Long but Comfortable: Review of LATAM 787-900 JFK-SCL with LATAM+ Seats
Elite Status may not be what it once was, but upgrades on long-haul flights are clutch! Photo by: Evan Berman
To head from New York down to Santiago, Chile, we flew on LATAM. Thanks to status with Delta, I was able to secure an upgrade to the extra legroom seats in the bulkhead row. That was important on this 10 hour flight!
This flight review is part of the larger South American Adventure. For more information on this trip, follow these links:
Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Economy
Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+ (This Article)
Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review
Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina
Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia
Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class
Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation
Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class
Flight Info:
Route: JFK-SCL (New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Santiago, Chile’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Date: Saturday, November 19, 2022
Flight: LA533 (LATAM)
Plane: Boeing 787-900 (Dreamliner)
Seat: Assigned 39L (Main Cabin Window), upgraded to 12K (Premium Economy, middle seat)
Upgrades: Upgraded to LATAM+ (Economy+), though not automatic. I asked the gate agent for an upgrade and was told there were only middle seats left. I opted for one instead of sitting in an economy window seat
Est. Departure: 6:50pm EST
Taxiing: 7:00pm EST
Takeoff: 7:12pm EST
Gate: A4 (Terminal 4)
Est. Arrival: 7:00am local time (5:00am EST)
Touchdown: 7:01am local time (5:01am EST)
Arrived at Gate: 7:14am local time (5:14am EST)
Gate: 2 (International Terminal)
Pricing:
Flight: 30,000 Delta SkyMiles & $21.20 ($5.60 and the excise fee of $15.60). Topped off required miles from AmEx Membership Rewards Points.
Earnings: None due to award flight
Booking:
As mentioned above, we used Delta Miles to book this flight. The value was incredible. I studied prices for several weeks before and after booking and the cheapest flight I found from anywhere in the US to Santiago had 2 stops and was still more than $500. The flight we took, had we paid cash, would have been more than $1,300 (and would not have included checked baggage)! For those keeping track at home, that’s (1,359.8-21.2)/30,000*100= 4.46 cents per mile. And some people call them SkyPesos!
Of course, this is one way to determine value. In real life, you might book a flight with a different (less convenient) routing and get there for $600. That’s still 1.93 cents per mile for economy!
This process is quite simple: I checked my Delta account and noted I had just over 4,000 miles. I then transferred 26,000 MR points to Delta, paying $15.60 in Excise Taxes as one does whenever transferring AmEx Points to a US-based carrier (Delta or JetBlue). Unfortunately, you do not earn points on the Excise Tax paid. Since I booked through Delta, I signed into the account and used my Delta frequent flier number to ensure I received elite benefits. This was a smart decision, as you will see in the next section.
Note that if you have elite status with another LATAM partner (note that despite partnering with Delta and Air France/KLM, LATAM is not currently a member of SkyTeam and other partners may not receive elite recognition), you may choose to include this frequent flier number instead.
Lounges:
We arrived over 2 hours before boarding was scheduled to begin. Flying out of Terminal 4, there was no shortage of options to choose between. We opted to visit the Centurion Lounge and were pleased that there was no wait to get in today! Trust me, that is not usually the case! 🙂
This particular visit to the lounge was special– though I had been there before, my parents had never before visited a Centurion Lounge. They happened to be in JFK at the same time as we were flying and I was able to bring both my parents in as guests. Unfortunately, this is no longer possible in 2023. At the time of entry, the AmEx Platinum card allowed 2 guests to enter for free. This has changed to $50 per guest ($30 for children under 18) as of February 1, 2023.
Check out this post for a review of various lounges in JFK Terminal 1 and Terminal 4.
Recap:
A relatively uneventful flight, we flew for 9 hours and 49 minutes. Since I have elite status with Delta, I receive the ability to upgrade to a priority seat for free on many partners, including LATAM– in theory. The website did not appear to recognize this, and I would have had to pay $65 or $80 depending on which seat I selected.
Having looked at the seat map I knew there were several extra legroom seats available, though only middle seats. As such, I explained to the gate agent that I was unable to select a priority seat despite being a Delta Elite member and was there anything she could assign to me? She was quickly able to assist me. Would I be willing to trade my window seat for a middle seat? I readily agreed, valuing the extra legroom and ease of access to the bathroom as well as receiving first choice on dinner selection above the benefit of the window seat.
Note that despite this being marketed as Premium Economy, it is akin to an Extra Legroom Economy seat. The meals were the same as in Economy and no additional benefits were provided other than the increased legroom.
My seat assignment changed from 39L in the second section of Main Cabin seating to 12K, the middle seat on the right side of the bulkhead row behind business class and the first row of LATAM+, their extra legroom seats.
The 787-9 we flew has the setup of 2-2-2 seats in Business class and 3-3-3 in economy and premium economy.
Meals:
For dinner, we were offered a choice of either braised beef with potatoes and pita bread or a chicken salad. I chose the beef option as I often do on flights and was vindicated in my choice. Not only was the meal flavorful, but my friend ordered the salad and was unfortunately struck by a bout of sickness likely related to it.
To accompany dinner, we had the option of choosing between White or Red Wine, Coke Products, water, and various juices. I opted for a water and the Red Wine which was a mild Cabernet Sauvignon. Fun Fact: Red Wine is Vino Tinto in Spanish, not Vino Rojo. Don’t ask where I learned that from. 😉
About 1 hour 30 minutes prior to arrival, breakfast was served. We were this time offered a choice of either an omelet or ham and cheese sandwich. Being wary of egg-based products on planes, I opted for the sandwich and was once again impressed by the taste. Accompanying the sandwich were roughly 5 pieces of fruit and a sweet bread with blueberries. All the food was as fresh as can be expected on a flight.
For drinks with breakfast, we had the choice of many different juices, coffee, and water. I opted for the Orange Juice and a water (jugo de naranja y agua) and was once again pleased with the taste.
Sleep:
Santiago is 2 hours ahead of New York, so we left at 9:00pm Chilean time, 7:00pm EST, and arrived at 7:01am CLT and 5:01am EST, respectively.
With meal service starting roughly 1 hour into the flight and lasting approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, it was 11:20pm in Chile and 9:20pm EST. That meant that sleeping relatively early in the flight was important as breakfast starts roughly 1 hour 30 minutes prior to arrival. While I did not sleep well (middle seat sleeping is quite challenging given the lack to flexibility), I got roughly 3 hours in. This was the cumulative amount, I estimate that I slept no more than 45 minutes per attempt.
Experience:
The flight was enjoyable due to a lovely woman who sat in the aisle seat next to me. Our conversation ran the gamut between questions about the other’s culture, tips on places to visit, and insights into the world as each of us view it. If you dread a long flight, I highly recommend being friendly to your seatmates (and why not do it anyway?). You may just find 3 hours have gone by after chatting with your neighbor.
Recap:
A great start to our vacation, we flew a LATAM 787-9 Dreamliner (shout-out to Boeing who manufactures these beauties in Charleston!) from JFK to SCL (New York- John F Kennedy to Santiago de Chile) using 30,000 Delta SkyMiles and the nominal $21.20 in taxes and fees. This was a terrific value and despite the lack of sleep on this long flight, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. We were welcomed by a bright sunny morning in Santiago. Bienvenidos à Chile!
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