Guayaquil to Santiago de Chile with LATAM Ecuador

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a new installment, a new flight report, Here I tell you how to fly from Guayaquil to Santiago de Chile with LATAM Ecuador direct, only non-stop flight that operates between both countries and that operates with up to 8 weekly frequencies on Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.

As I told you a few weeks ago, I flew to Santiago de Chile thanks to the invitation of LATAM Airlines Ecuador to be part of the main aeronautical fair, Latin American military and space, FAITH 2018 which took place in the first days of April in the Chilean capital.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Here I will tell you what it is like to fly on the only direct connection that exists to the today, between Ecuador and Chile.

ticket purchase

As told in a previous report flying from San Cristobal to Guayaquil, and how it is known worldwide, purchasing tickets LATAM.com It is easy and quite quick to carry out with the concrete and understandable steps within the purchasing process that is made up of the following steps for international flights:

1. Destination or destinations, date and number of passengers.
2. Selection of fare or flight required.
3. Personal data of the passenger(s).
4. book or pay.

LATAM Airlines allows you to carry out, in case you are not sure about the rate or schedules, only when booking the flight, with a reservation code that is valid for 24 hours the client will be able to make the payment later and even complete it at an airline agency.

The payment gateway allows the use of all existing credit cards in Ecuador and abroad without any problem.

Additional services

For international flights, LATAM offers a series of additional services for extra payment to the base fare purchased by the passenger.. These extra services include::

• Second or third suitcase in the hold.
• Cabin upgrade.
• seat with more space (Emergency exit).
• seats further forward (from the fourth row, starts behind Premium Economy, up to the eighth row).
• preferential approach.
• LATAM Pass Customers Black Signature Category, Black and Platinum access the above points free of charge.
• Special needs.

Luggage

From the cheapest fare for international flights in LATAM, allows you to carry up to one suitcase of 23 kilos and even 2 more in the warehouse with an additional cost.

Apart from the suitcase in the hold included for everyone, Users can also carry a carry-on suitcase of up to 8 kilos of weight in Economy up to 16 kilos en Premium Economy, plus one personal item such as a backpack, Photo camera, purse, laptop o similar.

In the event that the carry-on suitcase does not meet the dimensions that must be 55 cm x 35 cm x 25 cm (largo, height and width), including pockets, wheels and handle, The suitcase must be sent to the warehouse and there may be an additional cost if it exceeds the excess of your ticket..

It was striking that on all flights, Agents hired by the airline go around the departure lounge offering to send carry-on bags that are larger than allowed to the hold., without any additional cost. If this is requested of you, You must hand over your carry-on bag to the airline agents at the entrance door to the plane..

Check-In

You can check your flight between 48 a 2 hours before flight departure time. The airline offers several options to do so, It can be from your website, application for mobile phones or directly at the airport at the service counter (more time in advance of arrival at the airport or at the self-service kiosks that are available in the vast majority of airports).

Once you have checked in, you can print it or present the QR code sent to your email or with the LATAM application directly if you want to support the planet and not waste sheets of paper. Personally, I use the mobile app, since it is easier and it is almost certain that you will not forget your cell phone at home.

Airport and Boarding

This point to tell depends a lot on each passenger and their needs., specifically if you need to check your suitcase or not. In my case, On the way I only took one carry-on suitcase, so I entered directly into the immigration filters at the José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport after landing from Quito.

If your case is that you are carrying a suitcase and you need to check it and you have your check-in ready, puedes acercarte directamente a la fila exclusiva para hacer «baggage drop» o entrega de equipaje. You will leave your suitcase, They will give you a new boarding pass and direct to filters.

I could see before entering the filters a row of some 40 people waiting to be checked by LATAM, so keep this in mind as you don't want to miss your flight and worse, stressing out or running through the airport to get to the boarding gate, the idea is to always enjoy every flight.

Usually, Going through Guayaquil on an international connection is quite fast and efficient, which leaves a good amount of time to wander around the duty free and commercial stores available.

On this flight there was a delay of 40 minutes of departure itinerary, but I was notified 24 hours before the operational change in departure time so it was not a surprise.

Video of the plane arriving at the gate on a flight from Quito:

The boarding process was carried out in a single boarding line and not with the traditional division of lines as generally carried out by LATAM., This delayed the flight longer and we finally took off. 1 hour late to the original time of the itinerary which was at 12 midday.

Itinerary

It should be noted that this flight operates 8 times a week from Guayaquil, of which, 7 flights are operated by LATAM Ecuador and 1 by LATAM Chile. In high season, they operate until 10 weekly flights or as demand warrants.

