Summary
- LATAM Airlines will double its Miami to Punta Cana flights this winter, highlighting its growing presence in the Caribbean.
- American Airlines dominates the Miami to Punta Cana route, with LATAM and Frontier Airlines offering limited competition.
- The route will be operated by LATAM Chile with its Boeing 787s.
LATAM Airlines will increase its operations from Miami to Punta Cana this winter to twice-weekly. The Peruvian branch of the airline operates the fifth-freedom route on its Boeing 787 aircraft.
Increasing winter operations
It is not uncommon for airlines to offer flights between two countries, neither of which are home to the airline’s operations. For example, Emirates operates a route from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires after its aircraft arrives from Dubai. LATAM Airlines Chile does this from Miami International Airport (MIA) once weekly to Punta Cana Airport (PJU).
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that LATAM will double its operations between Miami and Punta Cana this winter. The flight is an extension of service from Aeropuerto Internacional Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL) in Santiago, Chile. LATAM operates two daily flights between MIA and SCL using Boeing 787-8s and 787-9s and a flight between Miami and Punta Cana once weekly.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
Beginning in late November, LATAM will double its flights to Punta Cana despite also flying directly from Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez (LIM) and SCL. In December, LATAM has 139 roundtrip flights to Punta Cana from Santiago, Miami, and Lima, with Lima flights operated by the Airbus A319 and A320. Between all its flights, LATAM has more than 25,000 seats available to Punta Cana.
Who else flies the route?
Only three carriers compete between Miami and Punta Cana, but looking at the numbers, there really is no competition. Frontier Airlines and American Airlines fly between the two cities in addition to LATAM, but American has the largest market share. Of the 224 flights in November, 180 will be operated by American, totaling more than 30,000 seats. Frontier Airlines, an American ultra-low-cost carrier operates four weekly flights with its Airbus A321s.
Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock
Recent LATAM news
Earlier this week, LATAM and its joint-venture partner Delta Air Lines announced they were the official airline partners for the Copa America 2024 football tournament. The United States is hosting this year’s edition from June 20 to July 14 in cities nationwide. To highlight the event, LATAM is offering special promotions to some of the host cities for the tournament’s matches and is even raffling some match tickets.
Related
LATAM And Delta Link As Official Carriers For Copa America 2024
Last week, Simple Flying reported that LATAM was increasing flights from Santiago to two American destinations through its joint venture agreement with Delta. From late October, LATAM will begin flying daily from Santiago to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), up from six weekly flights. Then, in November, its Miami flights will go from 12 weekly to 13, and by December, twice daily.
“We are very happy to announce this increase in flights to key cities in the United States during the summer season. The addition of new weekly flights reinforces the purpose of our agreement with Delta, which allows us to provide a better connection between countries in South and North America, enabling thousands of passengers to reach some of the most significant vacation destinations in the United States.” – Kamal Hadad, Network Director, LATAM Airlines Group