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LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is a Chilean multinational airline holding company headquartered in Santiago, Chile.[2][3] It is the largest airline company in Latin America[5][6] with subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.[7][8][9][10][11] 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.

Although LATAM Airlines' headquarters are located in Chile, the carrier is an American depositary receipt and traded on both the Santiago Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange at the time of bankruptcy. The company's stock ticker (LTMAQ) was delisted from the NYSE and later moved to the unregulated OTC Markets Pink on 12 June 2020.

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,[12][13] and papers to close the merger on 22 June 2012, with TAM Linhas Aéreas' shareholders agreeing to the takeover by LAN Airlines.[14] 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".[15] Mauricio Rolim Amaro, formerly vice-chairman of TAM, became LATAM chairman.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20][21] The rebranding included all aspects of the business, such as staff uniforms and airport check in facilities.[22] The first of the aircraft were repainted (or delivered new) in the new LATAM livery in April 2016.[23]

2019–2020: Delta stake, Oneworld departure, and Enrique Cueto steps down

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.[24][25] 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.[26] On 31 January 2020, LATAM announced that it would leave Oneworld three months later on 1 May.[27]

2020: 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,[28] although they continued to operate while negotiating terms.[29] 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.[30] The company emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2022, coupled with a restructuring of the company.[31]

Corporate affairs

Business trends

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

Ownership

As of 31 July 2025, the company's major shareholders are[44]:

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.[45]

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.[46] Bogotá is the hub for the Caribbean.[47]

Subsidiaries

Current

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

Former

Current

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

Former

Fleet

As of February 2026, LATAM Airlines Group owns and operates the following aircraft:[50]

See also

External links

References

  1. LATAM – Board of Directors latamairlinesgroup.net, retrieved 15 May 2017^
  2. LATAM Airlines Group SA Reuters, 17 August 2018^
  3. Latam Airlines Group SA Corporate Information Bloomberg L.P., 27 October 2018^
  4. Annual Integrated Report 2023 LATAM Airlines Group SA, retrieved 19 October 2024^
  5. Latam Airlines Group SA – Company Profile and News Bloomberg L.P., retrieved 26 May 2020^
  6. Kantar BrandZ^
  7. Jude Webber, Jeremy Lemer. LatAm airlines join consolidation trend Financial Times, 15 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010^
  8. Brendan Sobie. LAN and TAM to merge Flight International, 13 August 2010, retrieved 14 August 2011^
  9. "Contact." LATAM Airlines Group. Retrieved on 25 January 2013. "Contact Pdte. Riesco 5711, 20th floor Las Condes Santiago, Chile "^
  10. LATAM Airplane^
  11. LATAM logo timeline^
  12. TAM and LAN announce binding agreement TAM Linhas Aéreas, 19 January 2011, retrieved 14 August 2011^
  13. LAN says signs non-binding deal with TAM to merge Reuters, 13 August 2010, retrieved 13 August 2010^
  14. Chile's Lan and Brazil's Tam merge to create huge airline BBC, 1970-01-01, retrieved 2012-06-23^
  15. Enrique Cueto to be CEO of new LAN-TAM parent Flight International, 13 August 2010, retrieved 14 August 2011^
  16. LAN and TAM aim to complete merger by mid 2011 Flight Global, 14 August 2010, retrieved 14 August 2019^
  17. Luciana Seabra. Tribunal chileno aprova fusão de TAM e LAN com 11 condições Valor Econômico, 21 September 2011, retrieved 26 September 2011^
  18. Eduardo Rodrigues, Célia Froufe. Com restrições, CADE aprova fusão TAM/Lan O Estado de S. Paulo, 14 December 2011, retrieved 15 December 2011^
  19. LATAM – News Release latamairlinesgroup.net, retrieved 15 May 2017^
  20. "LAN and TAM to operate as LATAM with a new livery" retrieved 9 August 2015^
  21. "LATAM's entire fleet to have new livery by 2018" retrieved 9 August 2015^
  22. Ben Mutzabaugh. So long, LAN and TAM; Airlines will soon fly under LATAM brand USA Today, 7 August 2015, retrieved 31 August 2015^
  23. Ben Mutzabaugh. LATAM Airlines unveils post-merger paint scheme for LAN, TAM planes USA TODAY, retrieved 2023-01-28^
  24. Tracy Rucinski. Delta to buy 20% of LATAM for $1.9 billion in regional shake-up Reuters, 27 September 2019, retrieved 26 May 2020^
  25. Alison Sider. Delta Air Lines to Take 20% Stake in Latam Airlines for $1.9 Billion The Wall Street Journal, 26 September 2019, retrieved 2019-09-27^
  26. LATAM AIRLINES GROUP REPORTS A 21.8% IMPROVEMENT IN OPERATING INCOME AND A 10.1% OPERATING MARGIN FOR THE THIRD QUARTER 2019 retrieved 9 December 2019^
  27. Details oneworld.com, retrieved 2020-02-14^
  28. LATAM becomes largest airline driven to bankruptcy by coronavirus Reuters, 26 May 2020, retrieved 26 May 2020^
  29. Fabian Cambero, Aislinn Laing. LATAM Airlines proposes new $2.45 billion financing deal to U.S. bankruptcy court Reuters, 2020-09-17, retrieved 2020-11-21^
  30. LATAM trasladará de forma gratuita las vacunas COVID-19 en el Perú Peru21, 2020-12-10, retrieved 2020-12-10^
  31. Pilar Wolfsteller. LATAM Airlines swings to profit in Q4 of 'milestone year' Flight Global, 10 March 2023, retrieved 20 January 2026^
  32. LATAM Annual Report 2012 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  33. LATAM Annual Report 2013 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  34. LATAM Annual Report 2014 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  35. LATAM Annual Report 2015 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  36. LATAM Annual Report 2016 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  37. LATAM Annual Report 2017 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  38. Memoria Integrada 2018 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  39. LATAM Integrated Report 2019 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  40. LATAM Integrated Report 2020 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  41. LATAM Integrated Report 2021 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  42. LATAM Integrated Report 2022 LATAM, retrieved November 9, 2023^
  43. LATAM Integrated Report 2023 LATAM, retrieved March 3, 2024^
  44. Ownership Structure LATAM Airlines Group SA, retrieved 2025-10-04^
  45. LATAM – Annual Reports latamairlinesgroup.net, retrieved 15 January 2022^
  46. LATAM Airlines Group has to undergo a delicate balance of short term pain for strategic gain centreforaviation.com, Centre for Aviation, retrieved 4 September 2015^
  47. Edwin Bohorquez Aya. América Latina le habla duro a El Espectador (Spanish), 7 July 2015, retrieved 5 August 2015^
  48. LATAM Airlines Argentina halts domestic cargo service Global Cargo News, 18 June 2020, retrieved 2 July 2020^
  49. LATAM Airlines concluye venta de participación en MASAir Cargo Transponder 1200, 3 December 2018, retrieved 21 July 2019^
  50. LATAM Airlines Consolidated Fleet LATAM Airlines Group, retrieved January 15, 2024^
  51. LATAM Airlines takes delivery of its first A321neo, adds 13 more to orderbook Aviacionline.com, January 15, 2024^
  52. LATAM orders 17 A321neo and gets 13 A321XLR Air Insight, 21 July 2022^
  53. Embraer: Grupo Latam assina acordo para aquisição de até 74 aeronaves E195-E2 Istoé Dinheiro, September 22, 2025^
  54. LATAM orders 24 Embraer E195-E2 jets, growing Brazil presence Reuters, September 22, 2025^