LATAM to Introduce New Business Class with Mini-Suites

LATAM Airlines is preparing to launch elevated business class cabins, with partly enclosed “mini-suite” seats, on flights between South America and the United States.

While the airline’s proposed mini-suites do not have doors, like the business class suites on some competing airlines, they represent an improvement from the lie-flat seats currently found on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, providing more privacy and space. These new seats are part of LATAM’s continued investment in enhancing the passenger experience on its widebody aircraft.

Photo via TheDesignAir

The plans for the mini suites were revealed this week in a regulatory filing the airline made with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

LATAM is seeking a waiver of DOT accessibility rules, which require at least half of aisle seats on aircraft to have movable armrests to accommodate travelers with disabilities and limited mobility.

The airline is arguing that its mini-suites don’t have conventional armrests. Renders of the seats included in their filing show them as partly enclosed, with a lower section approximating an armrest.

LATAM also said its aircraft would carry “glide boards” to allow passengers to “transfer horizontally into the new business class mini-suite seat without being lifted over an armrest or other obstacle.” It cited previous examples of carriers receiving waivers from the DOT for similar seat designs.

Photo: Courtesy of the DOT

If the seats are approved by the DOT, they could debut on LATAM’s 787-8 Dreamliners on flights to the U.S. in December.

LATAM hasn’t revealed which routes it will target but currently flies its 787-8s on seven routes to the U.S.:

• Santiago (SCL) to New York City-JFK
• Santiago to Los Angeles (LAX)
• Santiago to Miami (MIA)
• Santiago to Orlando (MCO)
• Lima (LIM) to New York City-JFK
• Lima to Los Angeles
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) to Miami

The seats would then take flight on LATAM’s 787-9 Dreamliners in November 2025. LATAM has 26 of these larger Dreamliners in service, including on high-frequency flights between Sao Paolo, Brazil (GRU) and New York and Miami.

Photo via TheDesignAir

LATAM isn’t neglecting travelers in the rear of the plane. It’s already in the process of retrofitting some of these Dreamliners with fully-redesigned economy-class cabins to the tune of $15 million per plane.

The improved coach cabins feature new seats, new finishes, and upgraded inflight entertainment systems, with Bluetooth connectivity for headphones. Four jets will be outfitted with the new economy cabins this year, with more to follow.

Photo via TheDesignAir

Meanwhile, LATAM posted net profits of $104.8 million in the second quarter of the year, which it has attributed to its focus on its customers.