LATAM Airlines787-8 economy review (pretty good – even when stuck in a window seat)

We all have our list of airlines that intrigues us, and for reasons I can’t explain logically, LATAM has always been on mine. Maybe it’s because I like the livery so much. Or the fact that they went from “tiny” to “one of the biggest airlines in the world” in a very short amount of time.

Whatever the reason, I’m excited as all heck to be writing this review of LATAM 787-8 economy. The flight that I had with them from Los Angeles to Santiago was fairly decent – even though they screwed me out of the exact seat that I wanted…

LA603
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Santiago, Chile (SCL)
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Aircraft: 787-8
Registration: CC-BBF
Duration: 10 hours 8 minutes
Seat: 24L (economy class)

The more I put myself “out there” on social media, the more I realize how much of a goofball I really am. Case in point: the Youtube video for this flight, in which I claimed this particular aircraft to be a 787-9 instead of the 787-8 that it was. I proudly wrote “787-9” in the title, on the thumbnail, and even on the animated graphics within the video itself. I even verbally said “787-9” many times throughout.

Imagine the horror I felt when just minutes after publishing the video on YouTube, comments such as “uhh…bro…that’s a 787-8” came pouring in. 

Because of the fact that the video contained 787-9 references which couldn’t have been edited out without re-uploading, I didn’t even bother to change the titles or thumbnail. Oh well. But rest assured, I am fully aware of the error!

An awesome way to jump head first into the world of LATAM airlines reviews, eh?

My full review of LATAM 787-8 economy class from Los Angeles to Santiago

Kicking off a big international trip from LAX is getting to be a regular thing for me these days. This is the third time I’ve done it this year (first time was on Air Tahiti Nui to CDG, and the second was Xiamen Airlines to XMN) – and I’m starting to miss SAN! Well, technically, all of these trips (including this one) started by flying out of San Diego International Airport, but – the fun actually starts here at the Tom Bradley International Terminal here at LAX.

Checking in at LAX

FYI, I booked my LATAM itinerary on the American Airlines website since it was nearly half the price of doing it on latam.com. Unfortunately, even though I saved a ton of money this way, I wasn’t able to make seat reservations at the time of booking. I had to call LATAM directly after the tickets had been issued to score the exact seats that I wanted.

The phone call to reserve my seats was quick and painless, and I was able to get an aisle seat in the center section just like I wanted (since it’s consistently been one of the best ways to end up with an empty seat next to me). So far so good, right?

Not exactly. Upon checking in for this flight here at LAX, the agent handed me a boarding pass with a window seat assignment. “Um…I called and made a reservation for an aisle seat three weeks ago” I said with a very concerned tone of voice.

“Seat assignments made over the phone aren’t confirmed until checking in” she replied…which immediately filled me with an irresistible urge to argue with her over the semantics of the word “reservation”. “What’s the point of giving other seat assignments over the phone if they aren’t going to be honored?” I asked. Her only reply to that was “sorry, we can’t confirm seat assignments until checking in”.

Okay then. I could have gone all DYKWIA on her, retorting with a whiny “it’ll be one of the worst LATAM 787-8 economy reviews ever written!” – but I was in no mood for arguing. I took my boarding pass, thanked her for her help, and proceeded to the security checkpoint.

Anyway, ending up with a seat assignment I didn’t want and finding out that we’d be boarding from the bus gates this afternoon was not how I wanted to start this trip. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about frequent travel over the years, it’s that things can and do go wrong (a lot) and it’s best just to take it all in stride and be thankful that you’re able to travel in the first place.

The pre-flight experience

Thank God for Priority Pass. Instead of wandering around aimlessly for the entire two hours I had to kill before the boarding process began, I was able to spend a majority of it camped out in the amazing Korean Air (KAL) Lounge located on the 5th floor of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Well, I did have to wander around and wait for it to open to Priority Pass members at 1pm, but once I was in, life was pretty good.

This flight was scheduled to depart from one of the temporary bus gates located at ground level of the far north end of the TBIT. These gates will no longer be in use once the international terminal expansion is complete, so if you’re reading this review several years from now – this is something you’re not going to have to deal with.

The boarding process

Gate 144 was our departure point. Well, technically, it was just the gateway to our actual departure point, since we’d have to board a bus once having our boarding passes scanned and stepping though the doors to the outside.

As I’ve noted in so many of my other reviews for flights in and out of LAX, I actual enjoy these bus rides quite a bit. This is an amazing airport with tons of interesting activity 24 hours a day. Basically: AvGeek heaven (to the extreme), with so many things to see in every direction.

Just as it was for my Xiamen Airlines 787-9 business class experience to Xiamen, there wasn’t much of a view of the plane as we stepped off the bus and into the temporary terminal structure leading up to the jet bridge. 

There were two things that popped into my head (in rapid succession) immediately after stepping onto this 787-8:

1. “OMG the mood lighting!”
2. “OMG business class looks cheap AF”

Regarding the first point, the deep purple and pink tones of the mood lighting fit the LATAM brand perfectly IMHO. After all, these are the colors used in their logo and printed brand elements, so seeing the entire cabin drenched in these hues was the perfect way to be introduced to this airline.

