LATAM Airlines is a Chilean multinational airline headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It is the largest airline holding company in Latin America with subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.

Although LATAM Airlines' headquarters are located in Chile, the carrier is an American depositary receipt and is traded on both the Santiago Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on 26 May 2020, due to economic problems attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, and later emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2022.

History

Merger

Chile's LAN-Chile and Brazil's TAM Linhas Aéreas signed a non-binding agreement to merge on 13 August 2010, followed by a binding agreement on 19 January 2011, and papers to close the merger on 22 June 2012, with TAM Linhas Aéreas' shareholders agreeing to the takeover by LAN Airlines. Enrique Cueto, former CEO of LAN, became the CEO of LATAM; LATAM now has been reworked into being a portmanteau word of "Latin" and "America". Mauricio Rolim Amaro, formerly vice-chairman of TAM, became LATAM chairman.

Government approvals

The agreement to establish LATAM was approved by Chilean authorities on 21 September 2011, with 11 restrictions. These included transferring four landing slots at São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport to competitors interested in operating flights to Santiago de Chile's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, renouncing membership to either the Oneworld or Star Alliance airline alliance, restricting the increase in capacity on flights between Brazil and Chile, and opening code-share possibilities and fidelity program membership to interested competitors. On 14 December 2011, Brazilian authorities approved the agreement, imposing similar restrictions as Chilean authorities: LATAM would have to choose an alliance by August 2012 and frequencies between São Paulo and Santiago de Chile would have to be reduced. At the time, TAM had two pairs of slots while LAN had four. LAN had to relinquish two pairs to competitors interested in using them. On 7 March 2013, LATAM announced its final decision to choose Oneworld as its global airline alliance. As a result, TAM left Star Alliance during the second quarter of 2014 to join Oneworld.

Rebranding

In August 2015, it was announced that all LATAM Airlines Group airlines would fully rebrand as LATAM, with one unified livery to be applied on all aircraft by 2018. The rebranding included all aspects of the business, such as staff uniforms and airport check in facilities. The first of the aircraft were repainted (or delivered new) in the new LATAM livery in April 2016.

Delta stake and Oneworld departure

On 26 September 2019, Delta Air Lines announced its plans to buy 20% of LATAM for $1.9 billion, to expand Delta's access to the Latin American market. Additionally, Delta agreed to pay LATAM's exit fee from Oneworld and to take delivery of all Airbus A350 XWB aircraft that LATAM had on order. On 1 January 2020, it was reported that Delta Air Lines' acquisition of the 20% stake in the LATAM group was completed. Group CEO Enrique Cueto stepped down on 31 March 2020, and was succeeded by Roberto Alvo, the group's then-current Chief Commercial Officer. On 31 January 2020, LATAM announced that it would leave Oneworld three months later on 1 May.

COVID-19 related bankruptcy

On 26 May 2020, LATAM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States due to economic problems attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, although they continued to operate while negotiating terms. In response to the bankruptcy filing, the company's stock ticker (LTM) was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on 9 June 2020 and moved to the unregulated OTC Markets Pink on 12 June 2020 using the stock ticker LTMAQ. To assist with the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, the company announced that its subsidiary LATAM Perú would help distribute vaccines to fifteen provinces in Peru for free.

Bankruptcy recovery

LATAM emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2022, coupled with a restructuring of the company. And on 24 July 2024, the company's LTM stock ticker was relisted on the New York Stock Exchange.

Corporate affairs

Business trends

The key trends for the LATAM Group are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):

Ownership

, the company's major shareholders are:

Operations

As of 31 December 2017, LATAM Airlines Group is one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections, with its subsidiaries operating a combined fleet of 315 aircraft providing passenger transport services to 137 destinations in 24 countries; and 18 aircraft providing cargo services to 144 destinations in 29 countries.

LATAM's main hubs are Santiago de Chile's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport; Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima; São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport; and El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. The company is exploring the creation of a new hub in northeastern Brazil with the objective of expanding operations between Europe and South America. Bogotá is the hub for the Caribbean.

Subsidiaries

Current

The airlines majority- and minority-owned by LATAM Airlines Group through the primary airlines' various subsidiaries are as follows:

• LATAM Airlines Brasil

• LATAM Airlines Chile

• LATAM Airlines Colombia

• LATAM Airlines Ecuador

• LATAM Airlines Paraguay

• LATAM Airlines Perú

Former

• LATAM Airlines Argentina — ceased operations in 2020.

• LATAM Cargo Mexico — sold its shares in 2018, renamed back to MasAir.

Codeshare agreements

LATAM codeshares with the following airlines:

• Aerolíneas Argentinas

• Aeroméxico

• Air China

• Airlink

• British Airways

• Cathay Pacific

• Delta Air Lines

• China Eastern Airlines

• Finnair

• Iberia

• Japan Airlines

• Jetstar

• Korean Air

• Qantas

• Qatar Airways

• WestJet

Interline agreements

LATAM interlines with the following airlines:

• Alaska Airlines

• Singapore Airlines

Lounges

LATAM Airlines operates lounges at the following airports:

• Mistral Lounge at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, in Santiago, Chile

• Neruda Lounge at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, in Santiago, Chile

• Ezeiza International Airport, in Buenos Aires, Argentina

• El Dorado International Airport, in Bogotá, Colombia

• Miami International Airport

• São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport

• Jorge Chávez International Airport, in Lima, Peru

These lounges are accessible for passengers traveling in Premium Business, Business, and Premium Economy, as well as selected members of the LATAM Pass program who are Black or Platinum members.

The newly renovated LATAM lounges were designed by Chilean architects Mathias Klotz and Olivia Putman.

LATAM Pass

LATAM Pass is the airline's frequent flyer program to reward customer loyalty. There are currently over four million members. Members earn miles every time they fly with LATAM Chile, an affiliated airline, or by using the services of any LATAM Pass-associated business around the world.

The LATAM Pass program has five membership categories:

• Gold

• Gold Plus

• Platinum

• Black

• Black Signature

Fleet

As of February 2026, LATAM Airlines Group owns and operates the following aircraft:

LATAM Airlines Group fleet

See also

• List of airline holding companies

Notes

References

External links

• LATAM Airlines