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LATAM confirms Oneworld membership

Published: 07/03/2013 - Filed under: News »

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The merged carriers of TAM and LAN have confirmed their choice of Oneworld as the alliance for the consolidated group, meaning TAM will leave Star Alliance in early 2014.

The airlines completed their merger under the LATAM group last summer (see online news June 26, 2012), with one of the conditions being the consolidation under one alliance.

The group has confirmed its selection of Oneworld, with TAM joining the BA-founded alliance in early 2014, and LAN subsidiary LAN Colombia also joining Oneworld as an affiliate member later this year.

In a statement the group said that “An exact date for TAM's departure from the Star Alliance will be announced in due course”, adding that “The intention is for it to become part of Oneworld immediately after it exits Star”.

LATAM’s group CEO Enrique Cueto said that the group “evaluated all the possibilities and chose the alliance that offers the best benefits to our passengers, besides the best connectivity and products, as well as the greater synergies for LATAM Airlines Group”.

Meanwhile TAM’s CEO Marco Antonio Bologna said that the carrier was “changing towards a growing alliance, able to offer the best connection options to our passengers”.

LATAM said that it would work with both Star Alliance and Oneworld “to ensure a seamless transition for customers”, adding that “A comprehensive communications programme will be set in place to keep customers fully informed as the alliance switch takes place”.

It’s a further boost to the Oneworld alliance, which has seen Air Berlin and Malaysia Airlines join this year, with Qatar Airways and Sri Lankan Airlines also in the process of joining.

US Airways is also set to defect from Star Alliance to Oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, providing the tie-up gets regulatory approval.

For more information visit oneworld.com.

Report by Mark Caswell

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COMMENTS » 

christopheL - 07/03/2013 14:48

Well done OW !

Swissdiver - 07/03/2013 15:08

Quite good for One World, quite a blow for Star Alliance that is becoming rather week is the south of South America. But I guess this was expected.

marcopolo007 - 07/03/2013 21:06

Oneworld also announced today that LAN Colombia, the latest part of LAN, will join oneworld as an affiliate member, in the fourth quarter of 2013

BusinessTraveller - 07/03/2013 21:33

That's correct marcopolo007 - it's detailed in the third paragraph of the original article above.

Timefly - 08/03/2013 01:41

Good news for LAN Tam American Airlines US Air. Bad news for the business traveller. Prices will go up! Specially out of Miami.

EricYuDysanco - 08/03/2013 01:48

Great news for OneWorld but it was fully expected.

KSHaggag - 16/03/2013 22:59

It is of course great news for OW but not welldone ,OW ..OW did not do anything to earn TAM ..it is just that TAM was taken over by LAN and LAN ( existing member of OW ) has now the upper hand so it makes sense to bring TAM to OW rather than the other way round ....the other example of US Air joining OW is also a fact of force majeure since the new owner being AA is a OW founding member ....pure bad luck for Star and pure good fortune for OW ....nothing more !

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