Information on LATAM Airlines Flights

LATAM Airlines is a multinational airline based in Chile with a powerful presence across all South America. A product of multiple airline mergers over decades, LATAM now reigns the largest airline in Latin America in terms of passengers, routes and fleet size. It has its hubs in some of the largest metropolises on the South American continent, including Santiago de Chile, Chile; Lima, Peru; São Paulo, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia, and Quito, Ecuador. In total, LATAM serves 148 destinations across 26 countries.

Why should you consider LATAM?

When flying to South America, I’m partial to LATAM. With such an extensive network throughout the continent, a single ticket gets me to almost any far-flung destination I need to reach. In the last year alone, I flew LATAM from Miami to Calama (in the Atacama Desert) via Santiago; La Paz, Bolivia to Miami via Lima, Peru; and Miami to Baltra (in the Galapagos Islands) via Quito, Ecuador.

In all cases, I was able to check bags through to my final destinations and experienced minimal layover times due to flight times aligning. (It helps that even for some places as remote as Calama in the Atacama Desert, LATAM typically has five flights from Santiago daily.) Moreover, I truly enjoy the service on LATAM, which is something I cannot say about U.S.-based airlines. Staff are consistently courteous, affable, and polite.

In full disclosure, I have found one downside to flying LATAM. Unfortunately, they tend to change flight schedules often and sometimes fail to provide notice. In 2023 I booked flights many months in advance from Miami to Balmaceda (in Chile’s share of Upper Patagonia) via Santiago. My flight schedule changed four different times while holding that ticket, and I received notifications only twice. My lesson learned here: Go on the LATAM every now and again to reconfirm flight times.

LATAM fares

When booking with LATAM, you’ll choose between four different fares. Once you choose a desired flight, LATAM’s website reveals an easy-to-digest breakdown of the different fares and their inclusions. It’s one of the most direct and transparent graphics I’ve seen on an airline website.

What’s not so straightforward is that the names – and parameters – of these four fares will vary depending on whether flights are international or domestic and whether they route through Brazil. (The latter is because Brazil’s former TAME airline functions almost autonomously despite being part of the greater LATAM network.) Price categories will differ based on inclusions or exclusions of things like baggage and cancellations, change and cancellation fees, and class of service.

International long-haul

International long-haul flights on LATAM that do not pass through Brazil have four fare categories: Light, Plus, Full and Premium Business. The first three offer different extras from baggage allowance to seat selection but the same class of service, which is economy. Premium Business is its own fare class and comes with perks like two free checked bags, fee-free changes, and a lie-flat seat.

When international long-haul flights on LATAM go to or pass through Brazil, the same rules as other countries apply for fares marked Light, Full, and Premium Business. The only difference is that the Plus fare is dubbed Standard and does not include standard seat selection.

Domestic and regional flights

Domestic or regional flights on LATAM outside of Brazil also have four fare categories: Basic, Light, Full, and Premium Economy. Flights within Brazil or connecting through Brazil do not offer a Basic fare but begin with Light, going to then Standard, Full and Premium Economy.

When it comes to these short-haul flights, “Basic” really does mean basic…as in you can’t even bring a carry-on – I would never recommend it. If you have a bag to check, choose Full on flights that don’t involve Brazil and Standard on flights that do.

Classes, fleet, seats & legroom on LATAM

When it comes to classes of service, LATAM doesn’t make things simple. This is mainly because it has such a diverse fleet, in which seat pitch and width may vary as can legroom.

The airline has a long-haul fleet that includes Boeing 777, Boeing 787-9, Boeing 787-8, and Boeing 767 aircraft. It previously included A350s, which have been taken out of operation and sold to other carriers. For short-haul and regional flights, LATAM uses Airbus 321, 320, and 319 aircraft.

International long-haul

On long-haul international flights, there are officially just two classes of service for purchase across all four fares: economy or premium business. Yet, if you choose one of the three economy fares, you can then upgrade your actual seat selection to LATAM+, which is like Premium Economy on other global airlines. It’s located closer to the front of the aircraft, boasts more legroom, and allows for earlier boarding.

Personally, I am a big fan of LATAM’s premium business and find it well worth the splurge – on certain international aircraft. While the entire international fleet flaunts lie-flat beds, some are nestled within individual open suites and others are expansive, retractable seats next to one another. After having a full open suite between Lima and Miami (5.5 hours) but seated next to a stranger from Miami all the way to Santiago (8.5 hours), I no longer leaving things to chance: I am sure to do a bit more research and select only flights with aircraft featuring open suites.

