Home » Airline Groups » Non-alliance Airlines » LATAM
Category Archives: LATAM
My review of LATAM B787 business class
Having done loads of research and searches I ended up redeeming Avios on LATAM Santiago – Lima – London in business class for coming back. A backup plan was BA’s direct flight, but spending 14 hours in Premium Economy didn’t sound as appealing to me.
LATAM is slowly rolling out their new business class cabin, which looks amazing:
Unfortunately the refurbishment is gonna take a while, and the Boeing 787 aircraft that I’m going onboard still has the old seats. I was on their A350 in 2018 and it looks quite similar.
The seats are grey, but the red headrest on top make the cabin much less dull than Iberia. The 2-2-2 configuration is no longer a popular choice in business class nowadays, no wonder LATAM is keen on a refresh.
As the window seats have no direct aisle access, I recommend solo travellers to go for a middle seat to avoid any hassle.
Storage space is limited besides the one under the footrest.
Control panel for seat adjustment is located on the armrest.
I forgot to take a photo of the lie-flat bed. It is on the shorter side but largely comfortable. I had a good seven or eight hours of sleep on the plane and then slept through the night after landing in Madrid. No jet lag this time at all!
On the SCL-LIM flight they handed out a small flamboyant amenity bag:
And a larger one along with slippers for the LIM-MAD leg:
For the short-haul fight, the menu is just one-pager:
My steak is so-so:
Both dinner and breakfast are served on the long-haul leg, with a bigger menu:
As I have just had the steak I ordered the grilled fish this time, which is quite decent. I skipped the breakfast.
IFE is decent, but screen is positioned quite low, which isn’t very friendly to my neck.
There’s no wi-fi onboard, which is unusual. Otherwise it’s a reasonable yet not outstanding business class product. Given how difficult it is to find reward availability between Europe and South America though, I don’t have much to complain.
My review of LATAM VIP lounge, Santiago
I’m making my way back to Europe from Santiago on LATAM. I flew LATAM a few years back – they didn’t and still don’t have an own lounge at Peru and I don’t remember anything about the one in Brazil, but now I get to try the Santiago Lounge, which turns out to be exceptionally good.
The lounge opened in April 2022 and is proclaimed to be the largest airport lounge in South America. After emigration and security check, turn left and the lounge is in front of you upstairs.
The receptionist lady puts on a very sweet smile after scanning my boarding pass and welcomes me to their best Signature Lounge. I was a bit surprised to find out there are three VIP lounges here:
- Signature – Business Class / LATAM Black Signature & Black / Delta Diamond & Platinum
- Premium – LATAM Platinum / Delta Gold
- WorldMember – Select Santander customers
As you can see from the entry requirements, Signature is clearly the most prestigious out of the three.
The wooden “huts” are eye-catching when you walk inside the lounge.
The Furnishing is mostly wood and leather in dark colours, which fits the “Signature” branding. Many Visa Signature cards are black or dark grey.
You have many different styles of chairs to choose from:
I find the dining area more comfortable though with proper desks and power sockets.
The bar is quite fancy, and they can make barista coffee!
There is a huge buffet section that includes cold and hot food, snacks and desserts. The selection is more than great.
Today’s hot food menu is:
- Rice with nuts
- Chicken breast with citron sauce
- Tortellini stuffed with ricotta
- Roasted beef
- Potato millefeuille
- Polenta
- Pea and mint soup
They are quite tasty.
There’s a kids club on the side. The press release mentions interactive games but I didn’t see any.
Hidden at the very inside is the sleeping and rest area.
There are quite a few sleeping pods here with real beds! No reservation is required, which is a luxury that you rarely see even in first class lounges.
Finally the bathroom:
The LATAM Signature Lounge at Santiago is not only the largest airport lounge in South America, but probably also the best if I hazard a guess. Except for not offering an a-la-carte dining experience, it is pretty much up to the standard of a first class lounge, so don’t miss out if you have the opportunity!
How to book LATAM flight with Avios
LATAM left Oneworld in 2020, which was a blow to the alliance as it was the only airline they had in South America. In 2018 I few to Peru on a cheap LATAM business class ticket which helped me earn BA Gold status, and I also redeemed Avios for some domestic trip which would otherwise be more expensive.
Fortunately, LATAM maintains its ties with most of its alliance partners except American Airlines. You can still earn Avios when travelling with LATAM if crediting the flight to BA, although you won’t earn tier points and BA elite benefits don’t apply.
More importantly, we didn’t lose the ability to redeem Avios on LATAM flights. You can do it with either BA or Iberia, and they charge the same:
Here are the catches:
- You can redeem LATAM tickets online with Iberia, however they are non-changeable and non refundable
- You cannot redeem LATAM tickets online with BA, and intra-continent economy class tickets don’t come with baggage allowance
If you are very certain about your trip, it’s better to book your trip on Iberia’s website. It’s hassle free and you are guaranteed one-piece baggage allowance when travelling in economy.
However, for the peace of mind I’d say flexibility is very important under most circumstances, so I’d rather book with BA and you can change / cancel for the standard £35 fee. You can check availability on Iberia’s website first and then phone BAEC’s hotline, but be prepared for a long call. Many of the agents aren’t well trained or familiar with the LATAM procedure, and even if they are issuing the ticket can still take quite some time.
Once the ticket is issued, you can manage your booking on LATAM’s website but it requires their own PNR. The quickest way to figure it out, from my experience, is by messaging @Latam_Chile on Twitter with your itinerary details. They are very helpful and prompt.
A final non-Avios-related tip for those who hold an US-issued American Express card: you might want to check the ticket price on Amex Travel too. It turns out LATAM is an Amex Insider Fares partner so you can sometimes get preferential rates:
In my case, the ticket from Buenos Aires to Santiago is more than 50% cheaper on Amex Travel for the Easter holiday period, as long as you have enough Membership Rewards points to pay for it. It also comes with free seat selection and one-piece baggage allowance.