LAN Airlines

We encountered the worst customer service with LAN Airlines that I have ever seen. We arrived over an hour before our departure time, check in went as usual, they took our bags and then someone whispered something in the check-in attendants ear and we were suddenly told we were not allowed on the plane because we were "late". We requested to see the supervisor and right in front of us the supervisor left the building and "went home for the evening". After being passed around from employee to employee it became clear they sold our seat and did not have space for us anymore. They refused to offer us a solution stating were just not going to get to go. They stated all other flights to our destination were sold out for the rest of the week and they would not put us on another flight. The treatment and the way they spoke to us was unbelievable and unacceptable. We have traveled all around the world utilizing a variety of airlines and never experienced anything like this. There was one woman there we encountered who was helpful, efficient and kind. Other than that it was a very disrespectful and abusive experience. We will never fly this airline again.

Papeete to Quito via Easter Island/ Santiago. Based on 8 flight sectors with LAN during November I have concluded that LAN have a severe problem communicating with passengers. Their flights are frequently late in departing (up to 3 hours in one case) and they make no attempt to keep passengers informed. Our luggage went missing on a flight to Quito and it was extremely difficult to get the LAN ground staff to tell us where the bags were so that we could determine our next moves. We had arranged for a 10 day cruise around the Galapagos Islands the following day. They were extremely unhelpful and totally disinterested in recovering our luggage. If you ever encounter a problem while travelling with LAN don't expect them to give you any assistance.

We travelled around South America on 8 different flights with LAN and had the same issues on most of our flights. We were travelling with a 5 month old baby. My complaints about LAN Airlines Staff are rude, unhelpful and untrained at dealing with customers. They don't want to accommodate people with babies. Staff lie to customers. Not once but on several occasions. I needed to confirm 3 times that we would need a bassinet, and were told we would get one (three times). On arrival to the airport they said we didn't get one anyway. Bassinets were available on flight but LA801 (a 13 hour flight) but no one with babies got them. Normal economy people were sitting in those seats. I have never seen babies sitting on parents laps when bassinets were available. It states on their website that we have a right to get a bassinet and it is the safest place for babies. I would like to add that we were talking to other parents with young a babies and none of us got bassinets. One parents weren't even sitting together, one other was travelling by herself and they woul't even make the seat next to her free. They all had the same issues as it. Long checkins, Dealing with rude and unhelpful staff, LAN Airlines saying no bassinets and unable to help etc.

Check-In was quick and friendly. LAN Airlines Boeing 787 with a nice roomy feeling, big windows. LAN does not use the mood-light functions like Avianca for example. Not sure why. They just dim the light. 3x3x3 seating is not great if you are a single traveler or a couple. Then the old 767 is better. Flights were on time, cabin very clean, but restrooms dirty during the flight. Seat pitch is ok, but there are no foot rests like Avianca. After I couple of hours I really missed them as my legs and feet began to hurt. Flight attendants friendly and smiling. Food is tasty but portions are small so eat something before you take off. Good complementary wine and several refills were offered. Attendants come through the aisles with water during the night. Very good entertainment system. Lots of movies and tons of songs on big personal screens. Minus is that there is no remote control so you always have to move up to the touch screen to zap around. Just bring your own headset. LAN gives you 2 contact headsets but IFE has only one plug-in so you'll get only mono sound using the LAN sets. Blankets and pillows provided. On the outbound even eye covers and ear plugs. Not on the way back though. No hot towels as I'm used to from European or Asian Carriers. Would be a nice perk. Overall a good experience and I will fly LAN again.

Wonderful long haul experience with LAN and would choose them again. Crew were attentive and food and wine was better than expected. If I had one small suggestion it would be to offer light snacks or even an ice cream mid way between Santiago and Auckland as it's a long sector for just two meal services.

LAN Airlines are the worst airline to deal with ever. They changed the flights without letting us know from a 8:30pm to 10am in the morning. That left us with a 13 hour layover in Los Angeles - a total nightmare. They never contacted us, and we found out by accident when we checked in to confirm. They then said they couldn't help us and would find a specialist to call us back - but they couldn't do anything. Dont fly with them.

I was travelling with LAN Argentina from Bahia Blanca to Buenos Aires. After the start of the boarding flight was canceled due to bad weather. I had a flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid on the next day and tried to get some assistance from LAN Argentina due to that fact. Hopeless, no assistance. I had to look for alternative flights, táxi, food, hotel, etc on my own. Tried to get the refund from LAN but their site does not allow to ask for it (displays error message. Contacted airline via mail several times but never got even an answer not to mention the refund that in spite of insisting was neve done.

