LATAM launches London to Lima flights – and how to earn and spend points for it

It’s been a few years since you could fly direct from London to Lima, Peru. British Airways briefly operated during the summer between 2016 and 2019 but axed the route during covid.

Having spotted a gap in the market, LATAM will launch services via its LATAM Peru subsidiary. The first flight will be on 2nd December.

This new direct service is a significant upgrade on BA’s previous operations, with five weekly flights operating from Heathrow (the BA services went from Gatwick):

• London – Lima (LA2489) operates on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with a departure time of 10:30pm arriving at 6:35am the following morning

• Lima – London (LA2488) operates Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing at 9pm and arriving in London at 2pm the next day.

The route will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 30 business class seats and 270 in economy. There is no premium economy cabin.

The good news is that this will be one of LATAM’s refurbished 787s (photo above) which feature the Vantage XL seat (the same as Virgin Atlantic’s A330neo Upper Class Suite). This is a staggered seat with a 1-2-1 configuration and direct aisle access for all.

According to Davide Ioppolo, LATAM’s Regional Commercial Director for Central and Southeast Europe, United Kingdom, Nordic Countries, Middle East and South Africa (what a mouthful!):

“We are thrilled about the commencement of this operation. With our direct flights from London Heathrow International Airport to Lima. This represents a historic milestone for LATAM Airlines, as we become the only airline to connect directly to Peru from the UK. This added to the route we already operate to Sao Paulo brings us to 12 weekly frequencies from the UK and solidifies us as the best option for passengers who want to fly to South America, reaching 143 destinations in 22 countries.”

Earning and spending points when flying LATAM to Lima

Via British Airways Executive Club:

You can earn Avios on this service even though LATAM is not a oneworld airline. The British Airways airline partner page says that LATAM Peru counts, although you will NOT earn tier points.

There is no Avios redemption availability via BA at the moment but clearly it is early days – it may appear later. I’m not sure what LATAM routes are and are not made available for redemption via BA, given how the airline is split into separate national carriers.

Via Qatar Airways Privilege Club:

There is a Plan B though. LATAM is also a Qatar Airways ‘earn and burn’ Avios partner – see here. You will earn Avios AND Qatar Airways Privilege Club tier points if you credit your flight to them. If you book a cash flight, compare the ‘earn’ tables of British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club to see which is the best for your fare type.

You should be available to redeem Avios for this flight via Qatar Airways Privilege Club. This article shows how to link your BA and Qatar accounts. The snag is that LATAM redemptions need to be requested via an online form and you can’t check availability via the Qatar Airways website in advance.

Via Virgin Flying Club:

LATAM is also a Virgin Flying Club earning and spending partner – see the Virgin Atlantic website here. You will earn Virgin Points AND Virgin Flying Club tier points.

It’s not clear how many Virgin Points you’ll need for a business class redemption, as the Virgin Atlantic website has not yet been updated to reflect the new route.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.