Emirates Airlines recently won a major victory in the US. They and the other two ME3 carriers were left largely unscathed after a years long battle with the US Big 3. As the Middle East airlines continue their expansion, mainly Emirates and Qatar, Etihad has started to shrink. They blame their bad investments in other airlines, and I expect that the airline will soon reduce their fleet size or defer orders to avoid growing too fast. Emirates, on the other hand, recently announced a cabin overhaul for their 777 aircraft. It has the best first class product out there and I am dying to try it out. As part of their expansion, they are adding flights to Santiago, Chile.

Emirates Launches Santiago Chile Flights

The airline announced that they are intending to launch flights to the Chilean capital as of July 2018. The route will be served 5x weekly via Sao Paulo. They will fly the route on their 777-200LR. This aircraft will have a 2 class configuration, with Business and economy. It is worth noting that the airline also flies this aircraft to Fort Lauderdale. Since, this route will fly via Sao Paulo, service to the Brazilian city will go from 7x Weekly to 12x Weekly. The schedule is as follows:

EK263 DXB0905 – 1700GRU1830 – 2140SCL 77L Except Sundays and Tuesdays

EK264 SCL0110 – 0555GRU0745 – 0515+1DXB 77L Except Mondays and Thursdays

What to Expect

As usual, you can expect Emirates excellent service. The aircraft will have their most recently updated product, with fully flat beds in Business class. I find it sad that they will fly the route without First Class, as their new 777 Suites are truly A-MA-ZING. In economy, you can expect Emirates’ elevated experience, which I find to be on par with the best economy classes in the world (such as JAL, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar).

Landing Thoughts:

I am surprised the airline decided to announce the flight at this stage. They currently do not have fifth-freedom rights between Sao Paulo and Santiago. IF the airline gets this authority from the Brazilian and Chilean governments, it will be by FAR the best way to get between the cities. Although LATAM does not have middle seats in business class, I think the soft product is so superior that I would fly Emirates.

I suspect the airline to announce new destinations for their 2-class 77-200LRs soon. As they find themselves cooperating more and more with flyDubai, the airline will have more feeder traffic and more aircraft to spare. I can only imagine as well that the airline will also launch more international routes over the course of the year. They may even dethrone Turkish Airlines as the airline with the most international destinations! Wishful thinking but possible!

What do you think? Are you excited to try out the new Emirates flight? Would you prefer them over LATAM? Let us know!

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H/T: Airlineroute

Images from: The Points Guy