Summary
- LATAM Airlines is set to increase its seat offer by one million seats in February 2024 compared to February 2023, with many new routes being added.
- The airline is expanding rapidly, with new routes and partnerships, and has been actively adding new aircraft to its fleet.
- LATAM Airlines is expecting to operate over 43,000 flights and offer 8 million seats in February 2024, signaling strong growth and recovery, though some routes will be canceled compared to the previous year.
LATAM Airlines will increase its seat offer by one million additional seats in February 2024, compared to February 2023, data from Cirium’s database shows. Compared to the same period in the previous year, LATAM will offer many new routes next February, including up-and-coming routes that have been launched throughout the year, such as Lima-Atlanta, São Paulo-Los Angeles, and more. Let’s investigate further in this analysis.
In the post Chapter 11 era for LATAM Airlines, the group has been expanding rapidly across the Americas and beyond. The airline has put in motion its Joint Venture Agreement with Delta, launching new routes to and from Latin America and the United States. It also signed new partnerships, such as the codeshare agreement with South African carrier Airlink.
Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock.
LATAM has been active in terms of adding new fleet lately. Earlier this week, the company received its first Airbus A321neo and increased its overall order by adding 13 new A321neos with Airbus. As part of its fleet expansion strategy, LATAM currently has 111 Airbus A320 family aircraft on order. The airline group operates a fleet of 294 aircraft and has domestic branches in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Adding new flights
Next February, LATAM Airlines Group is expecting to operate 43,938 total flights, offering over 8 million seats. These two numbers represent 16% increases versus what the airline offered in February 2023 and a strong signal of growth and recovery, although some changes could still happen as the date grows near.
The routes with the highest number of flights include Lima-Cuzco in Peru (where LATAM expects to operate 609 monthly flights), Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont-Sao Paulo Congonhas (with 558 monthly flights), and Bogota-Medellín (with 473 monthly flights).
Photo: Matheus Obst/Shutterstock.
A total of 24 routes that were not operated in February 2023 will be operated in February 2024, data from Cirium shows. These routes include Bogota-Riohacha (42 monthly flights scheduled), Sao Paulo-Passo Fundo (29), Medellín-Miami (29), Bogota-Orlando (29, and part of the Joint Venture with Delta), Lima-Caracas (29), Lima-Brasilia (29), Lima-Aruba (13), and more. Some of these routes are new (for instance, Lima-Aruba) and were inaugurated throughout the year. Others are routes that were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been slowly resumed by LATAM Airlines, such as Santiago de Chile-Melbourne and São Paulo-Johannesburg.
In 2023, LATAM Airlines is expected to launch 11 international routes. Next year, the airline will most likely continue adding more services. The United States market is particularly important to keep an eye on.
Canceled services
The airline will also frequencies and cancel routes altogether compared to the previous year. A total of 30 routes that were operated in February 2023 will not be operated in February 2024, according to the data available. Some of these routes are Medellín-Bucaramanga (going from 42 monthly flights to zero), Sao Paulo-Ribeiro Preto (from 44 to zero), Rio de Janeiro Galeao-Buenos Aires (from 11 to zero), and Lima-Cali (12 to zero), among others.
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