LATAM to Expand North, Connecting Orlando and Bogotá

DALLAS — LATAM Airlines (LA) will expand its presence in the North American market as it will add a new daily route between Orlando (MCO) and Bogota (BOG), Colombia, on July 1.

This new route is part of the joint venture between LA and Delta Air Lines (DL), which was approved in September 2022. The new route will allow passengers to connect to other LA destinations across South America. 

The route between the two cities will be operated by an Airbus A320, which can seat 174 passengers. The flight will last four hours and fifteen minutes. The flight will leave Bogata at 10:15 a.m. and arrive in Orlando at 4:47 p.m. The Orlando-Bogata route will be the second route that LA flies between the United States and Colombia. 

LATAM currently operates between Bogota and Miami (MIA), but it plans to expand its network in the United States. On November 23, LATAM's Brazil subsidiary announced that it would fly three times weekly between Sao Paulo and Los Angeles.

This new route will be operated by a Boeing 777 with a capacity of 410 passengers.

Background on the LA-DL Joint Venture

In September 2022, the United States Department of Transportation granted antitrust immunity to the joint venture between LA and DL. The joint venture has been over three years in the making.

The airline commented that they now "work closely to create the leading airline partnership between the United States/Canada and South America" in a partnership that encompasses flights to Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay and more than 300 destinations." Delta operates daily flights between its hubs in Atlanta (ATL) and New York, John F. Kennedy (JFK) to Bogota, Colombia. 

Santiago Alvarez, CEO of LATAM Airlines Colombia, commented, "We will boost our presence in the North American market with the aim of becoming the best option for passengers from that region who wish to travel to Colombia and the other South American countries that are part of the agreement."

He added, "Through the joint venture with Delta, we will improve our presence in the United States market, which continues to be one of the most important international destinations for Colombian passengers."

Featured image: LATAM PT-MUA Boeing 777-300ER (Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Livery). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

https://airwaysmag.com/delta-latam-joint-venture/