For the first segment of my two times to Latin America review trip, I flew LATAM’s Boeing 787-9 business class on the 7hr25min overnight flight from Miami (MIA) to Santiago (SCL).
I’ve gotta say, LATAM offers a solid business class product, easily the best in South America. The airline has comfortable business class seats with direct aisle access, friendly service, tasty meals that are served efficiently, exceptional bedding, and extensive entertainment.
I’m a fan of flying with LATAM, and this matches my previous experience flying LATAM’s Boeing 767-300ER business class. If you ask me, the only downside of the experience is the lack of Wi-Fi, plus the poor quality coffee (which is a very minor point, of course).
How I booked my LATAM business class ticket
LATAM doesn’t belong to any of the global alliances, but there are a variety of programs that let you redeem for LATAM business class. I ended up using British Airways Avios, at the cost of 123,500 Avios plus $45.30 in taxes and fees (the number of Avios required is steep, but I acquired them with a transfer bonus). Specifically, I booked the following flight:
9/17 LA503 Miami to Santiago departing 9:15PM arriving 6:30AM (+1 day)
British Airways Avios are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and transfers are generally instant. On top of that, you can transfer points between the various “flavors” of Avios.
LATAM business class lounge & boarding
In the previous installment, I reviewed the LATAM Lounge Miami, which is pretty good for an outstation lounge, with a good selection of food and drinks.
My flight was departing from gate J16, with boarding scheduled for 8:15PM, one hour before departure. Boarding ended up actually starting at 8:30PM (because the inbound flight was slightly late), with business class passengers being invited to board first.
LATAM 787 business class cabin & seats
I boarded through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by two friendly flight attendants, and pointed left into business class. I was lucky to be on one of LATAM’s 787s featuring the new business class, where the cabin consists of 30 seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration. There are eight rows, with the last row just having a pair of seats in the center.
LATAM offers Thompson Aero Vantage XL seats on these jets, which is a staggered configuration that you’ll also find on several other airlines. In this kind of a staggered configuration, the layout varies with each row.
For those sitting in the center section, the odd numbered rows have seats closer together, which are often referred to as “honeymoon” seats. If you are seated in the center section, these would be my preferred seats, regardless of whether traveling with someone or not.
If traveling with someone, they’re great because you can actually enjoy the flight together. Meanwhile if traveling alone, you can raise the partition between seats, and still have more separation from the aisle, which I’d consider to be a positive.
Meanwhile in even numbered rows, the center seats are further apart from one another, and closer to the aisle. These would be my least preferred seats in business class.
Similarly, window seats alternate between being closer to the aisle (in even numbered rows) and closer to the windows (in odd numbered rows).
The seats that are closer to the aisle offer less privacy, and due to the shell of the seat, it can also be kind of hard to look out the window. If traveling alone, I’d only select these if none of the “true” window seats are available.
Meanwhile the window seats in odd numbered rows would be my first pick, given that they offer distance from the aisle, and are closer to the windows.
I selected seat 7L, the window seat in the last row on the right side (despite being in the last row, this is quite far from the galley, and there are no bathrooms behind the cabin). I’ve gotta say, I think LATAM did a really good job with the cabin finishes, as they’re distinctive and elegant, from the red head rests, to the faux marble counter, to the ribbed shell.
As far as seat features go, there’s a console to the side of the seat, where you’ll find an exposed storage area, as well as the seat controls and charging ports. The seat controls are straightforward, and I appreciate that there are universal, USB-A, and USB-C, outlets.
Underneath the exposed storage area is a small enclosed storage compartment, though I’d be careful about placing things there, as it can be easy to forget, given how hidden it is when closed.
There’s also an entertainment controller to the side of the seat, though I find that to be unnecessary, given that the entertainment screen can be controlled by touch.
The tray table extends from underneath the console, and is curved. Once extended, you won’t easily be able to get up, so keep that in mind during the meal service, in terms of planning any bathroom visits.
I was pleased to see that the footwell was quite spacious, which made it easy to get comfortable when reclining the seat into a bed.
Lastly, I also appreciate how LATAM has individual air nozzles on its 787 Dreamliners, which all too many airlines choose not to offer.
All-in-all, LATAM has a solid business class hard product, with cabins that are both comfortable and aesthetically nice. It’s not the most cutting edge business class hard product in the world, but I’d argue that it’s the best that you’ll find in South America.
LATAM business class amenities
LATAM is quite generous with its business class amenities. Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a colorful amenity kit with socks, eyeshades, a dental kit, earplugs, lip balm, and lotion.
Some well padded slippers were also provided, which I always appreciate, for easy bathroom use without having to put on shoes.
Next up, there were a pair of noise canceling headphones, which were pretty good quality.
The menu and drink list were also waiting at each seat upon boarding.
LATAM offers phenomenal bedding in business class, among the best you’ll find on any airline (maybe only after United Polaris business class). The bedding includes a very well padded pillow, a plush duvet that’s cozy without being overly warm, and a substantial mattress pad. Good bedding makes such a big difference, so huge credit to LATAM for that.
LATAM 787 business class entertainment
LATAM offers an extensive entertainment library in its 787 business class, so you should have no issues finding something to stay entertained. There were over 240 movies and over 740 TV shows, in addition to games and audio. I also appreciated how the choices included things from Max, Disney+, Paramount+, etc.
As always, my favorite entertainment feature was the map, which I like keeping an eye on. This one had several customization options, and you could zoom in or out as much as you wanted.
Now, the one weak point of the LATAM experience is that there’s no Wi-Fi on the 787. That didn’t bother me one bit on a quick overnight flight, but on a daytime flight, it would be a reason that I would book away from LATAM, given that I value being able to stay connected.
