LATAM To Open Two New U.S. Routes In July

LATAM Airlines Group will launch two new routes from Brazil and Colombia to the U.S. as part of the Chile-based company’s South American-U.S. joint venture (JV) operation with Delta Air Lines.

The antitrust-immunized JV was cleared last year and will see LATAM and Delta share revenue and jointly schedule flights on routes between South America and the U.S.

From July, LATAM’s Brazil affiliate will open service between Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) and Los Angeles (LAX). LATAM Airlines Colombia, meanwhile, will launch flights between Bogota (BOG) and Orlando (MCO) the same month. 

The group did not disclose frequencies on the routes, but LATAM said its Colombian subsidiary aims to carry 120,000 passengers a year on the BOG-MCO route, “offering better connection alternatives from within Colombia and Ecuador to the east coast of the United States through the Delta hub in Orlando and the LATAM connection center in Bogota.”

LATAM Group reports it operated 83.2% of 2019 capacity levels in the 2022 fourth quarter. The airline company ended 2022 serving 144 destinations in 22 countries, which it says was “in line” with its roster of destinations in 2019.

LATAM Group expects annual growth in passenger traffic of more than 20% year-over-year in 2023.

“In 2023, LATAM Group will fly 38 routes that it did not operate in 2019, among which two are part of the JV with Delta [the GRU-LAX and BOG-MCO routes],” the company says.

Delta previously announced it will open seasonal daily New York Kennedy (JFK)-Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (GIG) service as part of the JV starting in December 2023.  

Ultimately, Delta and LATAM say the JV will enable passengers of both airlines to access more than 300 destinations in North and South America.  

LATAM reported its Brazil, Chile and Peru subsidiaries each increased domestic market shares in 2022. LATAM Airlines Brazil saw its domestic market share by three percentage points to 37%. The subsidiary is now flying to 54 destinations in Brazil.

LATAM’s Chile operation increased domestic market share by two percentage points to 60% in 2022, while its Peruvian subsidiary upped market share by three percentage points to 65% in 2022.