In great news for Victorian and South American travelers there will once again be a direct link to the continent with LATAM Airlines to double down on its Australian presence by returning to Melbourne for the fist time in over three years with the relaunch of direct flights to Santiago. This adds upon the airline’s already current presence in Sydney whereby Australia’s largest city is connected via a short stopover in Auckland, New Zealand. The new thrice weekly service will be operated by the airline’s Boeing 787 with the 13 hour flight to save around 3 hours travel time compared to the existing Sydney-Auckland-Santiago route.
The new flights launching on September 1 will see LA804 jetting out of Melbourne Tullamarine Airport at 12.25pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday ahead of a convenient same day arrival of 11.30am into the Chilean capital. Meanwhile the inbound flight LA805 will be wheels up out of Santiago at 12.55am ahead of an early morning arrival into Melbourne at 5.30am a day later.
Once arriving into the Chilean capital Australian travelers will be spoilt for choice with access to the airline’s wider network across South America and neighboring region which will provide convenient connectivity to over 140 destinations.
For those leaving from Sydney for now can either make there own arrangements to connect up with the direct flight from Melbourne or otherwise take the airlines existing service via Auckland whereby LA800 takes off at 11.35am everyday before a quick afternoon pitstop in Auckland before arriving at 1.40pm the same day. On the innbound flight LA801 travellers can expect to take off at 12.40am before a pre dawn pitstop in Auckland before a 9.35am arrival into Sydney a day later.
Qantas on the other hand resumed direct flights between Sydney and Santiago in October last year using their own Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s so there is plenty of options for reaching the Chilean capital from both Melbourne and Sydney.
In marking the momentous occasion LATAM Airlines Country Manager for Oceania Chris Ellis said “We are extremely excited to work with the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport to resume LATAM’s direct flights to South America. It’s a pleasure to be taking up residence again in Melbourne as we expand our footprint in Australia.”
Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer Lorie Argus also added “The return of LATAM means Melbourne will once again have a direct link to South America, which is crucial for business, tourism and trade.”
Victorian Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll also remarked “We’re backing the return of LATAM Airlines – it will help power our economy by boosting exports, creating jobs and welcoming more tourists and students from Latin America.”