LATAM 787 departure from Miami
If you’re seated in a premium cabin, boarding is always so much calmer when the second set of doors is used for boarding, and you’re seated in front of that. So there was no stress at all during the boarding process, and I enjoyed the calming boarding music that LATAM plays.
During boarding, the flight attendant who would be taking care of me came around to introduce herself, explain the flight time and the service flow, etc. The cabin manager also came around during boarding to introduce herself to each passenger. Meal orders were taken while on the ground, including for both dinner and breakfast. The only quirk is that LATAM doesn’t offer pre-departure drinks.
Of the 30 business class seats, 22 were occupied on this flight, so it wasn’t quite full. I should also mention that economy was super empty — I’d estimate that maybe one-third of seats were taken. Boarding was complete by 8:55PM, at which point the main cabin door closed.
At 9:05PM we pushed back, and the safety video was screened at the same time. LATAM has a fun safety video, which is worth giving a watch.
While we had a pretty short taxi to the runway, there was then a queue for takeoff. We were cleared for takeoff on runway 8R at 9:25PM. The seatbelt sign was turned off about 10 minutes after takeoff, at which point the crew sprung into action.
LATAM business class dinner
On this short overnight flight, dinner was served after takeoff, and you can find the menu below.
You can also find the drink list below (those wine descriptions in English are… unique).
Service was quick to get started after takeoff. Within 15 minutes, warm towels were distributed.
Just minutes later, the crew passed through the cabin with a tray that had champagne and water, along with room temperature mixed nuts. There’s something to be said for quickly after takeoff a crew can get a drink service out, so I always appreciate when the first drink has been served before cruising altitude is even reached.
Unfortunately service slowed down a bit after that. Not because the crew wasn’t efficient, but because the seatbelt sign was turned on, and the crew was asked to be seated. I was expecting there would be bad turbulence, but to my surprise, it was just really light chop. The sign stayed on for about 15 minutes.
I was served my meal about an hour after takeoff, which is quite efficient, all things considered. On these overnight flights, LATAM serves the entire meal on one tray. The meal included:
- A starter of crab rillette with cucumber, sriracha mayo, and roasted yellow baby beetroot
- A fresh leaf salad
- A warm bread roll
- Grilled salmon with roasted red pepper sauce, steamed bok choy, and black rice with mint and tomato
- Brownie with toffee sauce, cream, raspberries, and pistachios
As you can see from the menu, there were four choices for both the starters and desserts, so I appreciated the variety. While I found the salad to be super basic, otherwise I thought the meal was excellent, including the starter, main course, and dessert.
Drinks were also offered. I ordered a glass of the Viña Casa Silva sauvignon blanc from Chile, and had a glass of sparkling water.
The flight attendant highly recommended the La Piu Belle red wine from Chile, so I had a glass of that as well, at the conclusion of the meal.
I think LATAM does a great job striking a balance between efficiency and quality meal on these short overnight flights, so kudos.
LATAM 787 business class lavatories
LATAM’s Boeing 787-9s have two business class lavatories at the front of the cabin — there’s one right in front of the cabin on the right, and one by the cockpit. LATAM is one of the few airlines I’ve been on that doesn’t have lavatories by the second set of doors on the Dreamliner. The lavatories were pretty standard for a 787. They didn’t have any special amenities, but at least they stayed pretty clean throughout the flight.
LATAM 787 business class bed
At the conclusion of the meal, I decided to make my bed and get some rest. Between my cozy cocoon and the excellent bedding, I found this to be one of the more comfortable business class beds out there. I didn’t find the footwell to be too restrictive, and I got some solid sleep. My only complaint was that the armrest along the window didn’t go down, which made the bed feel a bit narrower than it should’ve.
I ended up falling asleep with around 5hr50min remaining to Santiago, as we were approaching Panama…
…and I woke up with around 1hr10min remaining to Santiago, as we were approaching the coast of Chile.
I’m not a great airplane sleeper, so that was about as good as airplane sleep gets for me!
LATAM business class breakfast
As soon as I woke up, I was immediately served breakfast, as I had placed my order before takeoff. You can find the menu below.
Rather than going with the typical egg option, I decided to instead order the quesadilla with cherry tomato ragout and arugula. This was served with fresh fruit, several types of bread (a croissant, muffin, and two rolls), and yogurt with granola and fruit compote. I also had an orange juice and coffee to drink.
The breakfast was excellent, though the weak point was the coffee, which was crap. It seems that LATAM uses powdered coffee, or something? That seems like an easy area for improvement…
LATAM business class service
I have nothing but good things to say about the service on this flight. The crew was efficient, friendly, and engaging. Obviously you’re not going to get Singapore Airlines levels of service on LATAM, but the crew was lovely, and I couldn’t have asked for more.
I know some people have issues with LATAM service on the ground, though I seem to consistently have very friendly crews. That’s a huge point of differentiation compared to some other airlines in South America.
LATAM 787 arrival in Santiago
At 5:25AM local time, the captain announced that we’d be landing in about 25 minutes, at which point we began our descent. About 10 minutes later, the seatbelt sign was turned on. Even though it was still dark outside, I enjoyed the view on the descent, including whatever was going on with the wing.
We ended up touching down in Santiago at 5:50AM. From there we had a short taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 5:55AM, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. It took about 30 minutes to clear immigration and customs, at which point I headed to the Ritz-Carlton Santiago, where I’d spend the night.
Bottom line
LATAM offers an impressive and well rounded business class experience onboard its Boeing 787s with new business class seats. The cabin is stylish and comfortable, the bedding is excellent, the entertainment is extensive, the food and drinks are tasty, and the service is friendly. I’d say this is by far the best business class product in South America. If you ask me, the main weakness is the lack of Wi-Fi.
What’s your take on LATAM’s Boeing 787-9 business class?
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