Delta Air Lines and LATAM’s Joint Venture has been approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Joint Venture will allow customers to access over 300 destinations between the U.S./Canada and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay).
On Friday (September 30, 2022), LATAM Airlines announced that their Joint Venture with Delta Air Lines has been approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The Joint Venture will provide access to over 300 destinations between the U.S. and Canada and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). As part of the partnership, the airlines will deepen their level of cooperation in these markets with expanded route offerings, more and better connections, and the strengthening of codeshare routes and reciprocal loyalty benefits already in place.
In Friday’s announcement, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bastian, said,
“Delta’s partnership with LATAM will help grow the market between North and South America and provide significant and much-needed benefits for customers, and we applaud the DOT for this final approval. Now, we’ll get to work with LATAM to transform the travel experience for our collective customers and create new opportunities for our employees.”
Also commenting on the regulatory Joint Venture approval, LATAM Airlines Group’s CEO, Roberto Alvo, said,
“The approval by the DOT will give rise to the start of work with Delta to deliver more and better benefits to LATAM and Delta customers, such as faster connections, and the joint accrual of miles in the frequent flyer programs, among many others. I am sure that, over time, we will be able to offer the best connections, while incorporating a sustainable view of the future.”
Delta and LATAM announced in 2019 plans to form the leading airline partnership throughout the Americas. Since then, the partners have achieved a number of milestones such as reciprocal frequent flyer miles earning and redemption, mutual elite frequent flyer benefits, and co-located terminals at New York-JFK, São Paulo, and Santiago. Additionally, Customers enjoy access to 53 Delta Sky Club lounges in the U.S., and five LATAM lounges in South America, including Delta’s new Sky Club in Los Angeles and the new LATAM Lounge in Santiago de Chile. In 2020, the partners introduced their first codeshare services in South America, and in 2021, expanded codeshare services to 20 routes between the U.S. and South America, along with a broad range of domestic and regional destinations via their respective hubs in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Santiago, Lima, Bogota and São Paulo.
LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is the leading airline group in Latin America, offering service in five domestic markets (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) as well as international service within Latin America and to Europe, Oceania, the United States and the Caribbean. The Group operates a fleet of Boeing 767, 777, and 787s, as well as Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321 aircraft. LATAM Cargo Chile, LATAM Cargo Colombia and LATAM Cargo Brazil are the LATAM Airlines freight subsidiaries. In addition to passenger aircraft belly hold cargo capacity, the Group operates a fleet of 15 dedicated freighters, which will be expanded to between 19 and 21 by 2023.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the global U.S. airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability and customer experience. The carrier operates over 4,000 daily flights across more than 275 destinations on six continents. Delta has over 80,000 team members and has served as many as 200 million customers annually. For the last decade, the carrier has led the industry in operational excellence, while maintaining their reputation for award-winning customer service.
Source(s): LATAM Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines