LATAM Airlines Group will enter into a codeshare agreement with Virgin Atlantic, both carriers have announced. Since leaving oneworld, LATAM has moved closer to Delta Air Lines and its partners, Virgin and Aeromexico. Let’s investigate further.
The new codeshare agreement
With the new codeshare agreement, Virgin Atlantic customers will be able to travel to São Paulo onboard LATAM Airlines. The South American carrier has recently restarted flying to London. Bookings are available from today, for travel from January 20.
Customers booking through Virgin Atlantic are now able to travel from Heathrow direct to São Paulo as well as connecting onwards onto 12 domestic airports in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Florianopolis said Virgin in a statement.
The destinations in Brazil available for Virgin clients are Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Curitiba, Goiania, Recife, Salvador, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Vitoria, and Londrina.
LATAM has regained its pre-pandemic status as Brazil’s leading domestic carrier in the last few months.
Meanwhile, LATAM customers traveling from São Paulo to London Heathrow will also have the option to smoothly connect onto Virgin Atlantic’s destinations worldwide through Terminal 3, including Tel Aviv, Delhi, and Hong Kong.
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Delta’s partners partnering up
The US carrier Delta Air Lines has investments in LATAM, Virgin, Aeromexico, and other carriers. These three carriers have announced agreements between them in the last few months. For instance, LATAM and Aeromexico have a codeshare agreement.
Regarding the new Virgin-LATAM codeshare, Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented,
“We’re incredibly excited to launch this new codeshare partnership with LATAM Airlines. As we recover from the pandemic, partnerships are more important than ever, and we look forward to building on the incredibly successful interline relationship we have had in place for a number of years.”
Moreover, both carriers are looking to increase the destinations available in their new codeshare agreement. Jarvinen said they would love to serve destinations throughout South America, including Peru and Colombia.
Brazil’s recovery
The Brazilian airline association expects the country to recover its domestic pre-pandemic traffic in 2022. Internationally, it could fully rebound between 2023 and 2024.
“This new partnership aims to respond to the large, fast-growing demand for leisure travelers looking to enjoy new experiences after a challenging 20 months. We know there is pent-up demand for long-haul travel, and we look forward to welcoming customers onboard on their way to exploring these exciting and vibrant Brazilian cities,” said Jarvinen.
He added that global economies gradually recover from the impact of the pandemic; Virgin Atlantic expects to capture demand from corporate travel heading to São Paulo, the commercial capital of Brazil, as well as other key business hubs in South America.
Why did LATAM leave oneworld?
On May 1, 2020, LATAM Airlines officially departed the oneworld alliance, putting an end to a 20-year history.
In 2000, the Chilean carrier LAN Airlines joined the alliance. Its Brazilian counterpart, TAM Airlines, entered oneworld in 2014, following the merger between both airlines.
Nonetheless, the participation of LATAM Airlines in oneworld only lasted six more years. In 2019, Delta Air Lines announced it would invest US$1.9 billion into LATAM for a 20% equity stake. Following this deal, LATAM’s future at oneworld had an expiration date.
Since then, LATAM has been strengthening its ties with Delta and its partners, Aeromexico and Virgin.
What do you think about LATAM and Virgin’s new codeshare agreement? Let us know in the comments below.
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