The United States-Brazil Open Skies agreement, which entered into force on May 21, 2018, will pave the way to the completion of the joint-venture between American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) and LATAM Airlines (LA, Santiago de Chile), the American carrier has said.
"We applaud the U.S. Departments of State and Transportation and the Brazilian Ministry of Transport for taking this important step to enhance the U.S.-Brazil aviation relationship," AA’s Senior Vice President (Government Affairs) Nate Gatten has said.
The joint-venture, first put forward in 2016, will cover all flights operated by either of the carriers involved between the US and Canada on one side and Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay on the other. The partnership has already been approved by the regulators in Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay, while the go-ahead in Chile is still pending.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the two carriers already have a dominant position on the key US-Brazil market, having a 41.1% market share by capacity between them.
LATAM's rival Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras has openly expressed its intention to enter into a joint-venture with United Airlines, although the American carrier has been more cautious about such a move, having a Star Alliance partner in Brazil in Avianca Brasil. United is a minor shareholder in Azul with a 5% stake.
For its part, Delta Air Lines, which owns a 9.5% stake in GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, has ruled out tightening this cooperation.
