LONDON – The Sydney to Santiago route is set to resume on October 31st with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The lucrative route was once operated by Qantas’s Boeing 747-400.
Flight Information…
The flight will bear the number QF27 and is scheduled to depart just after midday at 12:35 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with the 13.5-hour journey landing in Santiago at 11:05 am on the same day.
The QF28 return leg departs at 1:30 pm, crossing the dateline with touchdown time at 5:50 pm the following afternoon.
In addition, Qantas also resumed the code-share service with its former Oneword counterpart LATAM on the Sydney – Santiago flights, with a tech stop in Auckland.
Qantas codes share with LATAM on these flights as LA800 or QF3877. LATAM plans to fly Sydney to Santiago via Auckland 3 times a week from 30th March using the 787-9.
The relaunch of QF27 will be able to fly beyond Santiago, as Qantas shares an extensive codeshare network with LATAM.
Passengers may connect onwards to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Antofagasta, La Serena, and Punta Arenas and the beginning of many Antarctic expedition cruises.
Prospective Qantas flyers with Qantas Frequent Flyer Points can redeem 108,400 points for business class flights or 81,300 for premium economy on the one-way Sydney to Santiago Classic Flight Reward Seat.
Visitors to Chile are from now exempted from paying the $117 reciprocity fee visa-on-arrival. Travelers must now apply for the online e-visa prior to departure, permitting a stay of up to 90 days.
International Rebuild in Full Swing…
Qantas is slowly rebuilding its international network, after 2 years of grounding.
The re-launching of Project Sunrise is another signal of hope for the future of long-range flying, revealing direct flights between Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York from 2025.
The flight to Santiago is significant as this is the only direct destination to and from Australia. Without Qantas’s membership of Oneworld and its close partnership with LATAM, such flights may cease.
Project Sunrise also eye Rio De Janeiro as one of its destinations in Latin America. If this route proves successful, will Sydney to Santiago route be economically viable to operate?
An Important Lifeline
The Sydney to Rio De Janeiro route will definitely steal onward connecting passengers from the Sydney – Santiago sector, as flying non-stop proves to be even more popular.
There is a relatively small number of passengers that are commuting between Australia and South America. It is a frustrating and long trip should one embarks on the journey between the two landmasses.
With Qantas and LATAM having yet to resume operations, Air New Zealand meanwhile permanently axed its Auckland to Buenos Aires route.
Until October 31st, passengers wishing to travel to South America from Oceania have to do so via North America or the Middle East
