Good afternoon from Orlando! Today, I’m taking LATAM – a new airline for me – on their Boeing 787-7 business class from Orlando to Santiago, Chile.
Full disclaimer, this article was sitting in the drafts for longer than I care to admit, so it may not be as detailed on day-of details as I’d usually strive to provide. Luckily, I have photos!
Business class is directed to use the Delta Sky Club at MCO. While LATAM doesn’t belong to any major airline alliance, they have interline and other creative agreements with a variety of other airlines, including Delta. The Sky Club is a bit dated, but spacious, busy, but not too crowded on this Thursday afternoon. I will say – it was about 80 degrees (F) in the lounge today.
TIP: I would encourage you to double check ahead of your flight what LATAM’s lounge de jour is as it’s subject to change.
Generally I find Sky Clubs to be average to a bit above average for domestic U.S. lounges. I don’t think Orlando is winning any awards here, but the lounge was serviceable and offered a wide array of dinner, snacks, dessert, and drinks to chose from. I had just under three hours here between my inbound connecting flight and tonight’s departure.
Business class passengers are invited to board early. Pushing through hoards of gate lice (is this just an Orlando thing, or has it really gotten this bad?), I got onboard. I was welcomed and pointed left into the business class cabin to find my seat in the last row. This is LATAM’s older configuration, in a 2-2-2 setup. The biggest criticism with these older seats is the lack of privacy and direct aisle access. The upside, though, is that the cabin feels open and airy.
With this arrangement, the general consensus is that it’s far more pleasant when traveling in pairs. In bed mode, the window seat passenger almost has to crawl over the aisle seat to get out – not ideal when sitting next to a stranger. LATAM though – in my opinion – has a harder time filling premium cabins than some other airlines, so if you monitor the seat map, you could likely avoid a seatmate as a solo traveler.
There is less storage that you will find on more modern seat products, but the space under the footrest works well for shoes and the area under the armrest is serviceable for headphones or a book. There is also a small shared open cubby between the seats.
There was a bounty of goodies piled on each seat. A bottle of water, menus, amenity kit, headphones, duvet, mattress pad, and even slippers. I really appreciate when airlines provide a mattress pad – it always feels unsanitary to me to lay directly on an airline seat, and the extra padding goes a long way. The amenity kit – branded Judy Kaufmann for LATAM – was stylish and well-built enough to be saved for future use.
Drink service consisted of a pre-departure beverage (choice of sparkling wine or water), a variety of spirits, and a basic selection of one Champagne, two red, and two white wines.
Dinner arrived all on one plate. While a coursed dinner always feels more premium, this is pretty standard for overnight flights and allows you to get some more rest. I feel like the dessert at least could have been served separately after dinner.
I found it to be tasty and fresh – a solid 7/10.
While formal turndown service was not advertised, the flight attendants were readily willing to help me secure the mattress pad to my seat.
After a solid three hours of sleep, I awoke to the cabin filling with the scent of maple syrup and coffee. Shortly after, breakfast appeared. There were no options – just a lot of carbs: croissant, muffin, and a waffle.
This was tasty – but having just eaten a large dinner a few hours earlier, I just took a few bites.
With that, welcome to Santiago! I enjoyed a few wonderful days exploring this vibrant, friendly city, enjoying fantastic wines and great food (shout out to Peumayén Ancestral Food, one of the best meals I have ever had). Up next was COPA Airlines’ business class from SCL-MEX via PTY. Stay tuned!
Justin Reiling Editor-in-Chief
transitandtravel.com 
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