Flying from Sydney to Auckland with LATAM airlines

Staff aboard a LATAM Airlines plane. Photo / Supplied

Mark Garrison flies LATAM 800 across the Tasman

The plane: Boeing 787-900 with a 3-3-3 configuration.

The seat: 30A. Directly next to an emergency exit, this seat does not have a window, but it has heaps of legroom. There was a decent-sized overhead locker, which was good as there was no seat in front to place items under.

Class: A very full Economy Class. Perhaps 10 seats out of 304 on the aircraft were unoccupied.

Fellow passengers: Most on the flight were South American travellers on their way home. There were far less New Zealand-bound passengers on this flight than on the last LATAM flight I took.

On time: The flight left about 15 minutes late but made up that time on route. In fact, time literally seemed to fly by. I barely had time to watch The Artist before the plane began its descent into Auckland.

Entertainment: A fairly limited amount of films, I thought, especially if you were continuing on to Santiago. The Blockbuster selection, for example, had 12 films on offer. For those leaving the aircraft in Auckland, the selection was ample.

Food and drinks: A basil pesto vegetarian sandwich and raspberry chocolate mousse, accompanied by a couple of very decent glasses of Chilean red. One of the flight attendants also passed me a cheeky welcome aboard cocktail before take-off, which was really tasty.

Service: The two times I have flown with LATAM, I have found the cabin crew to be among the best there is. They are friendly and always approachable.

Toilets: Big, clean, bright and not too busy.

Airport experience: This flight left from a remote stand at the far end of the terminal. Having to take a bus when boarding an international flight is always annoying. It is just that extra bit of inconvenience you don't need before a long flight. Considering this flight was so busy, it seemed odd that the airport delegated the aircraft to one of these remote stands. It would also be nice if people would move well into the bus to let others on board, but no amount of coaxing worked on my coach. Thus I was forced to push my way down though the throng to get to a nice empty space in the middle.

Would I fly this again? Yes. LATAM staff make all the difference. They have a genuine warmth that a lot of other carriers lack. Flights between Sydney and Auckland are increasingly filled to capacity, so it is great to have as many options as possible on this route.