LATAM Airlines Group plans to resume flights between Brazil and Johannesburg, South Africa in December. The flights will be in LATAM’s regular schedule starting December 19. LATAM Airlines Group chairman Ignacio Cueto said the resumption of services would “strengthen our position in the African market”. LATAM Airlines Group announced on Friday that it was looking for opportunities to expand its presence in Africa after SAA filed for bankruptcy protection last week.
SAA has been kept aloft by repeated bailouts from taxpayers and lenders. The airline, which is one of Africa’s most established carriers with a 15% stake in Virgin Atlantic and more than 14,000 employees, has not made a profit since 2011. The firm has lost at least $2.2 billion over the last 10 years, according to Moody’s Investors Service
LATAM plans to resume flights between Brazil and Johannesburg on December 19. The airline said in a statement Monday that the services would be in its regular schedule, with a daily flight from Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro-Galeao International Airport (GIG).
This step has been taken after both countries lifted their temporary restrictions on air travel following an outbreak of Ebola in South Africa. In addition to this, the Ministry of Health of Brazil also decided to lift all restrictions regarding entry into our country by travelers coming from countries where there are cases of infection caused by the virus.
LATAM Airlines Group is a Latin American airline group founded in 2016. The LATAM Airlines Group is based in Santiago, Chile and has a presence in 19 countries.
Besides LATAM Chile and LATAM Perú, it owns the brands LATAM Argentina and LATAM Brasil. It also has an equity stake in Air Europa Líneas Aéreas. The company operates more than 800 flights per day and has been operating since 2012 when it was founded by LAN Airlines (now called Lan Express)
South Africa’s flag carrier, South African Airways (SAA), filed for bankruptcy protection on December 5.
- South Africa’s flag carrier, South African Airways (SAA), filed for bankruptcy protection on December 5.
- The airline has been kept aloft by repeated bailouts from taxpayers and lenders over the years.
- It has not made a profit since 2011 and lost at least $2.2 billion over the last 10 years.
The airline is set to resume its twice-daily flight from Sao Paulo on December 20, with tickets going on sale later this week. It will be the first time LATAM has flown between Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg since it canceled all services between the two cities in 2014 due to overcapacity.
The move comes as LATAM continues its push into Africa, which it sees as an important growth region that can help it offset declines in its home market of Latin America. It already serves six destinations on the continent: Cape Town; Dakar; Luanda; Lusaka; Nairobi; and Lagos (via Accra).
With South African Airways filing for bankruptcy protection and LATAM planning to resume flights between Brazil and Johannesburg, the airline industry is entering a new chapter. The growth of digital technology has made it easier for companies like LATAM to expand their reach across the globe but at the same time there are still many challenges ahead. The biggest issue facing airlines today is whether they can continue their profitability while providing affordable fares without raising prices too much.
