Together with its new joint venture partner LATAM, Delta Air Lines wants to become the leader in connectivity to South America.
To earn that title, the carriers are building and restoring their networks, with the latest big announcement coming on Friday morning.
The airlines are adding two new routes, restoring one flight and adding an additional daily frequency in an existing market.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter
To start, LATAM will begin flying between Miami and Medellin, Colombia, on Oct. 29. This new daily service will be operated by an Airbus A320, and it’ll go up against existing flights in this market operated by American Airlines and Avianca.
Also on Oct. 29, LATAM will start flying to Delta’s Atlanta mega-hub with its first-ever route to Lima, Peru, operated by a Boeing 767. This three-times-weekly flight (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) will complement Delta’s existing daily service in the market by operating with a different timetable.
Delta’s flight leaves Atlanta at 3:30 p.m. and returns to Atlanta as a red-eye flight. Meanwhile, LATAM’s flight will leave Atlanta as a red-eye at 10:45 p.m. and depart Lima at 12 p.m. in the afternoon.
Delta will also upgauge the route from a Boeing 767-300 to an Airbus A350-900 that features the airline’s outdated 2-2-2 business-class configuration.
Meanwhile, Delta will restore service between Atlanta and Cartagena, Colombia, on Dec. 22, with three weekly flights operating on Wednesday, Friday and Sundays. Delta last operated this route in March 2020 before suspending it indefinitely due to the pandemic, Cirium schedules show.
Sign up for our daily newsletter
Additionally, Delta will add a second daily frequency between Atlanta and Bogota beginning on Oct. 29, operated by a Boeing 757-200.
Delta shocked the industry in September 2019 when it announced it was taking a 20% stake in LATAM, pulling the airline away from the Oneworld frequent flyer alliance. As part of the investment, Delta is working to create a strategic alliance with LATAM, boosting flights in key U.S. gateway airports to Latin America.
The joint venture allows the two carriers to split revenue on flights between the U.S. and Canada, and South America. The deal also comes with antitrust immunity, meaning Delta and LATAM can coordinate schedules and fares in those markets.
Delta and LATAM have already rolled out multiple customer-facing enhancements under the joint venture, including reciprocal frequent flyer accrual and redemption, elite perks and lounge access benefits.
To date, the partnership has enabled the two airlines to debut five new routes — Orlando to Bogota; Los Angeles to Sao Paulo; Miami to Medellin; New York to Rio de Janeiro; and Atlanta to Cartagena. More are expected to be in the works.
“We’re grateful for the response from customers who are moving over to Delta and the LATAM Group. These exciting new routes, combined with our loyalty benefits, will provide even more ways to discover and do business in these dynamic markets,” Alex Antilla, Delta’s vice president for Latin America, said in a statement.
Related reading:
