As part of its new strategy for the South American market, Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has offloaded its 9% stake in GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (G3, São Paulo Congonhas), said the Brazilian carrier in a stock market filing.
Delta valued its stake in GOL at about USD256 million dollars when it announced it was planning to sell at the end of September. The two carriers are expected to end their codeshare, frequent flyer and lounge partnerships, as the Delta-LATAM Airlines tie-up moves forward, although no timeline has been stated.
The US carrier is going all-in on its LATAM investment and joint business venture with the acquisition of a 20% stake for around USD1.9 billion dollars.
While GOL is Brazil's largest carrier, its network is predominantly limited to the domestic market. In contrast, LATAM's far broader network covers most of South America, with major operations in Lima International, Santiago de Chile and São Paulo Guarulhos.
Delta's change in South American partner will undoubtedly spark a shake-up of the airline landscape in that region, with GOL on the hunt for a new partner, with American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) most likely at the head of the queue. The Oneworld carrier had a partnership with LATAM until Delta's recent moves. American and LATAM will end their codeshare on February 1, and the latter will leave Oneworld by September 2020. Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) is entering into a joint venture with TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon).
Earlier this month, LATAM Airlines Group formally dropped plans to establish a joint business agreement with IAG International Airlines Group.
