The US Department of Transportation has approved plans by Delta Air Lines and LATAM Airlines Group to codeshare on US-Chile routes, while at the same the two carriers have formally requested antitrust immunity for their long-awaited joint venture.
Our top five stories on Routes Weekly: Gulf Air's European and North American ambitions; Air Canada and Air China joint venture; London Heathrow expansion moves closer; LATAM Airlines plans Munich service; Route rundown and more.
LATAM Airlines has signalled its intention to expand its European footprint with flights to Munich at a time when Brazil’s aviation market looks primed to take off again.
The connecting passenger flows at either end of the route will be key to the success of this route. The local demand between Santiago and Melbourne is around 16,000 bi-directional O&D passengers per year, but when you expand to Chile to Australia that grows five-fold to around 100,000 passengers and up to 585,000 passengers when you consider the whole of Central and South America and the Pacific region.