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LATAM Airlines Group strengthens relationships with oneworld partners via two new joint business agreements, one with American Airlines and another with IAG (British Airways and Iberia)

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

January 19, 2016

thomas

The LATAM Airlines Group network will grow to include over 420 destinations worldwide
LATAM Airlines Group strengthens relationships with oneworld partners via two new joint business agreements, one with American Airlines and another with IAG (British Airways and Iberia)

·         These agreements will bring benefits for LATAM passengers include access to a network over 420 destinations, more flight options with better connection times, more competitive fares to destinations not served by LATAM, increased potential to developing new routes and adding more direct flights to new destinations as well as to destinations already served by LATAM.
·         The agreements will benefit South America, improving the continent’s connectivity and boosting tourism as well as business travel.
·         Both agreements are subject to regulatory approval in different countries which could take approximately 12-18 months.
Santiago, Chile – January 14, 2016 – LATAM Airlines Group (“LATAM”) announced today that it has applied for two separate joint business agreements: one with American Airlines (NASDAQ AAL) and another with International Airlines Group (IAG) for its airlines British Airways and Iberia. These agreements strengthen relationship of LATAM Airlines Group and other oneworld members, which respond to a global industry tendency.
The agreements will be gradually implemented and will include important  benefits for clients of LATAM and its affiliates including:

1.       Access to a network of over 420 destinations for  LATAM (Europe, United States and Canada, and South America):
·         More than 200 destinations served by American Airlines will connect to South America through more than 90 flights between North American and South America operated by American Airlines and LATAM.
·         87 destinations served by IAG (British Airways and Iberia) will connect to South America through 45 daily flights between South America and Europe operated by IAG and LATAM.

2.       More flights and better connections with:
·         2,500 daily American Airlines flights within the United States and Canada
·         More than 900 daily British Airways and Iberia flights within Europe

3.       Increased seat availability and more competitive prices to destinations not operated by LATAM :
·         More flight options and better connections to destinations that are not served by LATAM and its affiliates and more competitive fares.
4.       Increased potential of adding new routes and direct flights to new destinations as well as flights already operated by LATAM and affiliates in the future.

5.       Clients will have better options to change flights in all the routes included in the agreement
·         All flights included in the 2 agreements will be available to attend clients’ needs, such as reservation changes.
All these new services and options will be also available for LATAM frequent flyer programs (LANPASS and TAM Fidelidade) members.

Enrique Cueto, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group said: “This is excellent news for Latin America.  Through these two agreements, we seek to significantly improve the benefits to our clients by providing them with greater connectivity between South America and the United States/Canada and also between South America and Europe. This step is necessary to offer the best network of connections for everyone in Latin America and increases the possibility of adding new routes and direct flights to new destinations as well as flights already operated by LATAM and affiliates in the future”.

“When great airlines can work together, customers win with more choices for when and how they travel,” said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of American Airlines “Customers will benefit from more frequent and convenient schedule options  than the carriers could offer individually. Travelers headed to Latin America will soon have more seamless access to more than 100 additional destinations with LATAM beyond American’s already extensive network”.

Both agreements with oneworld members will allow LATAM and its affiliates’ to expand the network to more than 420 destinations worldwide, operating routes from South America to the United States and Canada with American Airlines and routes from South America to Europe with IAG. The South American countries considered in the joint business agreement with American Airlines are Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay; and as for the other joint business agreement with IAG, the South American countries included are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

LATAM and its affiliates’ passengers will have access to better connections to destinations that currently are not viable to operate with the fleet of LATAM and its affiliates.

The number of flights offered to destinations in the LATAM network should also increase as a result of incentivizing demand for flights that connect to destinations in the United States/Canada and Europe, which will offer passengers more itinerary options to choose from.

Willie Walsh, CEO de IAG, shared: “We already have a close commercial relationship with LATAM Airlines Group as part of oneworld and we look forward to enhancing the relationship further. This joint business would benefit customers by providing them with easier journeys to more destinations with better aligned schedules and increased frequencies. This would boost both tourism and business travel between South America and Europe”.

American Airlines and IAG passengers will have access to a broad network of destinations in South America with more than 100 destinations and more than 1,000 flights a day operated by LATAM and its affiliates and reciprocal benefits, which will increase the number of North American, Canadian and European visitors and contribute to the development and growth of the economies in the region through tourism and business travel.

The joint business agreements will also assist in strengthening the proposed strategically located LATAM hub in northeastern Brazil which would benefit from the participation of American Airlines and IAG.
Both agreements are subject to regulatory approval in different countries.  Throughout the implementation of the agreements, each airline will continue to operate independently and maintain control of their respective operations. These agreements will not cause any changes to the ownership or administration of the airlines.

These agreements strengthen LATAM Airlines Group’s relationships with oneworld members and correspond to a global industry trend towards commercial cooperation.
·         Over 80% of the main airlines in the world have already implemented at least one of these type of agreements.
·         More than 30% of the long-haul air traffic in the world is operated via one of these agreements.
·         South America is the region that is the least developed in terms of these agreements.

» Próximo Post - Grupo LATAM Airlines fortalece lazos con socios de oneworld a través de dos acuerdos comerciales: uno con American Airlines y otro con IAG (British Airways e Iberia)
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