A Boeing 787 landed in Lima, Peru last week, marking the first time the new class of craft touched down on Latin American soil.

The landing, however, was only a preview of what’s to come. LAN is to begin taking delivery of 32 787s, also known as the Dreamliner, valued at $3.5 billion during the second quarter of 2012.

Boeing's 787 at an airport outside La Paz, Bolivia.

“A plane that brings structural components to Everett, Wash landed in the are only four times last month, according to UBS Investment Research,” Crain’s said.

“We think the slow pace of structural component deliveries reflect supply-chain problems and rework necessary on early aircraft,” the report continued. “Dreamlifter activity had been relatively consistent at 15 to 20 monthly arrivals into Everett… However, activity has been slow since mid-2010 with Boeing having halted component deliveries into Everett five times.”

LAN – which is based in Chile with operations in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia – and its affiliates service about 70 international destination. The airline is in the midst of merging with Brazil’s TAM, and if the deal receives approval from a Chilean antitrust authority in August the move could create Latin America’s largest airline, according to NASDAQ, and one of the 10 biggest airlines in the world.