Photo: Virgin Atlantic.
Today, Virgin Atlantic and LATAM Brazil launched a codeshare agreement. Both airlines are looking to increase their connectivity, giving Virgin’s customers more destinations across Brazil and LATAM travelers more options from Heathrow International Airport. The codeshare agreement will officially begin on January 20, and tickets are available now.
A new codeshare between Virgin and LATAM
Earlier today, Virgin Atlantic announced its newest codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines. The partnership will offer customers the opportunity to fly seamlessly to Brazil, said the UK-based carrier in a statement.
Virgin customers will be able to connect to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo via LATAM’s flight LA8085. This flight only restarted a couple of months ago, following a nearly two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions from the UK government. LATAM uses its Boeing 777 fleet to operate this route.
From Guarulhos International Airport, Virgin’s customers will be able to fly to 12 domestic airports in Brazil. Among these destinations are Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Curitiba, Goiania, Recife, Salvador, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Vitoria, and Londrina.
On the other hand, LATAM passengers flying to Heathrow International Airport in London will be able to connect to Virgin Atlantic’s destinations worldwide. They will connect through Terminal 3 to cities like Tel Aviv, Delhi, Hong Kong, and more.
New opportunities through the codeshare
Virgin Atlantic and LATAM Brazil’s codeshare agreement is only the beginning of many more things to come. That’s that Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, has said.
According to Jarvinen, Virgin would love to explore opportunities beyond Brazil. The airline will “look forward to expanding our relationship even further to serve destinations throughout South America including Peru and Colombia.”
In the last year and a half, LATAM has been increasing its codeshare agreements with Delta Air Lines (a carrier that holds a 49% of Virgin and, currently, 20% of LATAM) and Aeromexico (Delta also owns 49% of the Mexican carrier, although it is set to be diluted to 20% after the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process ends).
What else did Virgin Atlantic say?
Following the announcement, Juha Jarvinen stated,
“We’re incredibly excited to launch this new codeshare partnership with?LATAM Airlines.
“As we?recover from the pandemic,?partnerships are more important than?ever,?and?we look forward to?building on the incredibly successful interline?relationship we have had?in place for a number of years.??We also see opportunities beyond Brazil and look forward to expanding our relationship even further to serve destinations throughout South America, including Peru and Colombia.
“This new partnership aims to respond to the large, fast-growing demand for leisure travelers looking to enjoy new experiences after a challenging 20 months. We know there is pent-up demand for long-haul travel, and we look forward to welcoming customers onboard on their way to exploring these exciting and vibrant Brazilian cities.
“As global economies gradually recover from the impact of the pandemic, we also expect to capture demand from corporate travel heading to São?Paulo, the commercial capital of Brazil, as well as other key business hubs in South America.”
About LATAM’s recovery
LATAM Brazil has increased by 7% its offer in Brazil, compared to pre-pandemic trends, the airline recently announced. Nonetheless, LATAM expects to have an impact from the Omicron variant, as it already had to cancel a few flights in the last couple of weeks.
In January, LATAM scheduled 583 domestic flights on average to 49 destinations (pre-pandemic, 44 destinations).
Internationally, the airline has recovered 54% of its pre-pandemic offer, resuming flights to 19 destinations. From Brazil, LATAM flies to Asunción, Barcelona, Bogota, Buenos Aires (both airports, Aeroparque and Ezeiza), Mexico City, Frankfurt, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Mendoza, Miami, Milan, Montevideo, New York, Orlando, Paris, and Santiago.
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.