As for the second point, I’m not going to say much about it since this is an economy class review and I don’t want to stray too far off track. However, it is worth noting that the business class seats on this particular 787-8 are of the old school recliner variety, which is a really nice way of saying they didn’t look all that comfy for very long flights.

Seat overview

Despite business class not appearing to be all that comfortable (or good looking), economy class on these LATAM 787-8’s is pretty decent actually. Perhaps it was the Virgin America-style mood lighting which helped to make the seats far more exciting than they actually are, but whatever – my first impressions of this economy class cabin were quite good.

Very large pillows and blankets were on every seat, and I’ve got to say that it’s been a while since I’ve seen blankets and pillows this large and squishy in any economy class on any airline. You’d think that the amenities I received in Qatar Airways 777-300ER economy would be better, but…I’ve got to say that the pillows and blankets here on LATAM are legit. Imagine that.

The departure out of LAX

Being stuck in a window seat wasn’t seeming like such a big deal once I was all settled in and comfy. Yeah, I would have definitely preferred to be in an aisle seat (with an empty seat next to me), but…I had a feeling that this was going to end up being ok. As long as I didn’t drink too much water and pee my pants.

Food and drinks

Menus (as well as arrival cards) were handed out by the flight attendants just as we were flying directly over top of SAN, and I had a look (trying to choose the option which would make me less likely to pee my pants by accident).

I went with the ravioli, which ended up being pretty good. The only issue I had with it was that it was a fairly small portion size and it didn’t do very much to fill me up. It tasted fine, but I certainly could have devoured another if they put it in front of me.

Another thing worth mentioning about LATAM Airlines food is that it was probably the best “cheap” economy class airline meal I’ve ever had. Not all economy class food is created equal, as I’ve had some amazing meals in steerage over the past several years (such as the meal I experienced in Turkish Airlines 777-300ER economy from Chicago to Istanbul last year).

That Turkish Airlines meal was what I consider to be the higher-end of the economy class meal spectrum, with the food served in Air Tahiti Nui A340-300 economy being at the bottom. Everything about that meal screamed “cheap,” and they made little effort to make it look appetizing (and delicious).

This particular meal here on LATAM also felt really cheap to me, but…at least it looked and tasted good. I can tell they actually made an effort to make it presentable, which is a huge plus IMHO. Even the tray it was served on was designed well, as it featured a handy indented area for placing utensils when not in use. Someone in the LATAM Airlines kitchen was using their noggin!

Seat and cabin comfort

Well, right off the bat, I do need to say that combined with the very large blankets and pillows they provided, real sleep is indeed possible (and comfortable).

Of course it’s not the same kind of meaningful sleep that you would get if you were up in business class, but I was actually able to doze off for a few hours. I even managed to do it without waking up spewing expletives!

If you’re the kind of person who can’t sleep on airplanes (and I know a lot of you can’t), the video entertainment system is quite good. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was as good as something like Delta Studio or anything, but there was a wide selection of TV shows and movies on tap to keep me occupied when there was nothing else to do.

Anyway, it was a relatively uneventful flight and I did spend most of my free time writing blog articles when I wasn’t sleeping or eating.

I know. This isn’t the most exciting of LATAM Airlines reviews that you’ll ever read, but my goal is to state the facts. Sometimes long-haul economy class travel is hellishly boring, no matter how cool the airline which you’re flying on may be.

Something else worth noting before I close out this section is that there was indeed a snack bar located at the very rear of the aircraft. Complementary snacks and beverages were available to everyone, but unfortunately I got pictures of none of it. But I promise it did exist, and I’m mentioning it because it’s yet another fun thing to do if you’re completely bored out of your mind seven hours into the flight.

Come to think of it, maybe I should’ve taken full advantage of that snack bar considering how small the meals were…

Final thoughts

So the big question is this: did this flight from Los Angeles down to Santiago satisfy my desire to fly this airline so badly? Well, sort of.

As we began the descent down into Santiago, I couldn’t help but to think that (overall) it was a really great experience. Except for the fact that they didn’t honor my seat assignment and I ended up sitting in a place I really didn’t really want to be.

Of course I love window seats, but not on long-haul flights over seven hours. I’m much happier to be in an aisle seat where I can get up and stretch whenever I dang well feel like it. Also, I’m far too introverted and shy to keep bugging other people to move so I can get up and use the lavatory.

Long story short, I’m not exactly sure that this qualifies as one of the epic LATAM Airlines reviews that I’ve been waiting to write for so long. Yeah, it was really fun to finally give this airline a try, but the seat assignment thing really rubbed me the wrong way. Not only that, it was completely dark on our arrival into Santiago and I was unable to see any of the magnificent Chilean landscape I’ve been dreaming about seeing for years.

Is LATAM Airlines long-haul economy worth it? Absolutely! It was a “decent” experience which could’ve been made “excellent” if I had the exact seat that I wanted (along with more food to eat).

The seat reservation thing is easily rectified by booking directly on latam.com instead of a third-party website. The food thing is easily solved by bringing snacks or taking full advantage of the complementary snack bar located in the rear galley of the aircraft.

Now you know.