LATAM Airlines Brazil will begin a nonstop flight between São Paulo (Brazil) and Los Angeles (United States) on July 1, 2023, adding a destination not currently served from Los Angeles. Additionally, this new route offers customers access to the largest US-South America corporate and overall market from LAX, where Delta is the largest global carrier. This is the first operational announcement after the approval of its Joint Venture agreement with Delta last September.
The flight will have an initial frequency of three times a week on Boeing 777 aircraft, with capacity for 410 passengers (38 in the Premium Business cabin, 50 in Economy+ and 322 in Economy). It will take off from the São Paulo (Guarulhos) airport at 11:05 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, arriving in Los Angeles at 7:00 a.m. the next day. From Los Angeles, flights will take off at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, scheduled to arrive in São Paulo (Guarulhos) at 5:20 a.m. the following day.
From Los Angeles, customers will be able to connect to several popular Delta West Coast destinations in the United States, including San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle. From São Paulo, passengers will be able to connect to different destinations in the LATAM Brazil domestic network, as well as connections to the different destinations served by the group in the region.
More capacity to and from Latin America
Another highlight of the announcement was the capacity increase on routes to and from the United States and that will benefit customers of both partners. In the case of the LATAM Group, the changes will be the following:
- Santiago-Los Angeles: As of September 2023, LATAM Airlines Group will total 5 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 the Orlando International Airport, adding a fourth weekly frequency. The operation will be carried out with Boeing 787-9 aircraft and will add 600 extra seats to this itinerary.
- Lima-Miami: The operation, by LATAM Airlines Peru, will go from 14 to 17 weekly frequencies, on Boeing 767 aircraft with the updated 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 itinerary will be adjusted from 7 to 12 weekly frequencies, on Boeing 767 aircraft operated by LATAM Airlines Peru, equipped with the updated interior cabin scheme. From Lima, passengers will be able to connect with regional destinations of the LATAM network such as Córdoba, Mendoza, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, among others. As well, 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. Said 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 7 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, like San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle. In Lima, in turn, they will be able to connect with regional destinations of the LATAM network such as Córdoba, Mendoza, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, among others.
On the part of Delta Air Lines, the recently will be the following:
- Atlanta-Santiago de Chile: The operation increased from three weekly flights between Atlanta and Santiago de Chile to daily service on an Airbus A350, which is equivalent to more than 2,700 weekly seats between its main hub in the United States and the Arturo Merino Benitez Airport.
- Atlanta-Lima: The service will upgrade to an Airbus 350 aircraft, which translates into more than 1,700 extra weekly seats, so that more customers can connect between Atlanta and the Peruvian capital’s International 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 Oct. 29 with the Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
- Atlanta-São Paulo: A second daily seasonal flight between Atlanta and São Paulo (GRU) will begin on December 17 using Airbus A330 aircraft.
- Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro: Delta will resume the popular, seasonal route between Atlanta and Galeão International Airport (GIG) in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 17.
- Miami-Orlando: Delta will launch a new daily service between Miami and Orlando on December 1.
- Miami-Los Angeles: A new daily service between Miami and Los Angeles will launch on December 17.
With these frequency adjustments, Delta and LATAM will add 23,000 weekly roundtrip seats to their regular itineraries to connect North and South America like never before.
Joint Venture between LATAM and Delta
The Joint Venture between LATAM and Delta seeks to improve the travel experience of its passengers and cargo customers. The agreement applies to select markets between North America (United States and Canada) and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay), providing benefits such as the joint accumulation of miles/points in frequent flyer programs and faster connections to access over 300 destinations between the US/Canada and South America.
The alliance between LATAM and Delta began in 2019, when they announced their first agreement for the reciprocal accumulation/redemption of miles/points, shared terminals in airports such as New York/JFK, São Paulo/Guarulhos and Santiago, reciprocal access to 53 Delta VIP Sky Club lounges in the United States and 5 LATAM Lounges in South America, including the new and exclusive Delta Sky Club in Los Angeles (LAX) and the new LATAM Lounge Santiago in Chile, the largest in South America.
