Given the distances involved with flying to Easter Island, the type of aircraft used on the route has always been an important issue, both in terms of the number of people it can accommodate, and the level of comfort it provides for the 5.5 hours of flying to the island.
Up until this month, the island had enjoyed being served by the most-modern and environmentally friendly plane in LATAM's fleet, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner:
However, recent problems that these aircraft have been having with their Rolls Royce engines, have led to many of the earlier models (of which LATAM was a fervent buyer) having to be returned and refitted, leaving them with 9 aircraft currently out of action. LATAM have remedied this by leasing aircraft from other airlines, and for the next few months it appears that most of the Easter Island flights will be performed by these former Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200s:
Not a problem you say, and it isn't really, except that these B777s were delivered to Singapore Airlines in 2001, and as far as we can see, no upgrades have been made to their interiors since then:
Not ideal if you were looking forward to LATAM's award-winning onboard product, but the good news is that frequencies to the island haven't been affected, meaning that the same amount of visitors will still be able to make it to Easter Island during this difficult period for LATAM. Happy flying!
