I decided to revisit the flight information that has been available for more than 2 months for the LAX to SCL flights that were or could have been used:
Best AR16 Flights LAX to DFW 11/28/09
AA2448 1353 (all will be presented as actual) 1925 - this was the one the 3 leading teams with the first flight edge got off to be with their peers. What would have happened if they had stuck it out? This was a big-time delay at LAX but if taken this flight would have easily made connection to AA945 DFW SCL 2110 0947
Best AR16 Flights LAX to MIA 11/29/09
There are multiple ways to do this, the best being AA252 1449 2201, the flight actually taken by all AR16 teams.
Best AR16 Flights MIA SCL 11/30/09
AA957 0037 1020
So, if the 3 first flight teams had stuck with it, they would have arrived 33 minutes ahead of the other teams. It did not matter in the AR16 Ep. 1 outcome, but maybe it would have have implications for Ep. 2 start times if those teams had stuck it out.