Grupo LATAM Airlines and Delta Air Lines made their first operational announcements after receiving approval for their joint venture agreement in September. Among the initiatives, LATAM announced the launch of a new service between São Paulo and Los Angeles starting July 1, 2023, adding a popular destination currently not served from Los Angeles. Additionally, this new route offers customers access to the largest corporate and general market between the U.S. and South America from LAX, where Delta is the largest global airline.
The flight will have an initial frequency of three times a week on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with a capacity for 410 passengers (38 in Premium Business, 50 in Economy+, and 322 in Economy). It will depart from São Paulo Airport (Guarulhos) at 11:05 PM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, arriving in Los Angeles at 7 AM the next day. From Los Angeles, flights will depart at 1 PM on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, arriving in São Paulo (Guarulhos) at 5:20 AM the next day.
Passengers will be able to connect from LATAM’s hub in São Paulo to destinations in LATAM’s South American network, as well as connections to the various destinations served by the group. Meanwhile, customers flying to Los Angeles will be able to quickly connect to several popular Delta destinations on the West Coast, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle. The new service between São Paulo and Los Angeles is available for booking now through delta.com or latam.com.
More Round-Trip Capacity to Latin America
Another highlight of the announcement was the increase in capacity on routes to and from the United States, which will benefit customers from both partners. From Delta Air Lines, the recently announced additional frequencies on the following routes include:
• New York-São Paulo: Delta’s three weekly flights between its hub in New York JFK and São Paulo will be increased to daily service starting October 29 with Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
• Atlanta-São Paulo: On December 17, a second daily seasonal flight between Atlanta and São Paulo (GRU) will begin with Airbus A330 aircraft.
• Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro: The popular seasonal route between Atlanta and Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão International Airport (GIG) will resume on December 17.
• São Paulo-Orlando: Starting August 2023, LATAM Airlines Brazil will increase its operation to Orlando International Airport, adding a fourth weekly frequency. The operation will be conducted by Boeing 787-9 aircraft and will add 600 extra seats to this itinerary.
With these frequency adjustments, Delta and LATAM will add over 23,000 weekly seats to their regular itineraries to connect North America and South America like never before.