LATAM to introduce new business class seats

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• ChrisBCN says:

  21 Sep21 September 05:12

  I would suggest that JetBlue are opening the two lounges primarily to make money from the credit card (profitable) more than transatlantic mint (not so profitable).

  If they don’t follow with lounges outside of the money-printing US credit card market, then we will know the former is right.

  • Randy says:

    21 Sep21 September 23:08

    I think they’re opening the lounges to capture premium TATL traffic, not because of credit cards lol.

    By way of example, my organization has business class TATL travel policy – and we do fly a lot from NY to the UK/Europe. Mainly BA/AA, UA, DL – no one takes JetBlue seriously and the lack of lounges is one of the main factors.

    • Rob says:

      22 Sep22 September 09:13

      Here’s the thing. The press release lists their priorities in the same order we did – credit card holders are No 1.

• Terry Butcher says:

  21 Sep21 September 06:52

  Never mind lack of lounges, it’s the use of short-haul aircraft for long-haul routes that really make this say no go for me

  • Qrfan says:

    21 Sep21 September 08:37

    It’s not a short haul aircraft though is it. It’s a long range a321 with a specifically designed lie flat business class suite. It’s a narrow body sure, but you won’t be able to tell that once you’re in your suite. It’s certainly not the on board product that puts me off.

• AJA says:

  21 Sep21 September 08:20

  The only airline other than Finnair that has the business lite, no lounge, fare is I believe Qatar Airways. Lounge access is synonymous with business class. Personally I dislike the unbundled idea as it’s confusing what you’re booking and also the no lounge fares are not that cheap. Worse in a sale it’s those fares that are often discounted which makes a mockery of a sale. It just cheapens the brands that do it too.

  • Qrfan says:

    21 Sep21 September 08:32

    It just gives you more options. If you have Amex platinum and know you’re going to use the t3 centurion lounge then why pay £70 extra for a lounge you don’t need? The bigger issue is that finnair reduced all business class carry on to one bag at 12kg (previously 2 bags) so travelling without checked luggage is harder. You still get one checked bag with lite if you have one world sapphire or higher though.

    • AJA says:

      21 Sep21 September 08:51

      It only gives you more options if you have OW Sapphire status or are prepared to pay to enter a 3rd party lounge. I didn’t know about the luggage issue. To my mind that makes it poorer. The lite fares are definitely not cheap. Penny-wise and pound-foolish springs to mind.

  • Budva says:

    21 Sep21 September 09:07

    I’ve been on Air France long haul business with no lounge access but included bags

    • Martin S says:

      21 Sep21 September 09:56

      Likewise, I recently booked a KLM business class flight with bags but no lounge.

  • Ian says:

    21 Sep21 September 14:37

    I agree with this completely.

  • Dubious says:

    21 Sep21 September 15:35

    I agree that unbundling in general increases confusion. I would say it also brings opaqueness to fare costs when trying to compare different airlines/routing options. I recently bought some flights into and within North America and trying to figure out which options actually worked for my needs (not just schedule, but total costs) became really challenging.

• Supersub says:

  21 Sep21 September 08:35

  Long overdue. Had a very nice Mint suite trip LGW-BOS last year but the lack of a lounge in Boston was a real drawback. Plenty of PP options in Gatwick, but the one PP lounge in BOS was full, so I ended up sat in the concourse, feeling like a mug with my “business class” ticket.

• StillintheSun says:

  21 Sep21 September 08:58

  Unbundling lounge access from business class tickets by Qatar has always seemed a bit cheap/tacky to me. Given the high quality of the on-board product are Qatar making much of a relative saving by removing access? Or is it simply designed to discourage corporate customers from choosing the cheapest business fare?

  • Dubious says:

    21 Sep21 September 15:30

    Maybe it’s also defer a need to increase lounge capacity?

• HampshireHog says:

  21 Sep21 September 12:50

  Redeeming avios for Latam?

  • Tim says:

    21 Sep21 September 13:27

    No not possible, as Latam has its own points system. Latam does tun some interesting points accumation offers that you can subscribe to monthly or annually. Also they seem to offer status upgrades that you can buy on a monthly basis.

  • Rob says:

    21 Sep21 September 13:54

    You can do it, yes. Both BA and Qatar have deals with LATAM – Qatar Airways seems to cover more routes.

• DavidB says:

  21 Sep21 September 13:38

  I’ve now flown Mint to/from AMS twice and DUB once, all from JFK. Arriving relatively early on a positioning flight, and similarly connecting home, a lounge to pass the hours between flight was essential for my sanity and comfort.

  Fortunately at JFK one can, with a sane day boarding pass (not limited by hours as at some airports) get through security at any terminal. So I accessed T4 to use the superb Amex Centurion lounge for those hours, enjoying the discrete “Speakeasy” room. Suppose I’m spoilt but the experiences at the other end was less satisfying, relying on mediocre Priority Pass lounges at AMS and DUB, though at AMS I couldn’t get into the crammed temporary non-Schengen lounge and there was no accessible PP lounge post US pre-clearance at DUB. So good news but still a year away and nothing really on the European side.

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