LATAM Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines made the first operational announcements after receiving the approval of their joint venture agreement in September. Among the initiatives, LATAM announced the launch of new service between São Paulo and Los Angeles (LAX) beginning July 1, 2023, adding a popular destination not currently served from Los Angeles. Additionally, this new route offers customers access to the largest U.S.-South America corporate and overall market from LAX, where Delta is the largest global carrier.
The flight will have an initial frequency of three times per week on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with capacity for 410 passengers (38 in the Premium Business cabin, 50 in Economy+ and 322 in Economy). It will depart from São Paulo (Guarulhos) Airport at 11:05 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving in Los Angeles at 7 a.m. the next day. From Los Angeles, flights will depart at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and will arrive in São Paulo (Guarulhos) at 5:20 a.m. the following day.
Passengers will be able to connect from LATAM’s hub in São Paulo to destinations in LATAM’s South American network, in addition to connections to the different destinations served by the group. Meanwhile, customers flying to Los Angeles will be able to quickly connect to several popular Delta West Coast destinations, including San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle. The new service between São Paulo and Los Angeles is available for booking now through delta.com or latam.com.
Another highlight of the announcement was the capacity increase on routes to and from the United States that will benefit customers of both partners. On the part of Delta Air Lines, the recently announced additional frequencies of the following routes include:
- Atlanta-Santiago, Chile: The operation increased from three weekly flights between Atlanta and Santiago, Chile, to daily service on an Airbus A350, which is equivalent to more than 2,700 weekly additional seats between its main hub in the United States and Arturo Merino Benitez Airport.
- Atlanta-Lima: The service will upgrade to an Airbus 350 aircraft in February, which translates into more than 1,700 extra weekly seats so that more customers can connect between Atlanta and Jorge Chávez Airport. Delta’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft has capacity for 339 passengers, and is equipped with Delta One, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin.
- New York-São Paulo: Delta’s three weekly flights between its New York JFK hub and São Paulo increased to daily service beginning October 29 with the Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
- Atlanta-São Paulo: On December 17, a seasonal second daily flight between Atlanta and Sao Paulo (GRU) will begin with Airbus A330 aircraft.
- Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro: The popular seasonal route between Atlanta and Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão International Airport (GIG) will resume December 17.
- Miami-Orlando: Delta will launch a new daily service between Miami and Orlando on December 1.
- Miami Los Angeles: New daily service between Miami and Los Angeles will launch on December 17.
In the case of the LATAM Group, the changes will be the following:
- Santiago-Los Angeles: As of September 2023, LATAM Airlines Group will offer a total of five frequencies to Los Angeles International Airport. In total, it will add more than 900 seats with the two additional flights to the current offer.
- São Paulo-Orlando: Starting in August 2023, LATAM Airlines Brazil will increase its operation to Orlando International Airport, adding a fourth weekly frequency. The operation will be carried out by Boeing 787-9 aircraft and will add 600 extra seats to this itinerary.
- Lima-Miami: Flights operated by LATAM Airlines Peru will increase from 14 to 17 weekly frequencies on Boeing 767 aircraft with the new interior cabin scheme. This adjustment will add more than 1,300 weekly seats so that customers can better connect to destinations in North America.
- Lima-New York: The schedule will grow from seven to 12 weekly frequencies, on Boeing 767 aircraft operated by LATAM Airlines Peru, equipped with the new interior cabin scheme. From Lima, passengers will be able to connect to regional destinations on the LATAM network, such as Porto Alegre, and Rio de Janeiro, among others. In the opposite direction, the flights that will connect in New York will be able to do so quickly to destinations in the Delta network such as Toronto, Boston and Washington. The adjustment will add more than 2,200 weekly seats so that customers can better connect to destinations in North America.
- Lima-Los Angeles: The operation of LATAM Airlines Peru will go from seven to 14 weekly frequencies, in a mix between Boeing 767 and 787 aircraft. This adjustment will add more than 3,400 weekly seats so that customers can better connect to destinations in North America, such as San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle. In Lima, meanwhile, they will be able to connect with regional destinations in the LATAM network, such as Porto Alegre, and Rio de Janeiro, among others.
With these frequency adjustments, Delta and LATAM will add more than 23,000 weekly seats to their regular itineraries to connect North and South America like never before.
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