LATAM Colombia – Finance Colombia

LATAM Airlines to Launch Bogotá-to-Ibague Flight in March

Editorial Staff — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:25:21 +0000

LATAM Airlines Colombia will launch a new daily flight starting March 31 from Bogotá to Ibague, the underserved capital city of the department of Tolima in central Colombia.

Tickets are already available for purchase on this route between El Dorado International Airport in the national capital to Perales Airport in Ibaque, which will be served by an Airbus 320 that seats 174 passengers.

With this capacity and projected demand, the Colombian arm of the Chilean airline expects to transport more than 9,000 guests per month between the two cities.

This brings LATAM’s overall network in Colombia to 16 different cities with a total of 36 routes overall, according to the airline.

“We are pleased to find that there are more and more opportunities to grow our operation in the country, specifically in the destinations that most need connectivity, which allows LATAM to fulfill its task of boosting the supply in Colombia,” said Santiago Álvarez, the executive director of LATAM Airlines Colombia.

“Ibagué is a route of great interest due to its economic, touristic and commercial role in the country, which is why we consider it an excellent alternative to strengthen our domestic network.”

(Photo credit: LATAM Airlines)

Colombia Approves Delta Airlines – LATAM Joint Venture, Chile Has Yet To Rule

Loren Moss — Fri, 14 May 2021 10:16:48 +0000

Earlier this week, Colombia’s civilian aviation authority, Aeronáutica Civil, or Aerocivil, approved the joint venture between Delta Air Lines, LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiary LATAM Airlines Colombia S.A. without conditions. The airlines say their joint venture will “improve air connectivity and provide passengers and cargo customers with a seamless travel experience between North and South America” once regulatory approvals have been obtained.

As of last Tuesday, the agreement has also been granted the authorization of regulatory entities in Brazil and Uruguay, while the review process continues in other countries, including LATAM’s home country of Chile.

The joint venture effort was formed in 2020, several months after Delta Airlines induced LATAM to break its long-standing alliance with American Airlines, leaving American without a strategic partner in South America. Delta invested $1.9 billion USD into LATAM for a 20% stake, and a seat on its board of directors. This happened after Chile’s supreme court blocked a business alliance between LATAM, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia, so it is notable that Chile has yet to approve the current joint venture.

Less than a year after the joint venture initiative was launched, in May of 2020, LATAM declared bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Colombia Aviation Regulator Fines LATAM Airlines $83,000 USD for False Advertising

Jared Wade — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 21:57:01 +0000

Colombia’s civil aviation authority fined LATAM Airlines’ domestic arm $83,000 USD for misleading advertising. The regulator, Aerocivil, slapped LATAM Colombia on the wrist for issues related to its online ticket purchasing process, which was “not clear and understandable” and led to passengers making errors when scheduling flights.

The precise issue was LATAM Colombia saying on its website that users could reserve a ticket online and then pay the fare in cash at their bank at any time thereafter until 24 hours before the trip. But the procedure actually required the payment to be made within 24 hours of the ticket being reserved, a requirement that was incomprehensible to anyone who wanted to pay in cash.

“Airlines are required to provide sufficient, clear, accurate, timely, and precise information to avoid misleading users, as happened in this case,” said Alfredo Bocanegra Varón, general director of Aerocivil.

The fine was levied in local currency, at 242 million pesos. It can be appealed by LATAM Colombia.