Review of LATAM flight Lima → Santiago in Economy

introduction

Hello amigos,

This is part 2 of my trip from Madrid to Santiago de Chile back in 2019.

The previous report is available here:
 

So…after my plane landed from MAdrid to lima

Picking up from where I left you, I was being bussed from CC-CZT to the terminal at LIM.

Once I descended from the bus there was a huge queue of people.  

After a couple of minutes queueing I was let into the "connecting flights" lane, and I was directed to a security control. Fellow connecting passengers were a bit confused about the procedure (they just came from another flight for which you had to do the very same thing…oh well) and the feisty personnel did not help either.

Once I was done with this very silly procedure I was let into the maze of duty free shops

I wasn't eager on buying anything (bringing Peruvian Pisco to Chile is a big no no, so there wasn't much of anything worth buying anyways)…so I went straight to the Sumaq Lounge to have a shower and breakfast before my flight to Santiago.

The SUMAQ lounge

For some reason, this was the only available lounge at LIM, and so it was quite crowded. I was let in without any problems showing my Priority Pass card. 

I then asked a lady who was acting as a Maitre D' if I could go to a shower since I was connecting from Madrid. She told me that all showers were fully booked for now, but asked me however what time my next flight would be. Once I told her my next flight's time, she waived me to have a shower ASAP. I felt she had this kind of motherly kindness you only find in Latin America, just lovely.

The shower itself wasn't anything awesome, but it was just great to have somewhere to freshen up after a night's flight 

Once I was done with my shower I went for breakfast. As told, the place was full, and the offering weren't extraordinary. But I managed to have a table for myself and have a nice breakfast with eggs, fruit and juice.

I spent the rest of the time reading and chatting with friends while waiting for the boarding time.

boarding latam's dreamliner

LATAM was the first operator of the 787 in the region. I was eager to see how different the product would be from AV's dreamliner, specially since my flight from Madrid was so good in the soft product point of view.

There were a lot of people for my flight to Santiago, something I wasn't expecting 

Next to my flight there were a few AV planes, flying to various spots around South America. AV's hub in LIM is now just a memory…

I love how LAN's old livery looks on the 787. I thought it was a perfect fit.  
On the inside, the plane felt new and spacious. A whole different thing from the 767. Each seat had a pillow, sheet and headphones in a plastic bag waiting for us. Seat pitch felt just right. 

while we were cleared for taxi, AV's dreamliner arrived from BOG

It was odd for me to see my country's airline with a hub abroad

Now a peek to seat pocket contents

The menu from the previous flight was left at my seat…LATAM was doing a great job with catering IMO.

En route to santiago

Boarding done, we were good to go.

We taxied to RWY 15 which pointed more or less towards our destination in the south.

I specifically chose this side so I could get good views of Lima and Peru's coast while flying….and hopefully the Andes.
I got great views of LIM…and more or less of Lima as the haze obscured the city quite fast. 

After takeoff, the mood lighting was turned on.

The crew then handed customs' forms for Chile while we passed through Paracas

And we were then given our food for the almost 3 hour flight. It was tasty, but not quite plenty

After the delighful views of Peru's coast, i tried to get some sleep. I woke up nearing Santiago, and tried to stay awake in case I could spot the Majestic Aconcagua, the highest point in America.

Thanks to LATAM's odd music offer, I was able to listen to "Las Estrellas Vallenatas", this is deep Colombian vallenato… so out of place so far from home, but it was just perfect for the moment.

The views over Chile were just out of this world

Then the IFE played some institutional video about Chile

And as our plane descended, we were afforded more amazing views…and there it was, the Mighty Aconcagua

Touchdown caught me almost by surprise as I was just totally amazed from what I just saw…

More surprised followed, as we were to park at the new extension (now a whole new terminal) at SCL

The downside was how far it took from Gate to migration

Migration was slow…and the hall was filled. It took me quite a while to leave the airport.

I then took a microbus to leave me at the Airbnb where I would be staying. BTW SCL sucks accesswise. Too far for an affordable cab ride nor any reasonable public transport options from East Santiago.