Transporte Aéreo S.A. d/b/a LATAM Express (previously known as LAN Express) is a subsidiary of LATAM Chile based in Santiago, Chile. It operates few domestic flights for its parent. Its main hub is Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.[2]
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Founded | November 1, 1958 (as Ladeco) October 28, 2001 (as LAN Express) | ||||||
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Hubs | Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | LATAM Pass | ||||||
Alliance | Oneworld (2004-2020; affiliate)[1] | ||||||
Fleet size | 13 | ||||||
Destinations | 15 | ||||||
Parent company | LATAM Chile | ||||||
Headquarters | Santiago, Chile | ||||||
Employees | 1,900 | ||||||
Website | www |
The airline was established as Ladeco by Juan Costabal Echeñique on November 1, 1958, flying mostly internal routes between Chile's major cities.[3] Initially, the company mainly flew domestic services, but later served international routes to the Caribbean and North America.
In 1993, Ladeco was sold 37.35% to Iberia, which in turn approved the sale to LAN-Chile.[4] In 1994, LAN-Chile bought over 99.41% of the shares and merged Ladeco into its fleet. At the time of the takeover, The airline was equipped mainly with Boeing 737s as well as some 727s and 757s. It then became exclusively an internal carrier between Chilean cities. In October 1998, Ladeco was merged with Fast Air Carrier. In 2000, Ladeco and LAN-Chile became the first airlines in the world to certify their flight operations, incorporating the TQM methodology. On October 28, 2001, Ladeco was officially rebranded as a new affiliate of LAN-Chile named LAN Express, and most internal operations were taken by.[2] The brand was then merged back into LAN Airlines in 2006, although it operated some domestic flights using the code of LAN Express.
On May 5, 2016, the airline was rebranded to LATAM Express as a result of the LATAM Airlines Group merger. The airline had faced a long-lasting strike that cancelled most of its flights in April 2018.
LATAM Express operates the following services (as of August 2017):[5]
The airline's fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2021:[6]
Aircraft | In service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
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J | Y | Total | |||||
Airbus A320-200 | 4 | — | — | 174 | 174 | Operated by LATAM Chile | |
Airbus A321-200 | 9 | — | — | 220 | 220 | ||
Total | 13 | — |
As Ladeco and LAN Express, the airline previously operated the following aircraft:[7][8][9]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
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Airbus A300B4 | 2 | 1995 | 1996 | Leased from Carnival Air Lines |
Airbus A319-100 | 2 | 2003 | 2005 | |
Airbus A320-200 | 1 | 1994 | 1995 | Leased from LACSA |
BAC One-Eleven Series 200AJ | 2 | 1991 | 1994 | |
BAC One-Eleven Series 300AG | 2 | 1990 | 1994 | |
Beechcraft 65 | 1 | 1966 | Unknown | |
Beechcraft 95 | 1 | 1965 | 1977 | |
Boeing 707-320C | 3 | 1988 | 1994 | |
Boeing 727-100 | 6 | 1978 | 1995 | |
Boeing 737-200 | 20 | 1980 | 2001 | |
7 | 2001 | 2006 | ||
Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 1992 | 1996 | |
Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 1991 | 1996 | |
Douglas C-47 Skytrain | 5 | 1958 | 1976 | |
Douglas DC-6B | 7 | 1966 | 1979 | |
Douglas DC-8-71F | 1 | 1992 | 1994 | |
Fokker F-27 Friendship | 2 | 1987 | 1991 | |
During the 1960s, the airline operated a number of Douglas DC-3s, with their cargo fleet also including three Boeing 707s.[10]
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