After some crazy turbulence over Central America, we made it safely to
Santiago, Chile. Then, hopping onto a LAN flight, we headed to Rapa Nui.
The flight was excellent, and actually being served a free meal on a flight
made me think of the glorious 90s.
LAN Chile is the only airline that currently flies into the island. A
certain amount of time is required between each flight to the island, in
case a departing flight needs to turn around and make an emergency landing
(there is no other stretch of land between Rapa Nui and Santiago, Chile).
LAN has been able to dominate the industry on the island by filling all the
available spots with a flight. The monopoly has allowed them to charge 3
times the normal price for a ticket to Rapa Nui during the eclipse. The
freight cost has also been greatly increased, so foods that are imported
(which is a great majority) cost more. They claim that the price increase
is due to the limited amount of planes available because of the increased
flights to South Africa (for the World Cup).
Who gets hit by the hike increase? Both tourists and locals. And if the
tourists don¹t stand for it, the business owners are the ones who have to
face the chopping block. In the past, some local businesses have opted to
buy their own cargo ships and start private shipping industries in order to
get their cargo across the 2,500 mile stretch of ocean. But there are still
some products that need to be imported via plane.
Plans have been created for a second landing strip and a larger terminal.
This would allow enough space for a second airline to move into the market.
But the funds have not yet been acquired, and so a start date has not yet
been set.