Photo: JetSMART.
This month, JetSMART and American Airlines began selling tickets for codeshare flights between the United States and four destinations in Chile (Santiago, Antofagasta, Concepción, and Puerto Montt).
Launching the JetSMART-American Airlines alliance
In July 2021, JetSMART and American Airlines signed a letter of intent to create what they called “the broadest and most rewarding network in the Americas.” This included American acquiring a minority ownership stake in JetSMART, a Chilean ultra-low-cost carrier based in Santiago de Chile and backed by the Indigo Partners fund. JetSMART has one of the largest unfilled narrowbody Airbus orders in the Americas, including several A321XLRs.
On Monday, both companies announced they are officially launching their strategic alliance with the sale of codeshare flights between the United States and Chile. They intend to expand the codeshare to flights in other cities in Chile, Peru, and Argentina in the future. JetSMART is also in the process of launching a new branch in Colombia, which would undoubtedly join the partnership with American.
The alliance includes a broad network of codeshare routes, as well as access, in the medium term, for JetSMART customers to American Airlines’ AAdvantage® loyalty program.
Through this agreement, JetSMART will be able to expand its footprint in Latin America, the airlines said in a statement. Initially, the sale of tickets only included four destinations in Chile (Santiago, Antofagasta, Concepción, and Puerto Montt) from the 77 routes JetSMART offers in South America.
What are they saying?
Scott Laurence, American Airlines senior vice president of Alliance Strategy, said,
“American has established strategic partnerships with airlines around the world to offer our valued customers a wide range of options to meet their needs, whether they are traveling for business, leisure, or a combination of both. The alliance with JetSMART will enable American to expand its long-haul service between the United States and Latin America, giving access to our flights, our network, and our AAdvantage travel rewards program to more travelers in South America.”
Meanwhile, Estuardo Ortiz, Chief Executive Officer at JetSMART, said this alliance seeks to fulfill the promise of bringing air travel to every corner of South America. He added,
“Our customers will be able to earn miles and fly on the JetSMART network and connect to American Airlines’ worldwide network. As the fastest growing airline in South America, this alliance strengthens us and positions us to achieve our vision of reaching 100 million passengers and 100 aircraft by 2028.”
JetSMART Chile has a fleet of 12 aircraft, including three Airbus A320ceos, five A320neos, and four A321neos. JetSMART Argentina has eight A320ceos, and JetSMART Peru has four A320neos. The company’s order with Airbus is for 100 new planes: 40 A320neos, 46 A321neos, and 14 A321XLRs.
Daniel Martínez Garbuno is a Mexican journalist. He has specialized in the air industry working mainly for A21, a Mexican media outlet focused entirely on the aviation world. He has also published on other sites like Simple Flying, Roads & Kingdoms, Proceso, El Economista, Buzos de la Noticia, Contenido, and Notimex.
