0
by Naomi Mapstone
Now that Lan and Tam have jumped another hurdle to create one of the world’s biggest airlines, more and more passengers are wondering what brand of frequent flyer points will they dole out.
Chile’s antitrust authority has demanded that the new airline, Latam, renounce either the Oneworld alliance favoured by Chile-based Lan, or the Star Alliance alliance, favoured by Brazil’s Tam.
The loser will effectively lose Latin America.
Oneworld would cede its strength across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, as well as its South Pacific-South America link and the lion’s share of US routes and access to US hubs via partners such as British Airways, American Airlines, LAN and Qantas.
This includes some of Latin America’s biggest tourism routes – Easter Island, Iquazu waterfalls, Cusco (the jumping off point for Machu Picchu), the dreamy Colombian port of Cartagena, and the Galapagos Islands.
Star’s Latin American presence, which relies heavily on its unparalleled network of Brazilian routes via Tam, would be gutted. These include the capital Brasilia, the Amazonian city of Manaus and the fashionable beach destination Florianopolis.
Star also currently has more São Paulo-Europe connections than its rivals and has picked up market presence in Colombia with the inclusion of AviancaTaca deal.
Whichever way a hulking new carrier Latam jumped, some of its passengers would be unhappy, given the potential for millions of frequent flyer points to suddenly become next-to-useless for travel in Latin America if the change is not structured carefully.
Lan, which has a market capitalistion of $8.6bn, and Tam, with a market capitalization of $2.01bn, are yet to comment on their choice of alliance, saying yesterday they would communicate their position “as soon as possible”.
“The antitrust court’s resolution is complex and considers a series of mitigating measures. Therefore, both companies are currently analyzing in depth the implications and impact of the measures imposed by the court,” the airlines said in a joint statement.
The wording of Chile’s antitrust authority ruling also leaves the door open for a left-of-field decision to choose a third alliance, such as Skyteam, which has been seeking to increase its presence in the region by signing up Aeromexico and Aerolineas Argentina. The antitrust body has also said Latam would have to allow agreements with other airlines on crucial routes such as Sao Paolo-Santiago and Rio-Santiago. And Lan would have to open up its lucrative cargo business without demanding reciprocity. Brazil’s antitrust authority, Cade, is yet to rule on the proposed merger – business and tourist passengers will be watching closely to see what becomes of their frequent flyer point stash.
http://blogs.ft.com/.../#axzz1dfi8PSgi
Now that Lan and Tam have jumped another hurdle to create one of the world’s biggest airlines, more and more passengers are wondering what brand of frequent flyer points will they dole out.
Chile’s antitrust authority has demanded that the new airline, Latam, renounce either the Oneworld alliance favoured by Chile-based Lan, or the Star Alliance alliance, favoured by Brazil’s Tam.
The loser will effectively lose Latin America.
Oneworld would cede its strength across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, as well as its South Pacific-South America link and the lion’s share of US routes and access to US hubs via partners such as British Airways, American Airlines, LAN and Qantas.
This includes some of Latin America’s biggest tourism routes – Easter Island, Iquazu waterfalls, Cusco (the jumping off point for Machu Picchu), the dreamy Colombian port of Cartagena, and the Galapagos Islands.
Star’s Latin American presence, which relies heavily on its unparalleled network of Brazilian routes via Tam, would be gutted. These include the capital Brasilia, the Amazonian city of Manaus and the fashionable beach destination Florianopolis.
Star also currently has more São Paulo-Europe connections than its rivals and has picked up market presence in Colombia with the inclusion of AviancaTaca deal.
Whichever way a hulking new carrier Latam jumped, some of its passengers would be unhappy, given the potential for millions of frequent flyer points to suddenly become next-to-useless for travel in Latin America if the change is not structured carefully.
Lan, which has a market capitalistion of $8.6bn, and Tam, with a market capitalization of $2.01bn, are yet to comment on their choice of alliance, saying yesterday they would communicate their position “as soon as possible”.
“The antitrust court’s resolution is complex and considers a series of mitigating measures. Therefore, both companies are currently analyzing in depth the implications and impact of the measures imposed by the court,” the airlines said in a joint statement.
The wording of Chile’s antitrust authority ruling also leaves the door open for a left-of-field decision to choose a third alliance, such as Skyteam, which has been seeking to increase its presence in the region by signing up Aeromexico and Aerolineas Argentina. The antitrust body has also said Latam would have to allow agreements with other airlines on crucial routes such as Sao Paolo-Santiago and Rio-Santiago. And Lan would have to open up its lucrative cargo business without demanding reciprocity. Brazil’s antitrust authority, Cade, is yet to rule on the proposed merger – business and tourist passengers will be watching closely to see what becomes of their frequent flyer point stash.
http://blogs.ft.com/.../#axzz1dfi8PSgi