Domestic and regional flights

On domestic and regional flights, there are also two classes of service: either economy or premium economy. However, it’s still possible to opt for LATAM+ when choosing economy. See, the actual premium economy fare will get you in a dedicated section at the front of the plane, separated by the rest of the plane with partitions and curtains. The middle seat is blocked in this section to create more space for premium economy passengers. If choosing economy and then upgrading to LATAM+ on domestic and regional flight, you’ll sit at the front of the regular economy section. Confusing, we know!

Making things even more complicated are the pitch and width of the seats on the various domestic and regional Airbus aircraft. On some, the economy, LATAM+, and premium economy seats have identical pitch and width. On others, the premium economy has several inches of extra legroom. The bottom line is that you won’t get business class on short-haul flights, but you may get some extra legroom and no neighbor if an option for a premium economy fare.

Wi-Fi

Overall, LATAM lags when it comes to onboard Wi-Fi. On my 2024 trips between the U.S. and Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, I didn’t have connection on a single flight.; and that’s disappointing as I often need to remain connected when I travel, even in the air.

At press time, Wi-Fi connection and access to messaging services are available only on all Brazilian domestic flights and on some domestic flights within Chile, Colombia and Peru. When Wi-Fi is available, messaging is free for all passengers while browsing and streaming are priced in hourly or full-flight packages. As far as I am aware, LATAM has no plans to add Wi-Fi to its international routes anytime soon.

Amenities & entertainment

On its Airbus aircraft, LATAM features LATAM Play, a catalogue of entertainment options available from your mobile phone. At any given time, there are over 580 television episodes, 180 movies, and 150 music albums to choose from, with options in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. You’ll need your personal headphones to enjoy LATAM Play, but I have often experienced passengers blasting LATAM Play for the entire plane to hear. The flight attendants are quite firm and helpful when it comes to regulating this, so just push your flight attendant button to have the crew remind passengers of the headphones policy.

At every seat on its Boeing aircraft, LATAM has individual, high-def touch screens, up to 12” in economy and up to 18” in Premium Business. It’s the same LATAM Play content you’d access from your mobile phone on the Airbus, with a mix of new and classic movies, shows, and albums. I love that on its website, LATAM lets me discover the films currently on LATAM Play, so I can map out my sky-high cinematic experience in advance.

Loyalty program, credit cards & miles

LATAM’s loyalty program, LATAM Pass, allows customers to climb the elite ladder with every flight. Elite status begins at Gold, then moves on to Gold Plus, Platinum, Black and Black Signature. Once accrued, LATAM miles can be cashed out for flight tickets on LATAM at very reasonable rates and levels. Mileage redemptions correspond to the same fare categories as cash tickets (i.e., Light, Plus, Full and Premium Business). They can also be used for tickets on partner airlines.

Alliances and partners

LATAM has a convoluted history with airline alliances, first as part of Star Alliance and then oneworld alliance, which it left in May 2020 after Delta – part of SkyTeam – had purchased a significant share in the company. LATAM’s past has resulted in a current heady mix of airline partners without belonging to a specific alliance.

Nowadays, LATAM Pass miles can be earned and redeemed on the following airlines: Alaska, Aeromexico, Austrian, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia, Royal Jordanian, Qantas, Qatar, Swiss and Virgin Atlantic. It’s the most confusing mix of airlines across alliances I have ever seen. However, it has opened opportunities for me to score award seats at exceptional rates as each airline has its own basis for determining mileage rates on LATAM flights.

Namely, I love using Iberia for scoring seats in LATAM’s snazzy Premium Business at exceptional mileage rates. Iberia’s mileage currency, Avios, can be acquired through a 1:1 transfer with other Avios-based airlines like British Airways, Finnair, and Qatar Airways. They can also be accrued through transfers with credit card loyalty programs with American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi.

Credit cards

You can boost your LATAM Pass mileage balance through the welcome offer of a LATAM co-branded credit card, powered by Cardless. Offers vary over time on both the no annual fee LATAM Airlines Mastercard and the $99 annual fee LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard. Since LATAM is not a direct transfer partner of the rewards programs through big credit card companies like American Express, Capital One, Chase, or Citi, your only chance of accruing LATAM Pass miles without flying is through these co-branded cards.