LAN's First 787-9 Commences Commercial Flight

The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner of LAN Airlines (LA) has started commercial flight from Santiago to Miami, according to a tweet posted by @B787fans on Tuesday.

The airline inaugurated its first 787-9 flight on Santiago-Miami route on Monday, which was previously operated by the smaller 787-8.

Flight LA500 took off from Santiago International Airport (SCL) at 11:19 p.m. on Monday and is scheduled to arrive at Miami International Airport (MIA) at 5:08 a.m. the next day, according to air traffic tracker flightradar24.com.

The airline took delivery of its first 787-9 in early Feb., becoming the first operator of the stretch version of the Dreamliner in Latin America. LAN is leasing the new airplane from Amsterdam-based lessor AerCap.

LAN's 787-9 features 313 seats in a two-class configuration, including 30 in Premium Business Class and 283 in Economy Class.

The Santiago de Chile-based carrier said it will operate the 787-9 on daily Santiago-New York JFK flights starting July 20, 2015.
LAN currently has 11 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, including 10 787-8s and one 787-9. The company is building a fleet of 32 787 Dreamliners, including 10 787-9s, over the next several years.
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