LATAM Airlines says it plans to offer nonstop flights between Sydney and Santiago by the end of calendar 2019.
The proposed new flight would be LATAM’s second nonstop service linking Australia and Chile, following the start of Melbourne-Santiago operations in October 2017.
However, the April 30 statement did not provide a firm start date or flight times for the new nonstop Sydney service, saying only the details would be provided in the coming weeks.
Nor was there any mention of the fate of LATAM’s current daily Sydney-Auckland-Santiago service on Boeing 787 equipment.
LATAM Airlines Group chief commercial officer Roberto Alvo said the new nonstop Sydney-Santiago flight would improve connectivity between South America and Australia.
“In recent years we have expanded our services significantly and today we offer unrivalled choice for passengers on both sides of the Pacific,” Also said in a statement.
“More Australians than ever are visiting South America, wanting to discover the many unique destinations of the region and we have seen equally strong demand from passengers travelling in the other direction, forging ever greater tourism and business links.”
LATAM’s Boeing 787-9s are configured with 30 business class, 51 extra legroom economy and 232 economy seats for a total of 313, while its 787-8s have 247 seats in a two-class layout of 30 business and 217 economy.
In addition to LATAM’s one-stop offering between Sydney and Santiago with its own aircraft, the airline also codeshares on Qantas’s nonstop service with with Boeing 747-400s that operates between three and five times a week, depending on the time of year.
LATAM also has its LA airline code on Qantas’s domestic services beyond Sydney and Melbourne.
Similarly, Qantas has its QF airline code on LATAM’s Sydney-Auckland-Santiago and Melbourne-Santiago flights, as well as for connecting services beyond Santiago to South America.
