LATAM (airline)

LATAM is the new brand resulting from the joining of two South American airlines, LAN, TAM and their respective subsidiaries. With its head office in Santiago Chile, the airline operates passenger flights out of South America, Central America, North America and the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania with a total of 135 destinations in 23 countries. Its cargo business provides freight services to over 144 destinations in 26 countries. Regarding traffic and coverage, it’s the largest airline in South America.

The new brand was announced on 6 August 2015 and was the result of an important merger and subsequent process integration and validation, flight connection optimization, restructuring and fleet modernization.

LATAM employs a staff of approximately 53 thousand and owns a fleet of 312, not including ordered and as yet undelivered planes.

History

LAN was founded on 5 March 1929 as Linea Aerea Nacional, a state run airline that soon became LAN Chile. After the opening of certain markets (which led to the creation of LAN Peru, LAN Argentina, and LAN Ecuador), the company changed name again becoming LAN Airlines in 2005. In 2011, LAN acquired the Colombian airline Aires which later became LAN Colombia.

LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is a Latin American airline holding company incorporated under Chilean law with its headquarters Santiago, Chile. The group also has offices in São Paulo, Brazil, with subsidiaries in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.

The airlines signed a non-binding agreement on 13 August 2010, a binding agreement on 19 January 2011, and papers to close the merger on 22 June 2012, with TAM shareholders agreeing to the takeover by LAN. Enrique Cueto, former CEO of LAN, is CEO of LATAM; Mauricio Rolim Amaro, formerly vice-chairman of TAM, is chairman.

The two airlines fly with separate liveries and certificates, a policy to be continued in the short term, but expect substantial synergies from merging their operations. However, in August 2015 it was announced that the two airlines would fully rebrand as LATAM, with one livery to be applied on all aircraft by 2018.

LATAM's competitors on the South American continent are: Synergy Group's Avianca Holdings; Copa Airlines; Gol Airlines; and Azul Airlines. LATAM is not an airline alliance, but is rather more akin to airline holding companies such as International Airlines Group and Air France-KLM.