LATAM clearly does not have well-established policies re: luggage for international flights to Lima followed by domestic flights within Peru (in my case, from Lima to Cuzco). On the way in, they forced me to pay $50 in Lima to check my second carry on bag (the three bags were included in the fare from JFK to Lima). On the return trip, they told me at check in that I would have to pay $50 again at the gate (she said they couldn't accept the money at check in) Then, at the gate, they initially told me I would have to pay several hundred dollars to check the big bag through to JFK. I protested, and showed them a print out of an email saying the checked bag was included between LIM and JFK. Than a second woman showed up, and told me I wouldn't have to pay anything at all -- which was great news, of course -- but that means I was incorrectly charged the extra $50 on the incoming flight. Basically, just a mess. Also, their website is completely non-functional -- it was very cleear that all the airport staff knew the website was nonfunctional, too.
In flight from Miami to Anchorage, we were all on board ready to take off. Pilot decided to take on more fuel causing a delay. Once fueled, the pilot came back over the radio stating more delay due to VIP. These delays caused me to miss my connecting flight. I went to the Alaska Air counter for information. They flat out stated that it was ATCs fault that I missed my flight and booked me a flight the next day about 1300 . I believe if we had the fuel prior to getting on board we would not of been delayed and I would have taken off on time. Pilot was taken out of the equation. I think they should’ve taken responsibility for their pilots decision to top off his aircraft instead of waiting til the last moment. Enough said…
Good check in process Poor information on payments at Lima airport
On board crew was very good. Crew was friendly, snacks were good, especially the chips. Seats seemed a bit cramped. Boarding seemed unorganized, as we were instructed to get to the gate an hour early and then just stood around until boarding.
Latam wouldn’t tell me how much checked luggage would until I was at the airport and they charged me the highest price possible. Besides that, it was okay.
We were not allowed to carry a bottle of water onto the 8 hour flight.
There was a mechanical issue with the plane that they had to work on before we could take off. That's fine, by all means, PLEASE make sure the mechanics are functioning properly. What was a problem was the fact that we sat on the tarmac for 4.5 hours without moving, without letting us off the plane, and without climate control and air running through the plane. There was no explanation as to what was going on; they just kept promising that it would be "15 minutes, then we are on our way." At one point, they even switched the entire crew out and told everyone we just needed to wait for new employees to show up. Then, as the 4 hours were not moving, an hour before the full refund, they made a big show about "the flight starting and the doors are locked, so you have to sit down." We didn't move for another 40 minutes; they were just trying to skirt around legalities that entitled us to restitution. When the flight finally was underway, the plane was gigantic but cramped in design, my entertainment screen kept freezing and glitching, and subtitles didn't work, and the crew was passive-aggressive. Terrible flight.
LATAM’s crews are fine, but God help you if you need any customer service. Their app and website never work, with error after error. Trying to solve anything over the phone is painful, and lastly, the boarding pass LATAM gave me to board the flight with Delta was invalid and I had to purchase an emergency one-way ticket at the last minute to get home.
The assistance we received and the flight itself was wonderful. We will fly with LATAM airlines again, in the future.
Latam may be the worst airline in the world, far worse than even the lowest of low cost airlines in the USA. I wasted hours trying to PAY THEM TO CHECK A BAG! Then they misled me at the terminal, sent me through the wrong security line, the list goes on and on... Just absolutely terrible in every way. Avoid at all costs.
