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LAN Airlines
LAN Airlines S.A. is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. It is the principal Chilean airline and one of the largest in South America, with flights to Latin America, United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Its main hub is Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, Santiago, with hubs/focus cities at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil and at Miami International Airport in Miami.
History
The airline was founded by Chilean Army Air Services Commander Arturo Merino Benitez (who had the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport named after him years later), and began operations on March 5, 1929 as Linea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica. It took the name Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile (LAN Chile) in 1932. In September 1989, the Chilean government privatized the carrier, selling a majority stake in the company to Icarosan and Scandinavian Airlines System.
The approval from the Chilean Anti-monopolies Board resulted in the acquisition of control of the country's second airline Ladeco on 11 August 1995. In October 1998 LAN Chile merged Fast Air with Ladeco. In March 2004 LAN Chile and its subsidiaries LAN Peru, LAN Ecuador, LAN Dominicana and LANExpress became unified under the single LAN brand, instead of prior Linea Aerea Nacional. On 17 June 2004 LAN Chile changed its formal name to LAN Airlines (which is an abbreviation for Latin American Network Airlines) as part of this re-branding process. In mid-2005 LAN opened its subsidiary LAN Argentina in Argentina and operates national and international flights from Buenos Aires, being the third largest local operator behind Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral. This subsidiary is also under the single LAN brand.
LAN Airlines has the following subsidiaries and shareholdings: LAN Cargo (99.4%), LANExpress (99.4%), ABSA - Aerolinhas Brasileiras (73.3%), LAN Peru (70%), LAN Dominicana (49%), LAN Ecuador (45%), LAN Argentina (49%), MasAir (39.5%) and Florida West International Airways (25%). It also has 11,173 employees.
LAN codeshares with American Airlines to U.S. destinations, British Airways and Iberia to European destinations, to Brazilian internal destinations with Tam Linhas Aereas, to Asian destinations with Korean Air, and some destinations in Australia and New Zealand with Qantas.
As of August 1 2006, LAN Airlines merged first and business classes of service into a single class, named Premium Business.
Subsidiaries
LAN Argentina
LAN Cargo
LAN Dominicana
LAN Ecuador
LAN Express
LAN Peru
Fleet
The LAN Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2007:
Also on order are 20 Airbus A318s, on which LAN became the launch customer for the Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engine. But the order was modified to 15 Airbus A319 due the problems caused by the small cargo area and the mechanical problems with the turbines. Its A319 & A320s are equipped with International Aero Engines V2500s. Lan Airlines has recently renovated its Boeing's 767s, adding amenities like seats that recline 180 degrees, and seatback TV's.
In late 2007 LAN Airlines announced that it was planning to acquire some aircraft of the Boeing 777 family due the problems with its Long-Range aircraft (the Airbus A340-300).
The average LAN fleet age is 8.2 years old in November 2006.
Previously operated
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
Boeing 747-100
Boeing 767-200ER
Boeing 707
Boeing 727
BAe 146
LANPASS
LANPASS is LAN's Frequent Flyer Program, created to reward customer loyalty. There are currently over a million members in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and the United States who enjoy LANPASS benefits. Every year, over 50,000 LANPASS members fly for free.
LAN's frequent flyer categories are: Normal, Premium, Premium Business and Comodoro.
South America AirPass
This pass allows you to visit multiple South American destinations - by way of LAN's extensive South American network - at discounted rates. A passenger can choose from the more than 49 South American destinations that make up LAN's network. South America Airpass works via the purchase of individual one-way coupons for flights within South America. The value of these coupons is determined by two factors:
1. Whether you reach South America with LAN or with a Oneworld alliance member.
2. The distance between the point of departure and the destination.
Codeshare agreements
Lan Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of July 2006:
Aeromexico
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Iberia
Japan Airlines
Mexicana de Aviacion
Qantas
Korean Air
Avianca
Incidents and accidents
On March 28, 2007, LAN Airlines Flight 801 traveling between Santiago and Auckland was involved in a near miss incident with a meteor while over the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that the flaming object passed within five nautical miles of the aircraft, while the crew could hear the objects breaking the sound barrier. While it was initially thought the object was an old Russian satellite re-entering the atmosphere, that explanation was subsequently ruled out by NASA.
On February 29, 1991, a chartered LAN Chile BAe146-200 overran the runway on landing at Puerto Williams in southern Chile and sank in the nearby waters. Twenty of the 65 passengers were killed.
External links
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article LAN Airlines