Flights operate with the following frequencies and schedules:

Guayaquil – Santiago de Chile

Lu 23	Ma 24	Me 25	Ju 26	We 27	To 28	Do 29	Flight	Airplane	Route	Departure	Arrival	operated by	scales	Duration
							LA547	Airbus 320	GYE – SCL	06:51	12:51	Latam Airlines Group	0	5:00
							LA1447	Airbus 319	GYE – SCL	11:05	17:00	Latam Airlines Ecuador	0	4:55
							LA1447	Airbus 319	GYE – SCL	12:00	17:55	Latam Airlines Ecuador	0	4:55

Santiago de Chile – Guayaquil

Lu 23	Ma 24	Me 25	Ju 26	We 27	To 28	Do 29	Flight	Airplane	Route	Departure	Arrival	operated by	scales	Duration
							LA546	Airbus 320	SCL – GYE	07:50	12:15	Latam Airlines Group	0	5:25
							LA1446	Airbus 319	SCL – GYE	18:00	22:25	Latam Airlines Ecuador	0	5:25
							LA1446	Airbus 319	SCL – GYE	18:55	23:20	Latam Airlines Ecuador	0	5:25

On board

This LATAM Ecuador flight was carried out entirely with an Ecuadorian crew, It operated with an Airbus A320-233 with Chilean registration and its flight number was XL-1447.. The aircraft with registration CC-BAA has 8 year old, msn serial number 4383 and is propelled by 2 motors IAE V2527E-A5.

The flight occupancy was a 100%, but due to the change of team there were free seats, since normally this route operates with Airbus A319 aircraft with capacity for 138 passengers, while the A320 has the capacity to 162 passengers.

A topic that caught attention and has been going on for a few months., is that the group's airlines have completely stopped using the overhead entertainment screens, where security ads used to be displayed and have gone back to basics, demonstrations are carried out manually by crews.

The onboard service on this flight included 3 options, yes indeed, all cold and which was repeated on the flight back to Quito which was on the Santiago route – Lima – Quito, something that definitely caught my attention, no hot food.

The 3 options were: stuffed chicken with salad, meat wrap and a vegetarian option, a very favorable and notable point, which will surely help the airline gain a new segment, but it should be more publicized

I ordered the chicken stuffed with cheese and ham along with cheese, corn and cherry tomatoes, good taste, but being cold takes away its appeal a bit:

Drinks are offered in 2 opportunities, during food selection and minutes later again.

In flight

as i told, overhead screens on all flights are no longer used, so the entertainment is exclusively individual and provided by each passenger on their laptop., cell phone or tablet. There is no longer the general movie for the entire plane as it was previously on this route and other music channels from the armrests.

Music, series, films, documentaries and other services, as my favorite, The live map are available in the APP, whose use and download have no cost and can be downloaded from the Play Store or iTunes before the flight or during the flight with the airplanes' WiFi network.

The live map allows you to know the exact position of the plane as well as the remaining flight time. If you like maps and flight data like I do, You will surely enter this section several times and since it is a flight of more than 5 hours, We will always wonder how long it takes to get there.

In a personal way, I don't use this system other than to see the map, I ratther sleep, review the photos taken on the camera or continue taking photos of the plane wing and it is not because there is no good material from series or movies in this app or in those of other airlines, but until all seats have a USB port, I don't want to be worried about the battery percentage, although I always travel with a drum kit 4 you carry with me.

What I do recommend for everyone who is going to use entertainment apps, Always use headphones and bring them from home in case they are not available on the plane or other airlines sell them to you., but above all, no one wants to bother the rest of the passengers.

A positive point that generates difference from low-cost airlines, is that LATAM offers blankets and pillows at no cost and in all seats, something that is being lost in search of less weight on the plane, which generates fuel savings.

Conclution

It is a long flight and the Airbus A319 can become uncomfortable and feel small for a flight of more than 5 hours. Of course, there are longer flights on this type of plane, for example, the one Tame had between Quito and Sao Paulo with 6 flight hours.

The product for this type of flight is a little small, but it also adjusts to the reality of the market between both countries. Although demand is important and supply reaches 8 weekly flights that go up to 10, there is a lot of competition via Lima, Panama and Bogotá that potentially reduces having a larger plane on this route.

 

An interesting alternative would be an Airbus A321, but the difference in service wouldn't change much, but it would generate greater capacity on a route with high demand and generally high prices above the $800 O $500 dollars in promotion.

What I have always thought as a user of this route at least 1 time every 2 years, is to see a Boeing 767-300 and in the future to the Dreamliner on this route, best service and comfort, but instead, It seems to me that they are very large and their objectives are long-haul routes of more than 7 hours. For example LATAM Ecuador operates the Boeing 767 between Guayaquil and Lima with less than 2 flight hours, Seeing this plane to Santiago is not so far-fetched in the future either., but the market will define what happens.

With the arrival of new airlines to this market, such as the possibility of Sky Airline e incluso de JetSmart, LATAM Airlines must differentiate its product, that in addition to not being low cost, will be forced to offer a better product and this change, Let's hope it can be seen from the plane and the food is hot ;).

 

Additional data

• As an Ecuadorian, You can enter Chile only with your citizenship card., but I always recommend using the passport to add one more stamp, that can be used when requesting a visa to another country.
• You have to take into account the time difference with Chile, 2 hours more than Ecuador in summer and 1 more in winter.
• International passenger departures improved greatly, congratulations to Santiago airport for this.
• Santiago Airport is growing and they are building a new terminal, so there could be some congestion and disorder at the airport exit, but it will be worth it.

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