American Airlines and South American carrier Latam are planning a strategic business partnership and have applied for anti-trust immunity from government regulators.
The two OneWorld alliance members plan to coordinate schedules and revenue share on routes from North America to Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
By consolidating resources, the joint-venture partnership could lead to more flights and new routes between North and South America, the airlines said.
American and Latam already have a codeshare pact which allows each to place their code and sell tickets for some of each other’s flights.
If approved, a joint-business agreement would take that a step further.
The two carriers could coordinate flight schedules and operate joint marketing initiatives on specific routes.
American has similar agreements with other airlines including British Airways, Finnair and Iberia for transatlantic routes and Japan Airlines and Qantas that cover transpacific flights.
