LATAM Airlines group cuts costs to see slight increase in profits

LATAM Airlines Group, the leading airline group in Latin America, announced its final financial results for the last quarter which ended on June 30th.

The second half of 2015 marks three years since the merger between LAN and TAM, a historical landmark for both airlines to place the company as an industry leader in South America.

Due to significant successes throughout the year such as cost savings, negotiations on the Passenger Service System, and the unveiling of the company’s new unified brand, LATAM continues to progress towards its main objective: to strengthen LATAM’s position as the leading airline in Latin America.

LATAM Airlines Group is currently the best positioned airline to deal with an adverse economic situation in South America.

The company intends to continue to strengthen this stature by offering a wide variety of destinations, building awareness of its two main hubs (Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile) and consistently providing the best experience possible to its passengers.

LATAM Airlines Group reported an income close to US$17.2 million, with a profit margin of 0.7 per cent for the second quarter of 2015.

This is an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2014.

This was driven by both a 20.7 per cent reduction in the company’s cost of Available Seats per Kilometres flown, as well as lower fuel prices.

Total revenues decreased by 20.8 per cent during the second quarter, reflecting a weak economic environment in Brazil and significant devaluations of Latin American currencies.

The devaluation of the Brazilian real and the US dollar led to a decrease in the demand for domestic and international flights, as well as cargo flights.

Conversely, outside of Brazil, the demand for flights and passengers has proven resilient to local currency devaluations.

This also includes LATAM’s operations with affiliates in Spanish speaking countries and international operations throughout LATAM’S network outside of Brazil.

Compared to 2014, the profits in all these operations show positive trends.

Due to the impact of the economic climate in Brazil, TAM announced that it will be adjusting its domestic network by reducing its domestic capacity from eight to ten per cent by the end of the year.

LATAM Airlines Group continues to work on improving passenger’s experience by improving service before and during the flight.

By the end of the year 68 aircrafts will be equipped with wireless entertainment devices and by 2016 it is anticipated that the entire fleet will be fitted with entertainment devices.

To improve services offered on the ground, the organisation will combine LAN and TAM check-in counters and in 2016 LATAM will be testing the Self-Bag Tag service in key airports.