Flying to South America?

[Cactus Jack]

Is it possible to fly to South America direct from Australia or do you have to go through the USA?

If so, which airlines do it and which countries can you fly to?

[Traveller]

I am pretty sure Qantas, LAN, and Aerolineas Argentinas fly to South America. Qantas and Aerolineas to Argentina and LAN to Chile (i think - been a while since I looked into it.). You can obviously then connect to other SA countries.

[Georgi]

Aerolineas are usually the cheapest but have a terrible reputation with flyers. If you plan to head over from November - Febuary from Australia try to book at least 6 months early as getting a cheap seat can be a pain if you leave it late. All flights will have a quick stop in NZ on the way through.

[EverNothing]

I've never travelled to South Amercia myself Jack, but i've asked around and most of my travel contacts have told me LAN is probably the safest and cheapest S.A. airline currently functioning. The worst (in terms of safety record and most expensive) is Lloyd Aero Boliviano.

If you do end up choosing to fly to North Amercia first and then board a connecting flight over to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia etc... I would fly with Continental or Delta. A few friends of mine have had bad experiences on American and United so I wouldn't recommend either one of those two.

[kennas]

Aerolineas is generally the cheapest by my experience, and surprisingly good. Flew home from Peru through Argentina last time (over Antarctica) and they were great. I was in business class however...

QAN/LAN fly through either Santiago or LA to other destinations in Sth America.

Once in SA, LAN have a monopoly, and are very good.

[Cactus Jack]

Thanks for the tips guys! Much appreciated! :)