LATAM drops First Class

South American airline group LATAM held an industry and press reception at One Horse Guards Avenue overlooking the Thames at Westminster last week to promote its oneworld membership.  As TAM the airline flies daily from Heathrow T1 to both Rio de Janerio and Sao Paulo and is expected to move to T3 by October.

LATAM was created by the merger of LAN Chile (and its associates) with TAM of Brazil in 2012.  It has a 50% market share in South America on the routes that it operates.  LATAM has 53,000 employees and a fleet of 316 aircraft.  It has already introduced its first Boeing 787, with a total commitment for 32, and has on order 42 Airbus A320NEOs and 22 Airbus A350s.

The group's big news was that it is dropping First Class from 1 November on all long haul routes, following an industry trend.  If you are flying with LAN or TAM after that date you might strike lucky and gain one of the four First Class seats before they are taken away.  A specialised chef is being added in Business Class.  Destinations offered by LATAM Group include Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris, in Europe, and Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK in the US. 

TAM is also much involved with the World Cup (see below AND FINALLY).  www.latamairlinesgroup.net

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