Wondering if this routing will prove problematic in terms of connection times/terminal changes etc. I am booking my daughter on this flight and she is not a seasoned traveler and has no status of any kind.

1. Will she be able to check her bags through to ATL even though her first flight is on Air Canada?
2. She has a 2 hour 10 min connection time in ATL to a domestic Delta flight. I believe she will have to retrieve her bags and go through customs in the International terminal. Can you tell me about the process of connecting in ATL to terminal S?

What is her complete routing? It's not EZE-SCL-BNA if she's connecting in ATL.

...and why make her change flights (and airlines!) when there is a nonstop EZE-ATL ?

It saves $200 and departs earlier.

I have the answer to #1, Air Canada will check all the way to BNA. Just wondering now about any ATL airport issues or special secrets for getting through customs quickly or tips for making her way to the domestic terminal.

We all gotta make out own choices, but this is one of those instances where I would pay the $200. How much is peace-of-mind worth to you?

How old is your daughter? I would gladly pay an extra $200 to have one airline and one connection, vs. the two connections and two airlines your itinerary proposes. That two hour layover in Atlanta is going to be frustrating after all that flying and just wanting to be home.

I wish I could pay an extra $200 for everyone in my family to have easier travel home, but I am spending $10K on airfare alone just to get to SA, so I am trying to do the best I can here.

ATL advice anyone?

One more thing to consider: I've never transited SCL before - is a visa required for international connections? A cursory search turns up U.S. citizens must pay $100 for a visa, but I'm not sure if this is required if only connecting to another flight.

As far as Atlanta, yes, your daughter will have to claim her baggage and carry it through customs. Afterwards she will drop the bag off again as it will already be tagged to her final destination.

The connection in Atlanta will not be specially complicated. First your daughter will have a long walk to Immigration. There will be two separate lines, one for US citizens and residents and another one for visiting foreigners. After that she will go down one level, retrieve her baggage and clear Customs. After exiting Customs she will be directed to drop off her bags for the next flight. Next she will check the departures board to see from which gate her flight will be leaving. She will then go down one more level to the train that will take her to the appropriate concourse and her gate. Signage is clear and she can always ask someone for directions if necessary. There should be plenty of time for all this unless the flight from Chile is quite late.

Panam Clipper: Thanks for that information. I have copied it and forwarded it to my daughter. In the past I have been given advice from this site about which lines move more quickly (in Toronto the far left line is for crew and as soon as they are done, they open the line to everyone so if you are in the next closest line, you can quickly shift over and get thru faster) and hoped to find out something similar for this airport.

Stealthmidget: It is my understanding that international transiting passengers in SCL will not have to pay the reciprocity fee.

I suppose that could also happen in Atlanta so it may help to get on the line next to the one where the crew goes. Frankly I think this is not worth getting too excited about as the lines for US citizens usually moves fast. On average it has probably taken me less than 10 minutes to go through. The biggest challenge will probably be fatigue after the long flight.

As for the Chilean reciprocity fee I would think it should not apply as long as your daughter does not go through immigration in SCL - and she should not need to, but I am not positive of this.

If the passenger arrived in Argentina by air there is no problem because the reciprocity fee paid there (not strictly a visa) is good for both Argentina and Chile, and for ten years.

Where did you hear this? The reciprocity fee is assessed separately by both Argentina and Chile, they are certainly not common for both countries.

It was like that when we visited in 2011 but perhaps the massive changes to the law last year have changed it.