Flown 8 legs on a S American trip, on this excuse of an airline. Other than the inflight service, LAN Airlines is a disaster, from the poorly functioning website, to extremely chaotic boarding(eg making people line up by their seat #s, than changing the lines three times, and finally setting up wrong signs, leading to utter confusion), to the dirty planes, to absolute incompetence in communication (there were no English announcements made on the plane, not by the pilot nor by the attendants, and the flight was going to LAX) to broken IFE..Not to mention 12 hrs delay at Lima airport where 2 staff dealt with 150 transferring passengers, only to have them return 12 hrs later with no one knowing how and where to deal with the returning delayed passengers. A horrid experience.

I arrived at Cusco airport on the 17/09/2015 in good time to catch the LA2032 to Lima and then my KLM KL744 flight to Amsterdam. However, the flight was delayed due to unknown reasons, no reason was every given. The staff at the check-in were, I cannot find words in the English language to do their, utter, extraordinary, total incompetence justice. There were only two on the desks with queues stretching out for some distance. Yet there were many staff members chatting to each other, or on radios or mobile phones and when they felt like it interrupting the members on the desk and the people on the desk talking on their mobile phones, disappearing to a back office, at one point there was know body sitting at the desks, I could go on. I could hear people in the other queue shouting that they would miss their flights. When I finally got to the front desk I was informed that “don’t worry the flight is delayed 20 minutes you will not miss your flight” meaning the Cusco flight to Lima. I finally got the flight to Lima, only to be informed by the pilot mid air that the flight was an hour delayed. I arrived at Lima only to be informed that my connecting flight had long gone. I entered a very long queue called “missed departures” the one and only member of staff on the desk made the staff at Cusco look like members of MENSA and NASA!! That one person it appeared could not stick to one task, she continually let other members of staff interrupt her, disappeared, you get the picture etc etc entertained a small group of people who forming an unofficial queue, it was a total mess, I stood with other for over two hours, with no refreshments, no information, nothing. When it was my turn the lady said I could wait for another 24 hours and get the 20:05 KLM or she could put me on an Air Europa flight to Madrid then Amsterdam then Manchester. I said no I wanted to go to either Amsterdam, Manchester or Madrid, Amsterdam as that is what I had paid for. This sent her into confusion, with much tapping of the keyboard and phone calls both land line and mobile. Then she said “yes the flight goes to Madrid and then Manchester. I asked her to confirm this that it did not go to Amsterdam, no she said Madrid then Manchester, no Amsterdam. She then after many interruptions booked me a Hotel for 5 hours and a Taxi, she also gave me a code that I should show at the Air Europa check-in. I returned to Lima Airport went to the Air Europa check-in handed in my code. There was a few phone calls and then the lady tapped on a calculator and showed me a large number. I asked if that was the ticket number, no it the cost of a new ticket. The lady at the missed departure line the day before had only made a reservation and had not booked any flight tickets at all! So another trip to the other side of Lima airport to talk to another LAN Airlines member of staff. You guessed it many mobile calls, land line calls, tapping of keyboards etc etc. Then asked to wait for 5 minutes, I asked what was happening he could not tell me, and proceeded to deal other people. Then, after some time, he calls me back and tells me that the tickets are booked, Lima to Madrid, then Amsterdam and then Manchester. I could have screamed, but I just wanted to get out of there and so took the tickets. Little did I know that Air Europa is a very poor substitute for KLM. I paid for a quality service and received through no fault of my own a sub standard service. I was 24 hours late getting home.

LAN Airlines onboard service may be great, but counter service at Santiago, Chile is simply awful. The people at SCL Airport should be doing anything else but customer sevice. Online, you cannot update your information. It does not happen. Accessibility to customer service is poor. If you manage to find their phone number, you will be given assistance that goes nowhere. Even the reference number they give you on a request (like updating your information on line) disappears. Nobody knows anything. Reservations - watch out! They will change your assigned seat with no problem and when you check in you have a surprise. When you show them your reservations, counter people do not why. You are left with whatever is available. Upgrades - do not try it. They will look at the purchase date of an economy ticket and then the price of a business on that date, and give you an upgrade for the difference. So, even if they have empty seats on business, they will not upgrade you for a reasonable fee as most airlines do. They need to improve customer service.