On the 5th of March, 1929, Chilean Army Air Services Commander Arturo Merino Benitez founded Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica.
In 1932, the name was changed to Línea Aérea Nacional de Chile (LAN Chile).
In late February 1961, a small group of former air-taxi pilots formed Transportes Aéreos Marília, S.A. (Marília Air Transport), beginning operations with a fleet of 4 Cessna 180 and a single Cessna 170. Three years later, Orlando Ometto purchased a 50% stake in the company, soon buying the remaining 50% from the original pilot owners who left TAM.
In August 1986, the company went public. During the same year, TAM – Transportes Aéreos Regionais (KK) acquired another regional airline, VOTEC, renaming it Brasil Central Linhas Aéreas. Four years later, Brasil Central was renamed TAM – Transportes Aéreos Meridionais, using the same color scheme of TAM (KK), but maintaining the IATA code JJ.
In September 1989, LAN Chile was privatized by the Chilean government, a majority stake in the company being sold to Icarosan and Scandinavian Airlines System.
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 Linea Aerea Nacional, the one previously used. Later that year, the formal name of the company was changed from LAN Chile to LAN Airlines.
In August 2006, LAN Airlines merged First and Business classes of service into a single class, namely Premium Business.
In 2008, LAN Airlines was voted as 3rd best airline in the world, and first South American airline.
In August 2010, LAN and TAM announced their plan to merge their holdings into a single company, called LATAM Airlines Group. Together, both companies have more than 40.000 employees and 280 aircraft, offering cargo services worldwide and serving 115 destinations in 23 countries.
In January 2011, TAM S.A. and LAN Airlines S.A. announced the signing of the binding agreements between both companies and their respective controlling shareholders. These binding agreements include an Implementation Agreement and an Exchange Offer Agreement containing the definitive terms and conditions of the proposed business combination of LAN and TAM.
In June 2012, LAN Airlines S.A and TAM S.A. report that they have successfully completed the exchange offer and mergers through which they have combined their businesses and created the LATAM Airlines Group S.A. The transaction was carried out through an exchange offer in which TAM’s shareholders could elect to exchange their TAM shares for LAN shares.
In December 2012, American Airlines and LAN Colombia, a member of the LATAM Airlines Group announced that they have signed a codeshare agreement. The agreement provided more options for travelers between Colombia and the United States and Canada.
In March 2013, LATAM Airlines Group chose Oneworld, an alliance with a strong presence in the Asia/Pacific region, as the global alliance for its airlines, thus establishing Oneworld as the leading alliance for flights within Latin America and from this region to both the United States and Europe. This was announced at the Oneworld meeting held in Hong Kong. LAN Colombia officially joined Oneworld in October.
In April 2013, LAN Colombia upgraded its fleet for international flights adding three new Boeing 767s and increasing availability of international flights operating from Colombia. The investment reaching $ 360 million will allow LAN Colombia to offer better international flight schedules and more seat availability while providing world-class on-board service.
In 2013, LATAM Airlines Group was the only airline selected from the Travel & Leisure category of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – Emerging Markets, due to its sector leadership in corporate sustainability issues.
In 2014, LAN and TAM, part of LATAM Airlines Group, South America’s largest airline group, announced the addition of more than 300 international flights to provide the best service to passengers during one of the biggest sporting events in the world that will take place in Brazil in June and July 2014, FIFA World Cup.
In August 2015, it was announced that LAN Airlines, as well as TAM Airlines, would fully rebrand as LATAM. The rebranding will involve a new livery for both airlines, which will be applied to all aircraft by 2018.
In spring 2016, LATAM Airlines Group unveiled its new Indigo and Coral livery when the first aircraft was repainted (or delivered new) in the new LATAM livery.
In 2017, LATAM inaugurated new routes, including the longest flight in its history – Santiago to Melbourne. In December, LATAM received the first Airbus A320neo aircraft, but, due to an issue with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines, some of the Airbus A320 neo aircraft have been grounded in 2018.
In 2018, LATAM Airlines faced difficulties being forced to ground more than half of its Boeing B787-8 Dreamliners due to problems with the Rolls Royce engines.
In December 2018, LATAM Airlines launched the first non-stop connection between Tel Aviv and South America, with a flight departing from Santiago, Chile, making a stop in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and continuing directly to Tel Aviv, Israel.
In January 2019, OAG, the air travel intelligence company, released the 2019 Punctuality League report, which recognizes LATAM Airlines Group as a top airline for on-time performance in the Mega Airlines category with 85.60% on-time performance (defined as flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time using full-year data from 2018).
On May 1st, 2020, LATAM Airlines officially departed the oneworld alliance, putting an end to a 20-year history.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic represented the greatest challenge in history for LATAM, which was forced to virtually halt almost all passenger operations in March and ended the year operating less than 40% of the planned flights. During most of the year, LATAM Group’s efforts were focused on creating the necessary conditions to cope with the crisis, including decisions such as reducing operations, canceling routes, letting employees go, adjusting the fleet, and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in May.
In May 2020, LATAM has begun the voluntary restructuring process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Act. This reorganization process provides LATAM with the opportunity to work with its creditors and other stakeholders to reduce its debt, convert its costs, access new sources of financing, and continue operating while enabling the group to transform its business to this new reality and to maintain a leading position in Latin American aviation in the post-COVID-19 era.
In September 2021, LATAM released its five-year business plan as part of its financial reorganization. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the LATAM Group had revenues of more than US$10 billion, which it expects to return to by 2024.
In October 2021, the approval of the joint venture with Delta Air Lines in Chile added to the previous approvals in Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. This is a step closer toward the implementation of the trans-American Joint Venture Agreement that Delta Air Lines and LATAM Airlines Group signed in May 2020 that will combine the carriers’ highly complementary route networks between North and South America, providing customers with a seamless travel experience.
In September 2022, the US DOT approved the Joint Venture Agreement between LATAM Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines, allowing the airlines to develop an unparalleled network connecting the Americas.
Only two fatal incidents involving LAN Airlines or its predecessors were recorded, the worst of them occurring in February 1991, when 20 of the 66 passengers on board a chartered LAN Chile BAe146-200 perished after the aircraft overran the runway on landing and sank in the nearby waters. The first deadly TAM incident occurred in early February 1979, when a Bandeirante crashed near the town of Agudos, killing all 18 people on board. After a few smaller accidents, the last and – until now – considered the deadliest aviation accident in Latin America, took place in mid-July, 2007, when an Airbus 320 belonging to TAM overran the runway at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport, finally crashing into a TAM Express warehouse. 198 bodies were recovered from the crash site, including victims on the ground (186 people were on board).
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