Qantas to return to Santiago from October 31

South America lands back on the Qantas network later this year, with October 31 pencilled in as the restart date of direct flights between Australia and the Chilean capital on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Qantas flight QF27 is scheduled to take-off just after lunchtime at 12:35pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with the 13.5-hour journey touching down in Santiago at 11:05am on the same day. The QF28 return leg departs at 1:30pm, crossing the date line with wheels-down at 5:50pm the following afternoon.

A codeshare service with the Roo’s former Oneworld sibling LATAM – which resumed its own Sydney-Santiago flights, albeit with a fuel stop in Auckland, on March 29 – will add Tuesday and Thursday to the line-up.

Passengers flying beyond Santiago will be able to continue on the one ticket thanks to an ongoing Qantas codeshare with LATAM which connects the Peruvian capital of Lima along with Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Antofagasta, La Serena and Punta Arenas - the departure point for many Antarctic expedition cruises.

Qantas' 787 business class will be heading back to Chile.

For those with swelling Qantas Frequent Flyer Points balances, a one-way Sydney to Santiago Classic Flight Reward seat will set you back only 108,400 points for business class, or 81,300 for premium economy.

Chile-bound travellers will also find entering the country much easier following the axing of its US$117 ‘reciprocity fee’ visa-on-arrival. Now, travellers must obtain an online e-visa prior to departure, permitting a stay of up to 90 days.

Qantas is gradually rebuilding its international network, with the airline declaring its hand for the future of long-range flying with the unveiling of its Project Sunrise direct flights between Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York from 2025. 

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro was also originally named as a potential destination on the Project Sunrise ticket.

Rival South American capital Rio de Janeiro has been name-checked as a potential Project Sunrise destination.

Along with the resumption of flights to long-distance mainstays such as Johannesburg, the Flying Kangaroo also brought forward the return of direct Perth-London flights to May 23.