LAN Airlines
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| Founded | 1929 | |||
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| Hubs | Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport | |||
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| Frequent-flyer program | LANPASS | |||
| Member lounge | VIP Lounge Neruda / oliMistral | |||
| Alliance | Oneworld | |||
| Fleet size | 97 (107 orders + 12 options) | |||
| Destinations | 48 | |||
| Company slogan | El encanto de volar (The charm of flying) | |||
| Parent company | LAN Airlines S.A. | |||
| Headquarters | Santiago, Chile | |||
| Key people |
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| Website | www.lan.com | |||
LAN Airlines S.A. NYSE: LFL is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. As the principal Chilean airline, it is also Chile's flag carrier. LAN is one of the largest airlines in Latin America, with flights to Latin America, United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Its main hub is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago, with hubs/focus cities at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Barajas International Airport in Madrid and at Miami International Airport.
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History
The airline was founded by Chilean Air Services Commander Arturo Merino Benitez (for whom the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport was named some years later), and began operations on March 5, 1929 as Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica. It took the name Línea Aérea Nacional de Chile (LAN Chile) in 1932. In September 1989, the Chilean government privatized the carrier, selling a majority stake in the company to Icarosan and Scandinavian Airlines.
The approval from the Chilean Anti-monopolies Board resulted in the acquisition of control of the country's second airline Ladeco on August 11, 1995. In October 1998 LanChile merged Fast Air with Ladeco. In March 2004 Lan Chile and its subsidiaries LAN Perú, LAN Ecuador, LAN Dominicana and LANExpress became unified under the single LAN brand, instead of prior Linea Aerea Nacional. On June 17, 2004 LAN Chile changed its formal name to LAN Airlines (which was said to mean Latin American Network Airlines, even though the airline says LAN is no longer an abbreviation now) as part of this re-branding process. In mid-2005 LAN opened its subsidiary LAN Argentina in Argentina and operates national and international flights from Buenos Aires, being the third largest local operator behind Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral. This subsidiary is also under the single LAN brand.
LAN Airlines has the following subsidiaries and shareholdings: LAN Cargo (99.4%), LAN Express (99.4%), ABSA - Aerolinhas Brasileiras (73.3%), LAN Perú (70%), LAN Dominicana (49%), LAN Ecuador (45%), LAN Argentina (49%), MasAir (39.5%) and Florida West International Airways (25%). It also has 11,173 employees.
LAN codeshares with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines to U.S. destinations, British Airways and Iberia to European destinations, to Brazilian internal destinations with TAM Linhas Aéreas, to Asian destinations with Korean Air, and some destinations in Australia and New Zealand with Qantas.
As of August 1, 2006, LAN Airlines merged first and business classes of service into a single class, named Premium Business.
In 2008 LAN was voted the best airline in South America.
On August 13, 2010, LAN signed a non-binding agreement with Brazilian airline TAM Airlines to merge[1] to form LATAM Airlines Group.[2]
Subsidiaries
LAN Argentina
LAN Express
LAN Ecuador
LAN Perú- LAN Colombia - Starts December 2010
Cargo Branches
- LAN Cargo
ABSA
LANCO
MasAir
Destinations
Lan Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of November 2007, * indicate as Oneworld:
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Fleet
LAN became the launch customer for the Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engine on the Airbus A318.[3] Its Airbus A319s and Airbus A320s are equipped with International Aero Engines V2500s. Lan Airlines has recently renovated its Boeing 767s, adding amenities like flat bed seats in Premium Business class offering 180 degrees of recline, and new industry leading personal TVs.
In late 2007 LAN Airlines announced that it was planning to acquire some Boeing 777 freighters for its LAN Cargo fleet. As of May 2008, LAN Airlines has retired its last 737-200 from service; the 737-200 was replaced by the Airbus A318. In addition to its A320's family aircraft and Boeing 777 family, LAN will buy the new Boeing 787 for its long haul routes such as Auckland, Sydney and European routes replacing its Airbus A340-300s. With this new aircraft it plans to open new routes like London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. In July 2010, LAN announced plans to sell its A318 fleet and to purchase another 50 airliners from the A320 family.[4]
The Boeing customer codes for LAN Airline is 7x7-x16 (I.e. 767-316). The average LAN Airlines fleet age is 5.1 years old (July 2010).[5] The LAN Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of December 2009):[6][7][8]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A318-100 | 15 | 0 | 126Y |
| Airbus A319-100 | 20 | 16 | 144Y |
| Airbus A320-200 | 20 | 40 | 168Y |
| Airbus A321-200 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Airbus A340-300 | 5 | 0 | 260 (42/218) |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 28 | 7 | 221 (30/191) |
| Boeing 787-8 | 0 | 22[9] | 247 (30/217) |
| Boeing 787-9 | 0 | 10[10] | |
| Cargo | |||
| Boeing 767-300ERF | 9 | 1 | Cargo |
| Boeing 777F | 2 | 1 | Cargo |
| Total | 99 | 107 | |
LANPASS
LANPASS is LAN's Frequent Flyer Program, created to reward customer loyalty. There are currently over two million members in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Canada and the United States. Every year, over 110,000 LANPASS members fly for free. LANPASS members earn kilometers every time they fly with LAN, a oneworld alliance member, a LANPASS-affiliated airline or by using the services of any LANPASS-associated business around the world.
