The goal of Delta Air Lines and its new joint venture partner LATAM is to dominate connectivity to South America.
The carriers are constructing and restoring their networks in order to claim that distinction, and Friday morning will bring the latest significant news.
Two new routes are being added by the airlines, one flight is being restored, and a new daily frequency is being added to an existing market.
On October 29, LATAM will launch a service between Miami and Medellin, Colombia. The competition for this market's current flights operated by American Airlines and Avianca will be this new daily route, which will be run by an Airbus A320.
Additionally, on October 29, LATAM will launch service to Delta's Atlanta hub with its inaugural flight, a Boeing 767-200 to Lima, Peru. This trip, which operates on a different schedule and runs three times per week (on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays), will augment Delta's current daily service in the market.
The 3:30 p.m. Delta flight departs Atlanta and makes a red-eye flight back to Atlanta. LATAM's flight, meanwhile, will take off from Lima at 12 p.m. after departing Atlanta as a red-eye at 10:45 p.m.
A Boeing 767-300 will be replaced on this route by an Airbus A350-900, which is outfitted with the previous generation of the airline's 2-2-2 business-class seating arrangement.
With three weekly flights departing on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, Delta will resume service between Atlanta and Cartagena, Colombia, on December 22. According to Cirium timetables, Delta stopped operating this route in March 2020 and put an end to it permanently.
Beginning on October 29, Delta will also increase the daily frequency between Atlanta and Bogota by one, using a Boeing 757-200.
When Delta unexpectedly revealed in September 2019 that it was buying a 20% share in LATAM and removing the airline from the Oneworld alliance, it stunned the industry. To increase flights at important U.S. gateway airports to Latin America as part of the investment, Delta is aiming to establish a strategic alliance with LATAM.
The joint venture enables the two companies to divide profits from flights between the United States and South America, Canada, and Canada. Additionally, the agreement includes antitrust protection, allowing Delta and LATAM to coordinate flight times and prices in particular markets.
Under the joint venture, Delta and LATAM have already implemented several customer-facing improvements, such as reciprocal frequent flyer accumulation and redemption, elite rewards, and lounge access advantages.
Orlando to Bogota, Los Angeles to Sao Paulo, Miami to Medellin, New York to Rio de Janeiro, and Atlanta to Cartagena are the five new routes that the two airlines have so far introduced thanks to their alliance. There should be more in the works.
"We appreciate the support of the consumers who are switching to Delta and the LATAM Group. With these exciting new routes and our loyalty benefits, there will be even more opportunities to explore and conduct business in these vibrant regions, according to a statement from Alex Antilla, Delta's vice president for Latin America.
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