Review of LATAM flight from Santiago to Santa Cruz in Economy

One day last May I was finishing lunch at home while this lady on TV was going through a list of the most turbulent aviation routes in the world. LATAM Airlines had been affected by several hair-raising cases of turbulence those days, so the topic was relevant.

And the winner is… Santiago, Chile, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Oh, the horror! I could never…

"Loading your trip to Santa Cruz." How lovely! I was in Bolivia back in 1994, so this is a perfect time - 30 years later - to check in on some old acquaintances and see how the country has changed.

Too bad our relationship with our northern neighbor is far from good. No diplomatic relations since 1978, only because we took a couple of stones from them in the 1800s. 🙃

This means that our exchange with them is not as intensive as with other countries in the region. LATAM is the only airline connecting Chile and Bolivia, and tickets between both countries are about twice as expensive as to Brazil or Peru.

The price difference between the Basic and Flexible fares is negligible, so I go for the latter. 251,549 CLP ≈ 260 USD on eDreams.

Congrats! I'm all set for my trip from October 11 to October 25 🥳

According to LATAM, I need no visa or passport to visit Bolivia. You see? Things are not so bleak between us. 😊 Insurance is advised. And yes, I got an Assist Card insurance policy that helped me a lot. I had some health issues while in Bolivia.

They also say that my cédula de identidad (ID card) will do. There's also an affidavit to fill up on entry to/exit from Bolivia. AND I should get vaccinated against yellow fever. Well, I didn't do it, and I hope that the bug that made my life miserable while in Bolivia was not this one, because I would kick my own ass until the end of time.

Baggage allowance: A small bag or backpack. I swear I will never pay for extra baggage. I'm convinced I can trick the system, and this trip - visiting a tropical city and a cold mountain city - will be the definitive test.

Hm… Let's see what the Chinese have for these occasions. A "Ryanair and EasyJet approved" cabin bag. Interesting. I'll get the large size and see what happens. (I should have picked a darker color) 😄

There must be a very good reason for LATAM to schedule a flight at 4 a.m. The first one that comes to my mind…

…is that they secretly hate me.

Passengers coming from Santiago will usually be told that they have to get off the bus at the first stop for domestic flights, and at the second stop for international flights. But this may be misleading, because the bus will stop a couple of times for airport workers, before reaching T1, the domestic terminal, seen here.

It will then continue towards T2, the much larger and complex international terminal.

In any case, don't be afraid that you might miss any of them, because the bus driver will yell "TERMINAL NACIONAL" or "TERMINAL INTERNACIONAL" at the top of his lungs when you get there.

Too late. My cardio has already been broken 🥺

Keep in mind that the bus dropped us at the third floor.

The whole boarding process takes place at this level.

You don't need to go up or down. Only forward.

From a previous report, you can see this upside-down diagram of terminal 2 which I compared to a sort of womb, in which the two Falopian tubes are connected with two piers each - D and F on the left, and C and E on the right.

Following the sequence of purple numbers, keep in mind that the bus will drop you at number 1. After checking your bags at one of the counters - from A to H - you go to the middle of the main hall, facing this large screen (2)

Beyond the screen, you'll see the access to police control, carried out by the Chilean PDI (Policía de Investigaciones)…

…copycats that copied the blue FBI jackets with the large yellow lettering on their backs.

Why did they do that? It's so embarrasing 😟 I suppose they are proud to achieve some childhood dream to be like an FBI officer?

Whatever, a PDI officer is asking Chilean passengers to go this way around the queue…

…in order to use the newly implemented biometric kiosks 🤩

It sounds great… until you actually try to use them. Several passengers are stuck with them and the line is growing. It turns out that you can scan passports, but not ID cards! But Chileans don't need a passport to travel to most South American countries!! 🤦‍♂️

PDI's IT person:  You had ONE job!!

So - after all the time we wasted trying and failing at the kiosks - we're forced to stand in line to be checked at the only manual checkpoint for Chileans. All in all, the process turns out to be as long or even longer for us than for the foreigners. 🤦‍♂️ This all happened at purple number 3 in the diagram.

Moving on to number 4, here's security control. Very fast.

Then you reach number 5, the duty free…

…from which you emerge at number 6, the FIDS.

