buffet with a good variety of fresh offerings including a delicious version of the ubiquitous ceviche (for more ceviche details see the Gastronomy section), and a bar equipped with bottled water, fruit juices and sodas, coffee (the espresso was outstanding with lots of crema) and beer, wines and top-shelf liquors – the last at fairly inexpensive prices.
The fleet has currently 12 planes, all Boeing, with a number of Airbuses to be delivered soon to replace many of the 737s that fly domestically.
The flights were uneventful – though someone should fill-in the potholes as the flight goes over the Andes.
© June 2010 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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