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.
Flight delayed? €100 payout and commission-free claim with AirHelp Plus
Fortunately in Europe, we have the EU261 regulation which forces the airlines to cough out certain amount of compensation when the flight is delayed or cancelled for reasons in their control. It’s not always straightforward though, as it’s not rare airlines play games to avoid the pay-out even if your claim is legit.
There are certain agencies that can help you with your claim, amongst whom AirHelp is probably the most famous with a pretty decent 4.6 TrustPilot rating. Their service comes with a cost though:
- No win no fee
- 35% if the claim wins outright
- 50% if legal action is required
It is very pricey, although if you don’t have the expertise and patience to fight yourself it’s better to get something than nothing.
Interestingly, they also provide a subscription service AirHelp Plus, and simply by being a member you won’t need to pay any fee on your claims, so they’ll help you for free. It also comes with an insurance benefit called AirPayout, such that €100 compensation is paid to you as long as your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours or cancelled within 28 days of departure.
All you need to do is register your flight at least 24 hours before departure, and AirHelp will monitor the flight status automatically. If you are on the Essential plan (€24.99 ayear) then you can only register 3 flights per year; the Complete plan (€49.99 a year) on the other hand, has no limit imposed.
Note that it is an independent pay-out issued by AirHelp, no matter what the delay / cancellation reason is. It shouldn’t affect your eligibility for compensation from the airline or insurance companies.
Complete subscribers enjoy two additional perks:
- AirLuggage – €150 for each delayed / lost luggage, up to two, as long as you’ve obtained a Property Irregularity Report (PIR)
- A Lounge Key pass to use within the next three months if your flight is delayed by one hour or more – this is quite similar to O2’s Smart Delay program
As long as I can tell, the AirHelp Plus cover is pretty good. I myself is very happy to pay €49.99 a year for the subscription, knowing that I will more than get my money back if flight delay strikes just once. Although there are many (credit card) travel insurances in the UK, some are quite good (e.g. from Amex Platinum), they only pay for reasonable expenses rather true cash.
AirHelp Plus serves customers from all over the world, and you can add your UK bank account details online for any future payout. Should you be interested, I think the Complete plan has much better value.
If you want to sign up, the following promo codes will give you 8% discount:
- Essential: AHPLSE8
- Complete: AHPLSC8
5,000 bonus Avios for new Qatar Airways members
Qatar Airways’ sign-on offer is back, which is worth taking advantage of if you have an upcoming flight with them.
- Join as a new Qatar Airways Privilege Club member by December 31
- Use promo code PCAUNA23
- Travel by June 30
- Earn bonus after first eligible flight: 2,500 Avios if in economy or 5,000 Avios in business / first
The flight must be operated by Qatar Airways, and reward flights are exluded.
Qatar Airways tends to run such promotions frequently, so hold back from creating an account until you actually plan to fly with them.
£45 off Amazon Morrisons / Fresh orders, £3 instore coupon
If you have never used Amazon Fresh or Morrisons, you could potentially save up to £45 on your first grocery orders. Check your eligibility on the following pages, and if it works out you could apply coupon codes when checking out.
Note that you must be an Amazon Prime member to benefit.
[Amazon Fresh]
- £15 off £60: coupon code FRESHNNEW15, valid three times and you only need to enter the code once. The offer expires on October 4th.
[Morrisons on Amazon]
- £15 off £60 spend: coupon code MOR15OFFER1 / MOR15OFFER2 / MOR15OFFER3 , valid three times (note that there is a different code each time). The offer expires on September 30th.
There are a couple of codes that might work for existing customers:
- NEXT10MOR £10 off £70 spend
- LONDON20OFF £20 off £70 spend
[Fresh Instore]
If you are based in London and can pop into one of the Amazon Fresh stores, here are a two coupons for you:
Once added to your account, visit the mentioned store and spend at least £7 for the discount to apply automatically. You have until December 31st to redeem the offer, and note each coupon is valid only once.
Other Amazon offers:
- £10 off your first Amazon App purchase
- £20 off your first Amazon Fresh and Morrisons order
- Get £10 Amazon voucher for using its Photos app
- £4 off your next Amazon pickup order
- £5 Amazon bonus when topping up £60
- £5 Free Voucher for Streaming Amazon Music
- £5 Free Voucher for Streaming Amazon Podcast
- Earn £5 voucher for using Amazon Pay
- Free £5 Amazon voucher to claim
- £5 voucher for watching Amazon Prime Video
- £5 reward for creating an Amazon wish list
- £15 free money to spend at Amazon Fresh stores
- Amazon Warehouse £5 free voucher
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!
IHG status challenge: 5 nights to Platinum
IHG brought back its fast track offer for Gold and Platinum status, which may be of interest to some customers.
You can check the offer details and register here. Once registered, you will be elevated to Gold status after 2 paid nights by the end of 2023, or Platinum after 5. The status will be valid through the whole 2024 and potentially the first two months of 2025.
In theory you need to be invited by a sales representative and book using a corporate ID. In the past however, it seems that anyone could register to the offer and get upgraded after regular paid reservations.
Aegean flash sale: £30 off and buy 1 get 1 free!
The Greek airline Aegean is working with Trip.com to launch a flash sale targeting the UK market. You can see the offer details here.
For our London audience, the most relevant bit is the BOGO sale.
- Going live on November 2, 10am
- Buy two economy class tickets from London to Athens for the price of one
- Travel between November 15 and March 31
- Limited availability
In addition there’s a promo code YXWFIVIWAW that you can claim and redeem until November 10. It gives you £20 discount when travelling from London / Manchester / Birmingham / Edinburgh to Athens and the Greek islands, but unfortunately London – Athens is excluded.
Remember that by booking via the Trip.com app you get an additional £10 off – £30 off a flight is not to be sniffed at, although not as good as the BOGO deal.
As you can see from the image above, your itinerary doesn’t have to be entirely Aegean, but somehow it doesn’t always work. Note that you must enter the passenger information first before being able to see whether the £20 promo code applies.
My review of the Amex Centurion Lounge, Buenos Aires
Having finished my trip in Buenos Aires I am making my way to Santiago. There are two airports in the city – AEP, which is rather central, mainly focuses on domestic and short-haul international flights, whereas more flights depart from the remote EZE. The time difference to travel to by car though isn’t significant, so I chose EZE which has a more friendly departure time.
All international-bound passengers need to clear emigration first before arriving into the waiting hall. Terminal A and B are linked, so you should be access any lounges no matter what your gate is.
There is a Star Alliance lounge near Gate 9 which is open to Priority Pass members. Dragonpass on the other hand works with VIP Club – confusingly it has the Visa Signature brand, but when I try to enter with one (Chase Sapphire Preferred) it’s not accepted.
Surprisingly there’s an Amex Centurion Lounge as well near Gate 15. Follow the sign upstairs and you’ll see the familiar logo.
It’s opposite to the Aerolineas Argentinas Lounge (Skyteam).
Entering the lounge you’ll first come across the working area.
If you’ve been to a Centurion lounge before the living wall and wall of suitcases shouldn’t be new to you.
Moving on there’s the station for snacks and drinks with a posh Nespresso machine. There are some sandwich for grab-to-go.
Dining area:
There’s a small salad buffet and a bar.
You can help yourselves to all the alfajors in the fridge, an Argentinian dessert specialty.
The American Express Centurion Lounge at Santiago airport is very new and spacious with all the facilities you need to either work or rest. However, there’s no hot food provided, so don’t expect to have a nice meal here before your flight.