CHILE. Chile’s flagship airline LanChile expects sales to rise more than +15% this year as it adds new routes in South America and traffic climbs due to economic growth in the region, the company’s chief executive told Reuters this week.
LanChile, which has a subsidiary in Peru and affiliates in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, launched a new brand name on Tuesday, bringing all those different affiliates under the LAN banner.
Chief executive Enrique Cueto said: “We want to be one of the ten top airlines in the world, uniting our affiliates. We want to be the regional airline.”
Cueto said the company would increase its routes by about +25% this year, adding new flights to the United States and Europe and within the region, which will lead to the growth in revenue and more increases in sales in 2005.
The Peruvian operation will grow considerably, with flights from Lima to other Latin American destinations and to Spain, he said.
LanChile, which is still the corporation’s name although its airplanes will carry the new LAN brand name, has also been looking for opportunities to expand into Argentina and Colombia.
Chile’s tourism secretary said on Tuesday that the number of international tourists entering Chile in 2004 will rise between +10% and +15%. A contributing factor is that Chile is hosting a series of high-level meetings of officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum.
LanChile, which reported 2003 net profit of US$83.5 million, up +171% from 2002, has 54% of the international passenger traffic to and from Chile.
The airline reported a +15.9% year-on-year increase in January passenger numbers with international traffic up +21.8%.
LanChile transports about 5.5 million passengers a year in a 55 airplane fleet which will expand to 61 airplanes this year.
