Delta, Latam File for Antitrust Immunity for Joint Venture

International passengers arriving in Lima

Delta Air Lines and Latam Airlines Group filed for antitrust immunity for a planned trans-American joint venture.

“Delta and LATAM Airlines Group S.A. have entered into, and hereby seek approval and a grant of antitrust immunity for, a comprehensive metal-neutral joint venture agreement to combine their highly complementary networks and operate a fully integrated international airline joint venture between North and South America,” the two said in the filing now before the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The two airlines said that the joint venture will benefit consumers and lower the cost of travel.

“The JV will be pro-competitive and pro-consumer,” the two airlines said in the filing.  “It will align Delta’s and Latam’s incentives to provide more flights and lower fares between the U.S./Canada and the South American Region.”

Ten months ago, Delta took a 20% stake in Latam.  Last December, the two airlines announced a codeshare partnership for flights to be operated by Latam affiliates in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

In May 2020, the two announced plans for a trans-American joint venture deal that would cover the two airlines’ route networks between North and South America.

Latam Airlines Group is a Chilean holding company headquartered in Santiago. It has subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)