LATAM Airlines

Whilst I was courting BA on this route something magical happened to cabin crew of TAM Brazil. This was my second trip with Latam this year and the staff attitude could not have been friendlier and more helpful. No more standing back and letting passengers fight for locker space or argue about mistaken seat numbers. Crew welcomed and assisted passengers and remined courteous and friendly during what is still limited contacts with passengers. The old habit of early boarding and a fast pace meal service remains along with the crew exodous to the beverage bar for most of the flight. The B777 which doesnt seem to have been on this route so long is now getting tired. Dinner was a decent offering in both directions and although there is not a designated Bar service as such I managed a couple of glasses of half decent red. The small goodie bag of socks pen and toothbrush are no more and not a snack to be seen during the 11 hour flight. Film selections not too up to date but I selected two each way. All in all, boarded, flew and got off rather like an extended coach trip. Not too bad an option in the light of pretty ordinary airlines on the London - Latin America route.

✅ Verified Review | London Heathrow to Sao Paulo with LATAM. It was my second return trip this year on this route. Both journeys were consistent, and in a good way. Their boarding starts about an hour before departure for all classes, which speeds up departure times. The business class cabin does have a seven-abreast configuration (2-3-2) and I certainly wouldn’t want to be a passenger in the middle of the three in the centre. Luckily, I had a window seat (1A outbound and 2K inbound). The seat is comfortable, the food courses are served all at once on one tray (which is a let-down for business class) and the cabin crew is very efficient. The seat isn’t fully flat, but despite being 6ft 5ins in height, I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep in both directions. The Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kit given out provides everything so get through the flight, and the toilets are kept very clean (for walking around in slipper socks). The LATAM lounge in Sao Paulo is exceptional for food, drink, showers, space and comfort, and better than many other airlines. LATAM could do with a flat-bed seat in business class, but they are really leading the way in lounges and this airline should be watched with interest as they consolidate into one brand.

Check-in: Outbound the domestic and international terminals merge together (at least for LATAM/LAN). There was no business desk we could find so we joined the long (and heavily laden) queue at the dedicated Isla de Pascua desks. Around counter 46. Arrive at least two hours before the flight for peace of mind. Inbound Easter Island airport is tiny, and after checking in there's the option to head to the airport bar or to the less busy Piroto restobar outside the airport and just down the road (opposite the car park). Terminal: There is no lounge access for Premium Business travellers (despite hints on the website) as this is a domestic flight (and no lounge at Easter Island). Product: The Dreamliner is excellent and the business class seats are very comfortable and spacious, with a great entertainment system (we later travelled on the same plane in economy for two hours and thought that experience was also fine). Despite having the app I could not connect to the entertainment via this on any LATAM flight. Food: On the way out we got breakfast after take off and a snack before landing. On the way back we got a main meal after take off. The food was good as were the wines (though slightly less premium than their international flights). Service: On both legs the crew were superb and very attentive, if a little more formal than you would find on BA/Qantas. They expertely crawled and retrieved an iPhone that had slipped behind the flat bed seat (happens on every flight). Baggage: At Easter Island it was a massive scrum with priority bags out at the same time as the rest, on the return it was far more civilised with priority bags first.

✅ Verified Review | Flew LATAM Airlines from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janiero. The queue on check in was very long and it took an hour to check in. One of the most reliable airlines in Brazil, I was impressed with the hospitality and cleanliness on board. However the seat pitch is one of the worst I have seen and is extremely tight. Drinks are served on longer flights of 3 hours (taken previously to Recife) along with a non-vegetarian snack with no options to select anything vegetarian. On the short run to Rio, a box with water, biscuits and a chocolate was handed out. The most alarming issue is that while flight attendants speak English, all announcements on board are made in Brazilian Portuguese which made me worried - what language will these airlines make announcements in during emergencies? Therefore, I will prefer to fly local airlines that make announcements in English as well.

