Qantas’ low-cost carrier, Jetstar has reportedly signed a new agreement to codeshare on flights between Australia and South America with LAN Airlines.
According to Aviation Business, the new agreement kicked off today and sees Jetstar add its code to LAN flights to Chile while LAN adds its code to select Jetstar services around Oceania, Aviation Business reported.
The arrangement will give Qantas Group customers more options when flying to the increasingly popular tourist region, by adding to Qantas’ existing four-times weekly service between Sydney and Santiago.
An official release on the agreement is expected next week but in the meantime KarryOn understands that the agreement will give the Qantas Group an edge to South America as competitor Air New Zealand prepares to kick start its new services from Auckland to Buenoes Aires.
On the other hand, travellers from South America will have access to 15 new destinations offered by Jetstar within Australia and New Zealand. This could include Jetstar’s recently added regional services.
Aviation Business reports LATAM Airlines Group’s VP of Strategic Alliances, Soledad Berrios, as saying the agreement will strengthen the existing relationship with Jetstar.
“[It] expands our network of tourist destinations in Oceania and allows our passengers to connect from Sydney and Auckland to attractive destinations in the region.”
Soledad Berrios, LATAM Airlines Group VP of Strategic Alliances
Earlier this year, Turismo Chile’s Long Haul Markets Manager, Pablo Javier Retamal, told KarryOn the tourist bureau was focused on increasing visitors from the local market.
Currently around 50,000 Aussies visit Chile every year – a figure that has grown since 2012 when Qantas first launched flights to the country’s capital city.
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