American Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group S.A., formerly LAN Airlines S.A , are seeking regulatory approval to enter into a joint business that will extend their service between the United States and Canada and the South American countries of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
If approved, the joint business will provide benefits for consumers, including expanded network offerings, with access to more routes, frequencies and destinations; more competitive fares; increased choices for customers; and seamless connectivity.
The airlines plan to file for antitrust immunity from the U.S. Department of Transportation and appropriate local authorities in South America. LATAM and American launched their first codeshare in 1999 and became oneworld partners when LAN Chile joined the alliance in 2000.
Through the proposed venture, American will provide LATAM customers greater access to cities in the U.S. and Canada via American’s key hubs in Miami, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles. LATAM’s hubs in Sao Paulo, Santiago, Brasilia, Lima and Bogota will give American customers enhanced network connectivity to cities in South America. Additionally, the joint venture would create opportunities for new direct service to currently underserved destinations and additional frequencies on existing routes.
Each airline will continue to operate under its current brands and identities.
American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index.
LATAM Airlines Group S.A. now includes LAN Airlines and its affiliates in Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador, and LAN Cargo and its affiliates, as well as TAM S.A. and its subsidiaries TAM Linhas Aereas S.A., including its business units TAM Transportes Aereos del Mercosur S.A., (TAM Airlines (Paraguay)) and Multiplus S.A. This association creates one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections, providing passenger transport services to about 140 destinations in 24 countries and cargo services to about 144 destinations in 26 countries. LATAM Airlines Group has 53,000 employees and its shares are traded in Santiago as well as on the New York Stock Exchange, in the form of ADRs, and Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, in the form of BDRs.
LATAM Airlines Group is currently working on the gradual roll-out of the new corporate brand image. The first changes will be visible starting in the first half of 2016.