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Help with J Fares and Routing to SCL
I am in the early stages of planning a trip to South America, so no dates fixed yet. The preferred routing would be the direct LHR-SCL in J. However, fares always seem to be very high and alternatives offered on ba.com are IB via MAD.
Other than using IB, are there likely to be any reasonable ex-EU options? Also, I am curious why ba.com does not throw up any routings via GRU or EZE, for example. Is LATAM worth a try? Any opinions or advice gratefully received. |
Santiago is a fairly high-demand destination (as you’re no doubt already aware), but unfortunately without the wide range of options (from Europe) that would be available to similar popular destinations in, say, Asia. You might want to look at Avianca ex-Madrid, but I’m really not sure there are major savings to be made if looking to fly J class. |
£1280 ex lon to a few destinations in south america. Still available. https://goo.gl/flights/cJgr2
Full thread below https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals/1924108-lon-brazil-1280-latam.html I've always been curious about south america for vacation. Is is any good? |
I think you're probably wise to look at Z class fares on LATAM, though the cheapest from London may require going via Brazil and/or MAD. A search on LATAM Z fares will show some experiences there. I can see some fares below £1600. On BA direct you're looking at £2300, maybe saving a hundred or two if starting via DUB. I would keep an eye on prices from Italy and hinterland since Alitalia have a low price from Rome at the moment, which competing airlines may want to match.
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Newbtravelle/C-W-S, thank you, that's a good place for me to continue my search.
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I've been monitoring flight prices for a trip this May to Lima in J. BA fly direct but are SO expensive and the schedule isn't great. 1) Considered LATAM - it's second cheapest to AeroMexico, but have heard many negative things about service and reliability - plus it has no lounge at the moment in Lima; whilst a minor issue, spoils a bit of the fun on a leisure trip - especially if delays are commonplace. The LATAM flights to Lima go via MAD or GRU - which is probably the same for the flights to SCL. 2) Considered Iberia (trying to keep to Oneworld for my Avios), but it seems to be just codesharing with LATAM so the same issues. 2) KLM/Air France seem to be doing some reasonable deals if you're willing to forgo Oneworld. They change at AMS or CDG out to South America. 3) Considered BA/AA out to Miami and from there down to South America. Keeps me Oneworld but is more pricey.
I'll be interested to see what you decide! |
Originally Posted by Newbtravelle
(Post 30071034)
I've always been curious about south america for vacation. Is is any good?
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MAD-SCL paid with avios is my go to for this, only 102K avios plus £170 in taxes.
If you want the direct LHR-SCL flight, AMS-LHR-SCL is available for £1800 and AMS is a very easy B2B. |
It’s been a while since I did it, but LON-JFK-SCL (BA/AA then LAN) was my preferred route. I never had any issues with Lan’s service, and tended to break up the journey in NY for a day or two. Also worth looking at LON-BOG-SCL, which can sometimes have good prices. I had AMS-DFW-BOG-SCL and back booked for last week (business trip/tier point run) for under €3k in J, but had to drop it last minute. |
If you go to SCL, try and cut out 3 days to go to Easter Island. Is a fantastic place to go and you could stay at the Explorer there (as I did, although a bit expensive compared to the rest). I also went to a Hacienda for a few days which I can also recommend.
LATAM do J return for 700 GBP which is good value considering it's a 5 hour flight with long haul seating on a 787. |
Originally Posted by moral_low_ground
(Post 30073154)
If you go to SCL, try and cut out 3 days to go to Easter Island. Is a fantastic place to go and you could stay at the Explorer there (as I did, although a bit expensive compared to the rest). I also went to a Hacienda for a few days which I can also recommend.
LATAM do J return for 700 GBP which is good value considering it's a 5 hour flight with long haul seating on a 787. |
If you are considering a side trip to Easter Island (and I certainly recommend it), check the prices on the LatAm Chile site (rather than US/UK site). When we went a couple of years ago we paid about £550 for J, which was not much over the Y price on the non-Chile site. I think the J price on the UK site was about £900. You do have to be able to read a bit of Spanish, but you don't have to pretend to have a Chilean address, or indeed have a Chilean credit card.
Easter Island is amazing. I can't wait to go back and the LatAm J product was excellent - both hard and soft. |
I do South America quite frequently (BCN based) and usually search other EXEU options but as of late leaving from BCN has been the cheapest. BCN GRU is on the new A350 and you can connect depending on the date and times wide Bodo GRU-SCL. Mind that my usual destination is MVD or PDP will also add that via US is a great option I find it refreshing as said to break the trip either in JFK or MIA. ON LATAM avoid the 767 as they are not lie flat... Best, JC |
Originally Posted by TedToToe
(Post 30073220)
That's an excellent idea, especially as it could be Easter that we are travelling! Thank you. |
I don't know if you've booked your travel yet...I'd eliminated the idea of flying business with BA to Lima from LHR next May - 2 x return fare was coming in at £5300. BA have a sale on right now, and I've got the same J seats in the sale for a total of £3600 - about a 35% discount. Worth relooking at deals to SCL if you're not booked yet.
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