British Airways has announced that it will launch the only direct flight between London and Santiago in Chile from January 3, 2017.

The four-weekly service which will be operated by the Boeing 787-9 will be the airlines's longest route at approximately 11,645km, taking 14 hours 40 minutes.

Santiago will be the latest destination in Latin America to join British Airways’ route network. The airline recently launched new services to San Jose in Costa Rica and Lima in Peru. In addition, it also operates flight to Rio and Sao Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The new Santiago flight will depart from Heathrow on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 22:00 and arrive in Santiago at 09:40 local time the following day. The return flight will depart at 18:45 arriving back in London at 12:05 local the following day.

To celebrate the launch, British Airways is offering a special fare of £749 return in World Traveller (economy), £1,299 in World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and £1,999 in Club World (business class).

British Airways Boeing 787-9 has 216 seats and is the most technologically advanced aircraft in British Airways fleet featuring a new First class cabin.

Customers can now book online at ba.com.