The LANPASS Program has four membership categories[11]:
- LANPASS
- Premium (Oneworld Ruby)[12]
- Premium Silver (Oneworld Sapphire)[12]
- Commodore (Oneworld Emerald)[12]
South America AirPass
The term "South America AirPass" describes an airfare that allows passengers residing outside South America to purchase individual one-way coupons for flights between any of the more than 49 South American destinations that make up LAN's at a price which is determined by two factors:
- Whether the passenger reaches South America with LAN or with another Oneworld alliance member.
- The distance between the point of departure and the destination.
The purchase of the AirPass coupons must be made at the time intercontinental travel is purchased and outside South America.
Incidents and accidents
- On July 5, 2008, LAN Airlines Flight 533 was involved in a near-miss incident at New York's JFK airport. The aircraft, bound for Santiago, Chile, was nearly struck after take off by Cayman Airways Flight 792. The Cayman aircraft, arriving at JFK from the Cayman Islands, performed a go-around after a missed landing on a perpendicular runway. Both aircraft performed steep banks to avoid one another, under the control tower's direction.
- On March 28, 2007, LAN Airlines Flight 801 traveling between Santiago and Auckland was involved in a near-miss incident with a meteor while over the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that the flaming object passed within five nautical miles of the aircraft, while the crew could hear the objects breaking the sound barrier. While it was initially thought the object was an old Russian satellite re-entering the atmosphere, that explanation was subsequently ruled out by NASA.
- On February 19, 1991, a chartered LAN Chile BAe 146-200 overran the runway on landing at Puerto Williams in southern Chile and sank in the nearby waters. Twenty of the 66 passengers died.[13][14]
- On August 4, 1987, a Boeing 737-200, while on the approach at Calama/El Loa airport, landed short of the displaced threshold of runway 27. The nosegear collapsed and the aircraft broke in two. A fire broke out 30 minutes later and destroyed the aircraft. The threshold was displaced by 880m due to construction work. There was one fatality.
- August 3, 1978, Buenos Aires/Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport: a Boeing 707 was approaching runway 11 in fog when it struck trees in a gentle descent, some 2500m short of the runway threshold and 300m out of line with the runway centreline.
- May 25, 1972, one hour and 18 minutes after take-off from Panama City a homemade pipe bomb exploded in the ice water fountain service compartment of a Boeing 727. A rapid decompression followed. A successful emergency landing was carried out at Montego Bay, Jamaica.
- April 28, 1969 LAN Chile Flight 160 crashed short of runway at Colina, Chile. None of the 60 passengers and crew were injured in the accident.
- December 5, 1969, Puerto-Montt/El Tepual airport, a Douglas DC-3 became airborne after a 500m run and climbed to 10m when it banked right. The aircraft lost height and the wing struck the ground; a wheels-up landing was made.
- On February 6, 1965 a Douglas DC-6, operating as LAN Chile Flight 107 from Santiago to Ezeiza, Argentina at an altitude of about 12,000 ft (3,658 m), flew into a mountain near the San José Volcano in the Las Melosas area of the Andes. All of the 87 passengers and crew on board died in what is as of 2010 the worst aircraft accident in Chile.[15]
Popular culture
- LAN has been a common target for the weekly newspaper The Clinic due the ownership of Sebastián Piñera and his political interests. Also the Chilean impersonator Stefan Kramer uses LAN as part of the satiric imitation of Piñera.
- In most Chilean movies and soap operas, a LAN airplane is almost always filmed in airport scenes.
- In a Law & Order SVU episode, Detective Elliot Stabler (portrayed by actor Christopher Meloni) is at JFK Airport, while in the back there is a LAN aircraft parked at the gate.
References
- ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN1321787820100813?rpc=44
- ↑ "LAN and TAM aim to complete merger by mid 2011". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/14/346158/lan-and-tam-aim-to-complete-merger-by-mid-2011.html. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
- ↑ Airbus (5/6/07). "LAN Airlines takes delivery of its first A318". Press release. http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release/?tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1274977344&tx_ttnews%5Bpointer%5D=81&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1386&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1683&cHash=082dc30043. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ "FARNBOROUGH: Germania firms A319 order". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/07/21/344995/farnborough-germania-firms-a319-order.html. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
- ↑ "Fleet age LAN Airlines". Airfleets.net. http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/LAN%20Airlines.htm. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ "Directory: World Airlines Part 2 (C-L)". Flight International: 31–80. 2009-04-07.
- ↑ Quarterly Financial Filings (FECU) (September/2006)
- ↑ "LAN orders 30 A320s". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/23/336590/lan-orders-30-a320s.html. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ↑ http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=787&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=787&ViewReportF=View+Report
- ↑ http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=787&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=787&ViewReportF=View+Report
- ↑ Terms and Conditions Of the LANPASS frequent flyer program
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "LAN Oneworld Tier Status". Oneworld. http://www.oneworld.com/ow/ffp/oneworld-status/lan. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 02201991
- ↑ Viesturs, Ed; Bangs, Richard (2001). Richard Bangs, adventure without end. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. pp. 80. ISBN 0-89886-860-2. http://books.google.com/?id=G2zrp6OGXjwC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=lan+chile+146+puerto+williams.
- ↑ Aviation Safety Network CC-CCG accident synopsis retrieved 2010-05-28.
External links
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