Tag Archives: LAN Colombia

LAN Colombia joins Oneworld, TAM to join on March 31, 2014

LAN Colombia (formerly AIRES Colombia) (Bogota) yesterday (October 1) joined the oneworld® alliance.

LAN Colombia, a company related to LATAM Airlines Group SA (LAN Airlines), has entered oneworld as an affiliate member. LAN Airlines has been a full member of oneworld since 2000. All its other passenger airline affiliates have subsequently joined the alliance as affiliate members – LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru and, from today, LAN Colombia – and, it was announced today, TAM will enter oneworld on 31 March 2014 with its Paraguayan affiliate to follow on a date yet to be confirmed.

This will bring all of the components of Latin America’s leading airline group into the world’s leading quality airline alliance, building on oneworld’s position as the first choice airline alliance for frequent international travelers within South America and worldwide.

LAN Colombia was welcomed into oneworld at a ceremony this morning at its Bogota base hosted by LAN Colombia’s Chairman Nicolás Cortázar, its Executive Director Hernán Pasman and its Corporate Director Maria Lara, with oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby, flying in from his New York base, LATAM Vice-President Strategic Alliances Soledad Berrios, from LAN Airlines’ Santiago head office, and senior representatives from the other oneworld airlines serving Colombia, led by American Airlines Managing Director Alliances Latin America Eduardo Marcos, from its Dallas-Fort Worth head office, and Iberia Country Manager María Consuelo Sánchez.

LAN Colombia’s Chairman, Nicolás Cortázar, said: “LAN Colombia is very proud to have joined oneworld. For our company, it represents a significant milestone. For our country, it significantly improves our access to the rest of the world, helping attract more business visitors and tourists, enabling Colombians to reach more of the world’s most important business centres worldwide and making it easier to travel the world from any of the destinations we serve throughout Colombia.”

Since its launch in December 2011, LAN Colombia has quickly established itself as the second biggest airline in South America’s second largest economy. In total, it serves 24 airports in four countries with a fleet of 24 aircraft operating 130 departures a day. It boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2012.

TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aereas) (Sao Paulo), a company related to LATAM Airlines Group, will join oneworld® with effect from March 31, 2014, adding the leading carrier in Brazil – Latin America’s biggest economy and largest market for air travel demand – to the world’s leading quality global airline alliance.

TAM’s entry into oneworld with effect from the first flights on March 31, 2014 will follow immediately upon its exit from the Star Alliance with effect from the final flights on March 30, 2014.

TAM serves 60 destinations in 16 countries in Latin America, the USA and Europe, with a fleet of 161 aircraft operating 800 departures daily. It boarded 38 million passengers in 2012.

Three of oneworld’s existing members – American, Iberia and LAN – already serve three destinations in Colombia, in Bogota, Cali and Medellin. LAN Colombia expands that to a total of 21 Colombian gateways.

Across South America, oneworld’s established member airlines already serve 71 destinations in 11 countries. LAN Colombia and TAM add another 56 airports in the region to that network – with LAN Colombia bringing 18 airports on board and TAM.

Worldwide, with LAN Colombia, TAM and the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will:

Serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
Carry 480 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of more than 3,200 aircraft.
Generate US$ 140 billion annual revenues.

The addition of LAN Colombia and TAM from March 31, 2014 represents a cornerstone of oneworld’s biggest membership expansion yet. Other elements elsewhere in the world include:

The addition of Malaysia Airlines, one of this industry’s most frequent award winners, six months ago, further strengthening oneworld’s position in South East Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
The induction on October 30, 2013 of Qatar Airways, the only one of the “Gulf Big Three” carriers slated to join any of the global airline alliances and one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines. This will make oneworld the leading alliance in the Middle East, one of the world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
The introduction early next year of SriLankan Airlines, as the first airline from the Indian subcontinent to join any global alliance, which, with Qatar Airways, will make oneworld the leading alliance in the region.
The proposed switch by US Airways from Star to oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, subject to necessary approvals.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. LAN Colombia’ Airbus A320-233 CC-CQN (msn 3319) prepares to land at Miami.

American launches codeshare agreement with LAN Colombia, creditors and shareholders tentatively approve the merger with US Airways

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has announced the launch of a new codeshare agreement with LAN Colombia (Bogota), adding new service to key destinations in Colombia and further strengthening American’s relationship with LATAM Airlines Group. Customers can begin booking travel on the codeshare flights for travel beginning August 8.

