Welcome to this week's report. We stayed at the Comfort Hotel Guarulhos, which lies directly under the flight path to one of it's busiest runways. As cool as this was, it's safe to say we didn't get much sleep.
On the way in near our hotel, this Cessna was wedged on a lamppost. Anymore info on this?
Anyhow, we arrived at Terminal 3. Definitely leave yourself enough time in a morning as the roads around Saõ Paulo International Airport get very busy!
LATAM base themselves in check-in Zone F.
There are no manned check-in desks, or at least they weren't on the day we departed. Everything is self-service, with the assistance of a few LATAM staff members standing around. You do it all yourself on this little kiosk.
You then tag, scan and deposit your bag yourself into the system. It all feels a bit futuristic!
Our departure had been delayed but I take my hat off to LATAM…
Their communication was excellent and we received both an email and a text via WhatsApp the evening before, informing us of the delay.
It was then time for us to head through security and into departures.
The nominated Priority Pass lounge of choice today is the Espaço Banco Safra, and it's located upstairs post security.
It's actually really big and all open plan. There's lots of seating options available.
Some of the breakfast items were interesting… Buttery mashed cassava anyone?
Here's our aircraft taking us over to Chile today. It was delivered to LAN in March 2016 and then LATAM Airlines in May 2016.
Suddenly, the heavens opened and we began boarding the aircraft.
We were sitting on the Row 12 bulkhead in the A/B seats in what LATAM market as "Exclusivo+".
The seats were actually super comfortable and the headrest was very soft and plush.
There was also a red LATAM branded soft blanket, a small pillow and a pair of headphones on our seat waiting for us. Not bad for a journey a little north of 3 hours in length.
The headphones were very reminiscent of those old-school PC ones you used to be able to buy!
Legroom was good and it didn't at all feel cramped on Row 12.
Exclusivo+ seats also benefit from dedicated overhead storage lockers.
The rear cabin was also really empty!
I love how LATAM put a 787 Dreamliner on a route of this length. It actually flies in from Madrid on a daily basis before continuing on to Santiago.
The rain then stopped and we started to taxi out to take-off.
And with that, we were airborne. Albeit behind schedule!
Not too long into the cruise and I'd been caught drifting off by the husband. A testament to how comfy these seats are I guess!
The views en-route were magnificent too, with real clear sights down below.
Lunch was then served, I was surprised LATAM offered anything on a route this short.
It was a cheese, tomato and either courgette or pickle panini. It was really tasty.
On the left was a slightly warmed citrus and vanilla cake. Another nice touch!
There was also a small rectangular pot with a fresh fruit salad inside. It was at the perfect temperature and not frozen at all.
My drink of choice: fresh peach juice. It was absolutely delicious!
The IFE is stored in the arm of the seat and was available to use throughout the duration of the journey.
I put on my favourite in-flight entertainment though!
The crew then dimmed the lights around an hour in, with most passengers choosing to catch a bit of sleep.
Me included!!
The seatbelt sign then came on with the Captain warning we were about to cross the Andes mountains and as such, it might get a little bit turbulent.
The views were phenomenal.
And yes, it did get a bit turbulent. But my oh my, was it worth it for these beautiful views!
We then banked out of the Andes mountain range and descended towards Santiago.
A great flight (minus the delay) and I wouldn't hesitate to choose LATAM again in the future.
Hope you enjoyed a look into LATAM's GRU-SCL routing in Economy. The full video is published above and as always, I'll see you next week.
Wow. Flying above the Andes will always be more impressive than flying along the Andes (for example, SCL - PUQ route)...
And since you are already in SCL, would you continue to SYD on QF28? 😉
Thanks James! Ironically, we looked at the QF28 but next week we’re staying in South America, I think you’ll like the airline we fly with 😉✈️
Looking forward to read your next flight report 😆
Btw I have a report of QF28 on this website...I would like to invite you to read it...
Will read it now!
Thanks for the FR! I have nostalgic feeling for the LATAM flights between GRU and SCL: flew 4 times before the pandemic on all the widebody spectrum LA/JJ used to deploy there: B77W, B789, B788 and B763, and I can definitely call these flights one of the most scenic in the world, especially when you get to see Mt. Aconcagua.
You were lucky to get a B789 with the older cabin with very comfortable Collins Pinnacle seats. Now the most of LA 787s are reconfigured with dreaded Recaro CL3710 seats and soon the old Pinnacle cabins will be gone (for comparison, AMX, which also operates 789/788 fleet, keeps Pinnacle seats throughout the fleet and thankfullt isn't going to switch to Recaro). It's also sad that the LA crews got used to use the "Blindliner" mode even on mid-hauls. At least they unlocked the windows before the most scenic part of the flight - crossing the Andes.
Thanks for watching! I completely agree about the scenery, even with the windows dimmed for much of the flight, the Andes crossing was absolutely spectacular when they finally lightened them. I hadn’t realised quite how fortunate I was to catch one of the remaining Pinnacle-equipped 787s either. It’s a shame to hear those cabins are disappearing, as I found the seat incredibly comfortable for this route. Sounds like you’ve experienced the full LATAM widebody collection on GRU-SCL. I’m slightly jealous of that B77W!