LATAM Airlines Peru has announced that it will operate three weekly non-stop flights between Santiago and Cusco starting 15 August 2018. The route will be operated by Airbus A319 aircraft with capacity for 144 passengers, offering a total of 45,051 seats per year. Tickets are on sale from this week.
“As part of our commitment to offering unparalleled connectivity in Latin America and to the development of sustainable tourism in the region, from August we will proudly offer our first non-stop international flight to Cusco, the historic capital of Peru,” said Enrique Cueto, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group. “With 24 new routes planned for 2018, we continue to bring the region’s remotest corners closer to the world.”
Starting 15 August 2018, LATAM Airlines Peru flight LA2366 will depart Santiago on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday at 3.35pm, arriving in Cusco at 5pm the same day. The return flight (LA2367) will operate on the same days, departing Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport at 8.25am and arriving in Santiago at 1.50pm (all times local).
Located 3,399 metres above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, Cusco is the former capital of the Incan empire and is renowned for both its Incan and Spanish colonial architecture, becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Its history, vibrant culinary scene and proximity to attractions such as the Sacred Valley of the Incas and the citadel of Machu Picchu draw visitors from around the world.
In addition to the new Santiago-Cusco route, LATAM Airlines Peru has served Cusco from its Lima hub since 1999, operating up to 24 daily flights. From Lima, the airline group offers non-stop flights to 17 destinations throughout Peru as well as 32 cities in Latin America, the United States and Europe.
New direct flights from Cusco
The Santiago-Cusco service will complement LATAM Airlines Peru’s new Cusco-Pisco, Cusco-Iquitos and Cusco-Trujillo flights, which will operate on a seasonal basis between July and November 2018, enabling passengers to travel directly between Peru’s principal tourist destinations without needing to connect via Lima.
- Cusco-Pisco: Located in the Ica region on the Pacific coast of Peru, Pisco is small port town known for its bird and marine life, the production of the grape spirit of the same name and its proximity to the world-famous Nazca Lines. LATAM will operate two weekly flights from Cusco to Pisco.
- Cusco-Iquitos: Iquitos is known as the ‘capital of the Peruvian Amazon’ and is located in the Great Plains of the Amazon Basin to the east of the Andes. With 471,993 inhabitants, it is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road and is accessible only by air or river. LATAM will operate three weekly flights between Cusco and Iquitos.
- Cusco-Trujillo: Known as ‘the city of eternal spring’ – thanks to a pleasant year-round climate – Trujillo offers world-class beaches and water sports as well as prized gastronomy. It is also close to two major pre-Columbian archeological sites: Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the ancient world, and the temples of the Sun and Moon. LATAM will operate three weekly flights from Cusco to Trujillo.
In total, LATAM will fly to 8 destinations from Cusco in 2018, including seasonal services to Pisco, Iquitos and Trujillo as well as year-round services to Lima, Arequipa, Juliaca, Puerto Maldonado and now Santiago.