TAM Airlines to Join oneworld

TAM Airlines will join the oneworld alliance with effect from 31 March 2014.

Confirmation of its oneworld joining date comes just as LAN Colombia – which, like TAM, is in the LATAM Airlines Group – becomes an affiliate member of oneworld.

The addition of both airlines means that the 140 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programs will also be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld privileges on LAN Colombia since 1 October 2013 and on TAM Airlines from 31 March 2014.

Both airlines’ networks will also be covered by oneworld’s range of alliance fares, including the oneworld Explorer round-the-world fare and its Visit South America pass.

“We want to introduce Brazil to our new partners and welcome them into our country,” said TAM Airlines CEO Claudia Sender. “In the coming months, we will continue working to ensure a smooth transition for everyone. We also want our passengers to learn about the benefits, connections and products offered by oneworld so they can travel the world with us.”

The addition of TAM and LAN Colombia also means that all airlines within the LATAM Airlines Group will soon be part of oneworld, consolidating the alliance’s leading position for flights within Latin America and between the region and both the United States and Europe.

The alliance is in the midst of its biggest expansion in history, with the addition of Malaysia Airlines earlier this year and the pending arrival of Qatar Airways later this month. SriLankan Airlines is also set to join in 2014, while US Airways proposes to switch from Star to oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, subject to necessary approvals.

With TAM and the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries with 14,000 daily departures, carrying 480 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of more than 3,200 aircraft, all the while generating some US$ 140 billion in annual revenues.