In 1932 It was rebranded as Línea Aérea Nacional de Chile (In English: National Air Line of Chile), using the acronym LAN-Chile as commercial name. The airline was founded by Chilean Air Force Commodore Arturo Merino Benitez (after whom Santiago International Airport is named), and began operations on Maas Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica (English: Postal Air Line Santiago-Arica), under the government of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. History Early yearsĭH 60G Gipsy Moths in service with LAN-Chile, 1933 LATAM Airlines Group is currently the largest airline conglomerate in Latin America. Currently, LAN and TAM continue to work as separate companies, under a common executive management. 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 Airlines Group was formed after the takeover by LAN of Brazilian TAM Airlines, which was completed on June 22, 2012. The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld airline alliance since 2000. LAN is one of the largest airlines in Latin America, serving Latin America, North America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. LAN Airlines was the flag carrier of Chile until its privatization in the 1990s, is the predominant airline in Chile and Peru, and the second largest carrier in Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador, through its local subsidiaries.
The main hub is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, with secondary hubs in El Dorado ( Bogotá), Jorge Chávez ( Lima), José Joaquín de Olmedo ( Guayaquil) and Jorge Newbery ( Buenos Aires) airports. The Airpass has been available for purchase from June 1, 2013, and the travel period will be 12 months from the date of issue.LATAM Airlines, formerly LAN Airlines S.A., is an airline based in Santiago, Chile, and is one of the founders of LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America's largest airline holding company. LATAM flies to South America for the Indian market from all major hubs-Frankfurt, Paris, London, Madrid and Milan,” he said adding that LATAM Airlines Group, a merger of LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines, is South America's largest airline network.Īt workshop Curey also introduced the LATAMs’ South American Airpass, which provides travellers unlimited flight changes for reduced cost, lower price one-way journey fares, the choice to fly to preferred destinations, and the option of availing of tailor-made itineraries. Speaking about connectivity Curey said, “We offer connectivity to 120 destinations in South America within Brazil, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay. South American destinations have started gaining momentum in India, but a lot of people are reluctant to fly to these destinations due to lack of knowledge of air connectivity.” Our main objective to hold such a workshop is to educate the travel trade on its connectivity to South America. Thierry Curey, General Manager, South Asia, LATAM Airlines Group said, “India as a market has great potential. The event saw the participation of representatives from countries such as Chile, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. In a bid to increase the number of Indians flying by LATAM, the South America based airline organized its first ever work-shop in India in partnership with four South American countries.