LATAM inaugurated its flights between Recife (REC), the capital of Pernambuco, and Santiago (SCL) in Chile, making it the ninth destination connecting the Chilean capital with Brazil. The direct flight will be operated once a week using an Airbus A320neo with a capacity of 174 passengers (162 in Economy Class and 12 in Premium Economy).

“LATAM is bringing the world closer to Recife. Investing in Pernambuco is investing in Brazilian tourism. In addition to Santiago, passengers departing from the capital of Pernambuco can now easily reach Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, as well as other destinations within Chile, such as Easter Island, Calama, Punta Arenas, and Puerto Montt.,” said Eduardo Macedo, LATAM Brazil’s Public Affairs Manager.

Facilitating tourism

«This facilitates tourism for Brazilians in our neighboring country and on the other side of the world. On the other hand, the new route is also an opportunity to bring international tourists closer to the attractions of Brazil’s Northeast region,» concluded Macedo.

The company operates flights from Santiago (SCL) to Belo Horizonte/Confins (CNF), Brasilia (BSB), Curitiba (CWB), Florianópolis (FLN), Porto Alegre (POA), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU), Fortaleza (FOR). In Recife, LATAM flies to Brasilia, Congonhas, Fortaleza, Guarulhos, and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão, with Chile as its first international destination.

More than 1.2 million passengers

In total, LATAM was responsible for transporting over 1.2 million passengers between January and October this year at the capital of Pernambuco’s airport.

“Today we launch a historic partnership between the Government of Pernambuco and LATAM, starting with this international route connecting the state to Chile. This is just the beginning of LATAM’s expansion in Pernambuco’s air market, which will also see a significant increase in the number of domestic flights,” said Eduardo Loyo, president of Empetur.

 

Currently, LATAM is the airline with the highest connectivity between Brazil and Chile, accounting for 70% of the air passenger volume between the two countries, according to ANAC Brazil (National Civil Aviation Agency). Between January and October, it carried 1,127,365 travelers with an occupancy rate of 84%, making it the airline’s third-largest international market.

LATAM’s schedule between Recife and Santiago

The Recife-Santiago flight will have an average duration of 6 hours. Compared to a trip with a connection at Guarulhos Airport (São Paulo), the new route will reduce the average travel time between Pernambuco’s capital and Chile by three hours.

• Flight LA 8013 Santiago 05:10 – 11:10 Recife / Friday.
• Flight LA 8012 Recife 12:10 – 18:40 Santiago / Friday.

Each route is projected to carry approximately 14,500 passengers in its first year of operation.