The new codeshare agreement will give American’s customers seamless connecting service within Colombia and provide LAN Colombia’s customers access to new destinations in the United States. The two airlines will codeshare on flights between the U.S. and Colombia and provide American’s customers access to four new destinations in Colombia – Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena and Pereira, while giving LAN Colombia’s customers access to 12 new cities in the U.S. from Miami, including Chicago (O’Hare), Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and New York (JFK).

In addition, LAN Colombia plans to join the oneworld^® alliance in the fourth quarter of this year. LAN Colombia operates more than 990 weekly flights to cities throughout Colombia as well as destinations in Brazil and the U.S. From its Bogota hub, LAN Colombia offers 125 daily flights, including service to 20 Colombian cities.

In addition to the codeshare agreement with LAN Colombia, later this year American will launch new service from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Bogota (BOG), demonstrating its mission to provide customers with expanded options through a growing network footprint in Latin America. American currently operates up to 35 weekly flights from its hub in Miami to Bogota (BOG), Cali (CLO) and Medellin (MDE).

In others news, AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., announced the preliminary voting results on the Company’s Plan of Reorganization, which indicate overwhelming acceptance of the Plan by those creditors and shareholders entitled to vote.

Of the eight creditor classes entitled to vote, at least 88 percent of the ballots received and tabulated in each class, representing more than 97 percent of the claims value voting in each class, were voted in favor of the Plan. Additionally, more than 99 percent of the shares tabulated for the class of AMR stockholders voted to accept the Plan.

The final voting results for the Plan will be certified and filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in advance of the confirmation hearing on August 15, 2013.

On June 7, 2013, the Court authorized the company to begin soliciting approval of the Plan from AMR’s creditors and stockholders. Voting on the Plan ended July 29, 2013 at 5 p.m. EDT.

The effective date of the Plan and American’s Chapter 11 emergence are expected to occur simultaneously with the closing of the merger with US Airways. The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Top Copyright Photo: Nick Dean/AirlinersGallery.com. Brand new Boeing 777-323 ER N725AN (msn 41666) was handed over to American Airlines on July 31, 2013.

American Airlines:

LAN Colombia:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Bernardo Andrade/AirlinersGallery.com. Former AIRES Colombia Boeing 737-73S EI-EEB (msn 29081) of LAN Colombia taxies past the camera at Sao Paulo (Guarulhos).

American Airlines expands its partnership with the LATAM Airlines Group with new codeshare agreements with TAM and LAN Colombia

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth), which offers more flights to more destinations in Latin America than any other U.S. airline, has signed agreements to codeshare with both TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aereas) (Sao Paulo) and LAN Colombia (Bogota), representing a solid stepping stone in building a stronger bilateral relationship between American and LATAM Airlines Group. Once approved, these new codeshare relationships will provide expanded opportunities for American to serve new markets in Brazil and Colombia and for TAM Airlines and LAN Colombia in the United States.

In addition, American plans to operate a new Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Bogota (BOG) route beginning in late 2013. American will also add service to Curitiba (CWB) and Porto Alegre (POA), Brazil from Miami beginning in late 2013, demonstrating its mission to provide customers with expanded options through a growing network footprint in Latin America. With the addition of Curitiba and Porto Alegre, American will serve nine destinations in Brazil.

Once the codeshare agreements are approved, these new relationships will provide American’s customers seamless connecting service within Colombia and Brazil. At the same time, this partnership will allow TAM and LAN Colombia’s customers access to new destinations in the U.S. such as Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Seattle.

TAM operates nearly 5,600 weekly flights to 42 destinations throughout Brazil as well as 18 international destinations in the United States, Latin America and Europe. LAN Colombia operates more than 930 weekly flights to cities throughout Colombia as well as destinations in Brazil and the United States. From its Bogota hub, LAN Colombia offers 134 daily flights, including service to 20 Colombian cities.

American offers codeshare service, with fellow oneworld^® alliance member LAN Airlines, to cities throughout South America from LAN’s hubs in Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Peru.

The new route between DFW and Bogota complements American’s existing service to Colombia through Miami (MIA), where it offers up to 35 nonstop flights per week to Bogota, Cali and Medellin. American’s MIA and DFW hubs allow it to serve 90 percent of U.S. – Latin America traffic more efficiently than any other airline’s combination of hubs. American offers more service to South America than any other U.S. airline.

American also offers the most service between North America and Brazil, American currently serves Brazil from Miami to Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo; from New York JFK to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo; and from Dallas/Fort Worth to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In addition, early next year the Dallas/Fort Worth – Sao Paulo flight will be the first to feature the newest addition to American’s fleet, the Boeing 777-300 ER.

Top Copyright Photo: Bernardo Andrade. Boeing 767-323 ER N354AA (msn 24035) arrives at Rio de Janeiro ‘s Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport.

American Airlines: