LAN (airline)
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LanChile_logo.png
LanChile Logo
Lan Airlines (formerly LanChile) is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. It is the principal Chilean airline with flights to Latin America, North America, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. Its main base is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago, with hubs at Miami International Airport (MIA) and Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM), Lima.
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History
The airline was founded by Chilean Army Air Services Commander Arturo Merino Benitez (who had the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport named after years later), and began operations on March 5, 1929 as Línea Aeropostal Santiago-Arica. It took the name 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 Antimonopolies 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. As of March 2004 LAN Chile and its subsidiaries LAN Peru, LAN Ecuador and LAN Dominicana became unified under the single LAN brand. On 17 June 2004 LAN Chile changed its formal name to LAN Airlines as part of this rebranding process.
In 2005, Lan was involved in a scandal for showing a video that depicted outdated scenes of Lima, Peru on its LAN Peru flights. The video showed the city's poor and abandoned side of the early 1990s. This offended Peruvians and even caused diplomatic tensions between Peru and Chile. There were many demonstrations all over Peru and a Lan office in Iquitos was destroyed by protestors.
LAN used to be an acronym for Línea Aérea Nacional, or national airline, but is now an acronym for Latin American Network.
LAN Airlines has the following subsidiaries and shareholdings: LAN Chile Cargo (99.4%), LANExpress (99.4%), ABSA - Aerolinhas Brasileiras (73.3%), LAN Peru (70%), LAN Dominicana (49%), LAN Ecuador (45%), MAS Air (39.5%) and Florida West International Airways (25%). It also has 11,173 employees.
Services
LAN Airlines operates the following services (at January 2005):
- Domestic scheduled destinations: Arica, Balmaceda, Calama, Copiapo, Easter Island, Iquique, Osomo, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Santiago and Temuco.
- International scheduled destinations: Auckland, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Cancun, Caracas, Cordoba, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, Havana, La Paz, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Montevideo, Mount Pleasant, New York, Papeete, Punta Cana, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Salvador, Sao Paulo, Sydney and Ushuaia.
LAN codeshares with American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia to other European destinations.
Fleet
The LAN Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at June 2005):
- 4 Airbus A340-300
- 14 Airbus A320-200
- 5 Airbus A319-100 (further 2 on order)
- 18 Boeing 767-300
- 2 Boeing 737-200
The airline also has 2 Boeing 767-200 aircraft on order.
External links
- LAN Airlines (http://www.lan.com)
- LAN Airlines Fleet Detail (http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/LAN_Airlines?show=all)
- LAN Airlines Passenger Opinions (http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/lanchile.htm)
| Members of the oneworld Alliance | 
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Aer Lingus | American Airlines | British Airways | Cathay Pacific | Finnair | Iberia Airlines | Lan | Qantas |
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