I have to travel to EZE for work in Middle of Feb - First week of March. I am allowed to book business, but am supposed to book the lowest fare available (across all major airlines). I am GM on DL, however I would not be opposed to switching programs. Through my job, I can match status to any airline, and since I'm out of LAX mainly, DL doesn't really make sense anymore.

My main question is this, what would you guys do as far as my RT to EZE?

DL - Through ATL - seems to be the best flight times

AA - Through DFW, MIA, or JFK. Anybody know what Business from MIA - EZE would be like? What about the DFW - EZE?

UA/CO - Through IAD or IAH

Lan - Not a "preferred airline" for work purposes so I can't book unless somebody can help me figure out a SCL-EZE/AEP codeshare on AA (the LAX-SCL AA codeshare is showing up)

What would you guys do if you were me? Which business will be the "best" experience (assuming I have to go straight to work when I land). Do either options have a place to shower when I arrive at EZE?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm very much struggling with this.

On AA you could route via JFK and fly a widebody three class for the domestic portion with an upgrade to first.

On UA you could fly on the morning three class 777 service via IAD and upgrade to first on the domestic service.

What would the benefits of these be (seem very out of the way to get from LAX - EZE)? By "upgrade to first" do you just mean that booking in business for a domestic portions puts me in first for those legs?

How are the seats from JFK - EZE and IAD - EZE respectively? Would they both be lie flats (I guess that's my biggest concern as I will definitely need my sleep).

Don't forget about OneWorld carrier LAN. They'll fly you to EZE via LIM or SCL, offer excellent lie-flat seats and so-so service - not bad though hardly great. Good wines, though.

Very helpful. I do recall seeing them on the list but was not aware they had lie-flats. I'll check the routings, though I do recall it was something like LAX-MEX-SCL-EZE.

No, the AA LAX-JFK service has a proper J cabin, so if you book J, you will be placed there. There are ways to upgrade to F, but the F cabin is not that much different (besides the single seat in the middle and smaller cabin).

JFK-EZE is the NGBC on AA 777, which are angled. If you can upgrade to F with an SWU, it is their flagship service with lie-flats. You'd also get F on the LAX-JFK segment and access to the Flagship Lounges.

I don't know about IAD-EZE.

If you are insisting on lie-flats in J, I think LAN is your best option. LAX-LIM-EZE or LAX-SCL-EZE. There are more frequencies to LIM, but I would try to go to SCL direct since it is a long enough flight to get a good night's sleep, then your connecting flight is only 2 hours.

HERE is a link to a portion of a trip report I wrote about flying LAN Business Class between JFK and EZE in April 2010. It includes text and pictures. Hope it helps. ^

Another vote for LAN

Thanks for that link. Looks to fit my needs perfectly. Although, I went to price out the LAX-SCL-EZE-SCL-LAX routing - $9.5K (for reference the DL LAX-ATL-EZE-ATL-LAX was ~$6.5K and the "cheapest" routings are ~$3.5K). Back to the drawing board because the cheapest routings have me flying with 2+ stops and/or very long layovers

I have flown on the LAX/ATL/EZE Delta route in BE. Very convenient, but nothing special in terms of service. Just took a look at that LAN trip report. Service looks far superior to Delta's.Agree that the LAN lounge in Santiago is fantastic!

Are you sure the DL flights have flat beds? last summer, it was the 763 recliners until the end of the summer, when it switched to the 764 with flat beds and IIRC it has since changed back to the 763.

An advantage of the DL service through ATL would seem to be the flight times, leaving ATL around 8pm and arriving at EZE around 8 am, with a similar schedule for the return.

Ah this is a very good question. How would I know if they will be the lie-flats? DL.com shows it as a 767 with "sleeper seats". But the seat map shows 2-2-2 configuration (aren't the lie flats supposed to be 1-2-1?). I thought that during the South Amer summer (i.e february) those routers were supposed to have the upgraded planes. If not, then it looks like I'll just pick whichever airline has the best flight times (unless I can swing the LAN flights cheaper)

The ability to NOT have to deal with US immigration, customs, and then the TSA, and then a possible narrow-body front cabin even in F sitting nearly upright for a many-hours transcon (or near transcon) is reason enough to choose LAN. The fact that your LIM connection will be relatively painless and when you arrive in the US, you will be home at LAX. The hour of the early AM LAN arrival (600) is usually a pleasure for int'l arrivals.

I've written a report elsewhere comparing UA F (on a specific trip) with LA J (in the aggregate) on the SFO/EZE routing. LAX/EZE would be quite similar.

http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/...sfo-eze.20433/

moved

Looked more into LAN, and found out they are not a "preferred airline" for purposes of my company's policy.

So we're back to UA (via IAD or CO VIA IAH), AA (via DFW,JFK, or MIA) or DL (via ATL). Anybody else willing to help out here? The more I look into it, the more unsure I am.