SANTIAGO, Chile--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LAN Airlines S.A. and its subsidiaries, (“LAN” or “the Company”) (NYSE: LFL / IPSA: LAN), one of the leading airlines in Latin America, today reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics and punctuality indicators for December 2011 compared to December 2010.
System passenger traffic increased 13.6% as capacity rose 15.1%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month decreased 1.0 point to 79.1%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 65.9% of the month’s total passenger traffic. As of January 2011, these figures include LAN Colombia’s domestic and international operations.
Domestic passenger traffic in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia rose 31.5%, in line with capacity growth. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor remained stable at 78.8%. International passenger traffic rose 6.2%, while capacity increased 8.1%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month decreased 1.4 points to 79.2%. International capacity expansion was mainly driven by an increase in operations on certain regional routes, as well as routes to the United States, partially offset by reduced capacity on routes to Europe and to the South Pacific.
Cargo traffic rose 6.2% as capacity increased 6.4%. As a consequence, the cargo load factor decreased 0.2 points to 71.9%. Traffic and capacity grew due to the arrival of two new Boeing 767F freighters in December 2010 and January 2011. These aircraft were assigned to boost growth in the Latin American, United States West Coast and Mexican markets.
During December, 72.9% of the Company’s total flights left on time based on a fifteen-minute standard (all departures leaving within fifteen minutes of the scheduled departure time are considered as “on-time”). This represented a decrease of 8.6 points compared to December 2010, mainly due to decreases in the Peruvian and Argentine domestic markets.
About LAN
LAN Airlines is one of the leading passenger and cargo airlines in Latin America. The company and its affiliates serve over 100 destinations around the world through an extensive network that offers full connectivity within Latin America, while also linking the region with North America, Europe and the South Pacific, as well as 70 additional international destinations through its various code share agreements. LAN Airlines and its affiliates have a leading position in their respective domestic markets of Chile and Peru as well as an important presence in the Argentinean, Ecuadorian and Colombian domestic markets.
Currently, LAN Airlines and its affiliates operate 135 passenger aircraft while LAN Cargo and its respective affiliates have a fleet of 14 dedicated freighters. The Company has one of the youngest fleets in the world which has meant greater efficiency and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, reflecting its strong commitment to the protection of the environment.
LAN is one of the few Investment Grade airlines in the world (BBB). The company’s world class quality standards enabled its membership in oneworld™, an alliance of leading global airlines of which LAN has been a member for 10 years. For more information please visit www.lan.com or www.oneworldalliance.com