Slightly OT for this post but sticking with the theme of LA, I'm fresh from my latest experience with them.

On the whole bookings were honoured as reserved, one minor grumble about a seating change when flying SCL-IPC but as the change of aircraft was to the superior Airbus A340, I'll let that one slip.

Having earlier berrated BA for its baggage handling in CAI, resulting in a replacement bag being hasitly bought in transit at LHR on the way back, LA then did its best to deliver this barely 3-days-old bag in a damaged state. Once I'd got agreement that LA should replace the bag (a Samsonite), it did strike be as a bit cheap that I should be offered a cheapo generic in its place. Still, I'm told that it's pretty good going to get anything out of LA at all.

Other sources of LA discontent:

Under-catering for full flights - am sure this is intentional. No champagne or red wine on the way back from IPC to SCL.

Meanness - a small breakfast in J on the ~ 5-hour flight from SCL-IPC. Dread to think what was (or wasn't) being served in Y.

Inconsistency of knowledge / information - Being told that bags would be checked through to final destination, only to see them turn up on the belt at the next stop; charging departure taxes when these are already included in the ticket price paid (I appreciate that there are exceptions to this for some Latin American destinations, which on this occasion weren't included in my itin)

QoS - the crews tend to be uniformly cold, so no great variance there, but the difference between business class seat comfort on a Boeing 767-300 vs an Airbus A340 is vast. Even the superior Airbus fit-out makes it difficult to get a good night's sleep on a longer flight (eg AKL-SCL), despite copious amounts of pisco sour imbibed beforehand.

All said, I suppose it's a lesser of two evils. From what I've heard about Varig's premium product, I should be grateful for what I had.