This area at number 6 is where you have to decide if you're going left to piers D or F, or right to piers C or E. The problem is that it's still about 9 p.m., and my flight's gate number won't be announced until 2 a.m. So I curl up in a corner and use my superpowers to lower my body temperature and go into hibernation mode…

…until a tall, old, nasty gringo watching FOX news on his cellphone at full blast FARTS on the seat right next to me!! How disgusting! Like he was all alone there! Disgusted to no end, I grab my Ryanair-and-EasyJet-approved AliExpress backpack and head for the FIDS. My flight will leave from gate C3. So this is purple number 7 in the diagram.

Don't forget to make the necessary arrangements for a wheelchair with your airline or with the airport if you need it. You walk a lot here, especially on arrival.

At the entrance of pier C you find this ATM. I suppose it's the same configuration for all piers? Not sure. And that sort of ATM on the right…

…which turns out to be an automatic exchange machine! Wow. I don't travel very often, so this is new to me.

Each pier has an assortment of shops and cafeterias.

Juan Valdez Café is my savior tonight. I can hardly drag my feet.

At gate C03…

…the ghost of Valdivia still haunts me. I'm not coming back!

LATAM flies to Santa Cruz three times a week. Always at this ungodly time of day. And I think I'm beginning to understand why. Very few people gather at gate C03 today. I'm counting about 50, including those behind me.

Obviously, boarding is complete in no time.

LATAM has no mercy with me. They sent me to the previous to the last row!

What happened to those days when you upgraded me for free, LATAM? Where's the love?

A visit to the restroom is mandatory before we leave.

Even the word for waste is beautiful in Portuguese - lixo /LEE - shoo/

Is that plywood on the right? 😮 I was expecting graphene, carbon nanotubes, or any other ultra-state-of-the-art materials for an airplane! 🤭

Before we go to sleep, a snack is served which consists of a cereal bar, an oats cookie, coffee and some other drink. It's fixed. No BOB menu.

LATAM's inflight entertainment system is called LATAM Play. You have to activate your device's flight mode and connect to the onboard wifi. I didn't use it this time, but my neighbor across the aisle is showing us that it works.

I do my best effort to sleep. Actually, I'm shattered! But it's no good. The seat is really cramped. Many passengers moved to other seats, and so did the lady in 29D, so I sat in her place and left 29E free. But even so, there's no way I can fall asleep.

It's so cramped that I smash my kneecaps against the seatback in any position other than sitting upright. A real torture.

Eventually, the sun rises and we start descending. It's been the longest three hours in a long time for me.

Don't forget your pen.

And the turbulence? Nada! 😅 Only now, as we descend among thick clouds, we get shaken a little.

I was sure this photo was sharp!  It reflects my own vision quality at the moment perfectly.

I know I have flown with you before, CC-BAY. But I don't want to see you again!!

Downstairs, migration is quite fast…

…and I'm given this piece of thermal paper that's supposed to last up to three months. Just an excuse to fine you if you lose it.

Awww… This should be on my passport.

And that's it. I'm roaming free in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Viru Viru (VVI) competes with La Paz (LPB) airport in size and number of flights, though LPB is dedicated mainly to domestic flights, and VVI to international flights, Santa Cruz being the real economic engine of the country.

But we'll see more of VVI in a future report.

Some additional information about this flight.

Tourism Bonus - Santa Cruz

As I said, Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Bolivia's real economic engine. And it's driven mainly by the gas and oil industry, and the coca industry. And nobody blinks and eye saying that.

Neighborhoods like Equipetrol see an intense building activity.

The city spreads on the Bolivian Amazon.

But its heart is still colonial…

…with its tiled roofs…

…and covered sidewalks.

Some views of the main Plaza…

…give you a glimpse of its colonial past.

Unthinkable in Santiago, but not very different from the buses in my former hometown, Valdivia. 😅

One of the local favorites: Sandwich de chola. Not bad, but they are no match for a Uruguayan chivito.

I was amazed by the number of museums and exhibitions around the Plaza. I purchased some copies of watercolors by a local artist to give them as souvenirs. And at one corner I found a very well know French character with his tamed fox and his vain rose, and a lesser-known Chilean character that some might recognize here. 

Thanks for reading! 😁