On my first visit to Santiago and BA I choose LATAM. The flight to leave Sydney was delayed. Don't bother with preferred seating when you choose your ticket online, they don't respect it and offer pathetic excuses while the system doesn't work. The food is average. Don't expect the nice treats Qantas give you in between this service is basic. The stewards are not full in English but some basic hand gestures will get you through. The internal South American flights are basic. Coffee and muffin between Santiagio and BA. This flight circled around BA for an additional hour before landing. The home flight was a drama. When the flight was leaving Santiago they were offering to put people on other flights due to capacity. Once agian the preferred seats meant nothing. No choice of meals, they ran out of variety. On arrival in Auckland we were advised the flight would be delayed 6 hours due to operational matters. People were given a voucher of 15 bucks for refreshments. At the airport people were wandering around aimlessly as communication was poor to the Latam staff member. They redeemed themselves with a seat change at the final leg. The inflight entertainment is average unless you want to watch the 'Friends' boxed set. There is a LATAM app you can use in devices for internal flights. You won't be told of this before hand. Most correspondence is in Spainish anyway. LATAM - very disappointing.

✅ Verified Review | I didn't know what to expect from LATAM, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. The flight from Heathrow to Sao Paulo was on a plane that was either newer than that on the return leg or had been refurbished, it was also emptier, so had more space for stretching out. Regardless, the multilingual staff were friendly and efficient, the in-flight entertainment better than I was expecting, and the economy class seats comfortable enough to allow me to sleep on what's an 11-hour overnight flight (in both directions). On the basis of this experience, I'd consider flying LATAM again to South America.

✅ Verified Review | If you ever wanted to know how many people you can fit into an Airbus 320 then fly with LATAM. Flew Rio de Janeiro to Santiago for a duration of 4 hours and 35 minutes and almost needed knee surgery when I landed. The space between the seats is very limited and of course the passenger in front of me decided to recline his seat straight after take -off. Which meant little or no room for my legs. Even worse was when my neighbour needed to go to the restroom and could not get past his reclined seat after I had stood up. I asked a crew member if they could ask the passenger to raise his seat a little and was met with a smile and a no. Other than being cooped up for the duration we were served breakfast and a regular run of tea and coffee and juice. many locals in Rio told me they avoid this airline due to service or lack of it and the seating. I am certainly will look at alternatives after a rather ordinary experience.

✅ Verified Review | First time flying the newly formed LATAM. On this flight from Brasilia to Manaus the plane is actually from TAM. This old A320 had an all-economy layout with quite a comfy seat. Well cushioned. Although leg room was down to a minimum. What that means is that when the person in front of you reclines their seat you have to recline as well, otherwise the seat in front of you is pretty much in your face. The meal service was simple but good. By far the best part of this flight though was the onboard mobile entertainment system that you accessed through your mobile device. Worked perfectly. Great selection of movies, TV shows, music etc. Totally impressed for this short-haul plane doesn’t require an IFE system anymore.

✅ Verified Review | Guayaquil to Cusco via Lima. I flew LATAM Airlines which is a OneWorld partner of Iberia. As I am a frequent flyer of Iberia, I asked LATAM to convert the miles of this flight to Iberia Avios. I did everything right during reservation and check-in and always informed about my Iberia Plus membership card number. This number was also printed on the tickets and boarding passes. I expect the transfer of miles from LATAM to Iberia to be done automatically as it happens for any airline, but in this case it did not. Since 2 months I lose my time because I have to contact Iberia, send them proof that I flew with LATAM, Iberia tells me I have to contact LATAM and LATAM tells me that I have to contact Iberia. Each time I write an email to Iberia it takes 3 weeks for them to reply to me.

London to Sao Paulo. Boarded aircraft an hour before flying which seemed a bit unnecessary. Full flight. Very cramped and uncomfortable seats. Awful outdated IFE. Food ok. Served by unfriendly but efficient air steward, who came across like he really didn't want to be working there. Landed on time moreorless. Nothing great about this airline. I chose it as I could use Avios points to get a huge discount. Other than that, nothing to commend it.