Another one to add to your RTW options. Starting December LAN will commence flying SCL-USH (with stops in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas).
Ushuaia on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego is a beautiful little frontier town or at least was 14 years ago when I went there. Lots of National Park and wilderness areas to explore and some of the most magnificent scenery you'll ever see.
Probably more a late spring/summer/autumn destination - but it does have ski lifts behind the town on a thing that they rather extravagently call a mountain (similar to Winnipeg's Riding Mountain)

At 1486 miles SCL-USH is just a little short of a flight from Chile to Brazil and for those Flyertalkers who are a bit reluctant for safety reasons of spending time in the other South American cities that LAN serves (eg BOG,CCS,GRU,GIG) USH gives another Mileage run option that will without a doubt be worry-free (except for those assassin penguins)

When I was there they were proud of the new international airport they were building to accomodate the 747 that AR flew EZE-AKL which had to make a refuelling stop in Rio Gallegos on the outbound leg. The longer range of new jets meant Ushuaia International Airport never saw those planes - now it gets to fulfill its destiny

Ushuaia is also the jumping off point for Antarctic cruises.

Uhhh, isn't Ushuaia in Argentina?

I have fond memories of the old USH airport. The AR 737 would have minimum fuel to make it to Gio Gallagos and require a tug to push it to the end of the runway. Then engines start and off we went (don't want to waste fuel in taxi).

Landings were more fun. Sharp turn on final (made the old HKG seem like a picnic) then hit the deck and hope to stop before the end. I have a photo of an AR 737 which broke its back (aft of the wings) with a heavy landing. Would have been fun to have a jump seat view.

Naw nothing confusing - just trying to give a comparison for MR or other mileage-earning considerations. Maybe some of us would rather not pay Brasil $100 for the opportunity to get a fingerprint and photo if you really don't care where you are going.

I suspect with that routing that it'll be a one (Y) class service operated by LAN Express, similar to the northern flight which terminates at La Paz, Bolivia.

That said, despite the sardine tin seating configuration, there seems little else to distinguish between Y and J service on LA.

What routes are you talking about, and how recently? I have flown LA within South America in J (EZE/SCL) and within Chile (SCL/PUQ) while they still had the 2 cabin service, and found, for the length of the flights, for the service to be very good.

I have picked up a business trip to USH and now I can go oneworld, yippee.

It may not been for a few weeks but I shall let you all know how it went. The flight does stop twice on the way down. The alternative is EZE on Aerolineas Argenbankruptus. I will try to make it down before Christmas as everyone tells me that Argentina shuts for Jan and Feb in terms of real business.

According to the lan.com site, this is to be an A319 service. New hard seats? Apparently the seats in the older aircraft were ergonomic.

Now, is there any A class on the flight I wonder?

It's a hell of a way to go for a one day meeting.

Spotwelder

These are all 1 cabin planes. I've yet to get a 319 segment.

Just a note - if you don't have a Diners Club, you may consider one. The Pacific Club (Salones VIP) are in SCL, PMC, and PUQ. If for any reason you end up with any ground time at any of these places, these are member lounges. Free cocktails & beverages, not too much in the snackiecake department, however. Free internet terminals (speed depends on the airport). The SCL lounge has a shower, should you need. If you don't have or want a DC, I don't know the current entrance fee, but last time it was CL$10.000, so its not very expensive (consider US$1 = CL$600). Your flights will also have a complimentary beverage cart (not too many selections - scotch, vino, pre-mixed pisco sour, and soft drinks). Meal services are from pretty good to inedible. I have flown many LA domestic segments and have only had one in the "inedible" department.

Get an aisle seat, and you will be ok. The planes also have IFE.

Erm, the routes I'm talking about are internal Chilean flights like the one mentioned in my previous post, terminating in La Paz, Bolivia. All LAN Express flights are one-class. You will have found that the EZE flight was two-class because it's a mainline LAN (International) flight. When I flew down to PUQ, I too saw a two-class config, but understand this to be a rarity.

To clarify, my point was probably more geared to those who travel on LAN using RTW tickets, as the rules of these state that A and D class tickets will be booked in Y class for domestic routes.

All info is based on first-hand experience as recently as last week.

Yes, I'm well-aware of this, and perhaps my post wasn't clear enough.

What I did want to know is some elaboration on "there seems little else to distinguish between Y and J service on LA" - which is why I brought up the EZE flight, and also, I brought up the PUQ 2 cabin service "while they still had the 2 cabin service" as very good.

It has been under 2 years since the domestic service went "all Y". It makes for a long day for anyone who has to fly the length of Chile. (And yes, I was surprised that when the LPB flight landed in ARI, and then I boarded to fly south, that it was only 1 cabin inside).

Having re-read your earlier post, there's probably little more I can elaborate on, it's just a matter of opinion: I've found J service on LA pretty poor (both against the benchmark of other OW carriers and per se). The cabin crews are sullen to the point of cold (though the new uniforms are groovy), the airline consistently under-caters and I've never flown with anyone else in business where I've had to ask for more than one drink on a 5-hour flight.

Contrast this with a generally good (for Y) standard of service I've experienced on the other side of the curtain when flying LA and I start wondering what the airline believes makes its J offer distinct from Economy, other than the fact that the people up front have paid more for their ticket?

Eastbay1K, I gather your experience of LA has been altogether more positive, which is great. I, however, believe them to be a shabby outfit. Alas my loyalty to OW carriers and LA's near-monopoly gives me few other choices when in South America.

So, I'll be flying from USH-x/SCL-x/AKL-WLG next January.

Does anyone know where this flight clears Chilean immigration? (I'll be arriving in USH by sea, and thus won't have either the chance to find this out on the way south)

As an international-international transfer at SCL, I should (I hope) be exempt from paying the $100US immigration fee. However, if this two-stop flight clears immigration in PUQ (the first Chilean port of call), I might have a difficult time avoiding this.

Thanks so much, in advance, for the info.

As far as I know, the immigration fee only applies for pax entering Chile by air, arriving at SCL. I didn't have to pay any immigration fee when I entered Chile at Puerto Montt accross the lakes from Bariloche, or when going to Easter Island from Papeete.

It may be enforced only at SCL, but it's technically due anywhere: the rule is written by the US State Department as it applies to Chilean citizens visiting the USA, and it says that Chileans must pay USD100 no matter their port of entry. The Chileans simply mirror the US's "friendly" policy so that Americans have a taste of how other human beings are being treated by their own elected representatives in their own country.