TAM joining oneworld -- US-Brasil to get more interesting

[eolesen]

Warning - there is no mention of Delta, USAPA, DOH vs. FCFS, or the TWU in the following link. Perhaps the discussion of this topic could remain free of all those side topics as well?

As widely expected and predicted, TAM is joining oneworld, even though they're a larger carrier than merger partner LAN.

http://www.oneworld.com/news-information/oneworldnews/details/?objectID=54228

Brazil's TAM to leave Star for oneworld in early 2014

• LAN Colombia to join oneworld too, building on LAN group's 13-year membership of alliance
• Business as usual for customers meantime, with seamless transition promised
• Latin America's top airline group strengthens oneworld's status as global first choice alliance

LATAM Airlines Group today confirmed its selection of oneworld® as the global alliance for all its passenger airlines.

The decision, announced at a meeting of the oneworld Governing Board held in Hong Kong today, means:

Brazil's TAM Airlines will leave the Star Alliance to join oneworld, along with its Paraguay subsidiary. Their transition is expected to be completed during 2014's second quarter.

LAN Colombia, the latest part of LAN, will join oneworld as an affiliate member, in the fourth quarter of 2013.
​

With Chile's LAN Airlines flying as a full member of oneworld since June 2000 and LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru added since as affiliate members, today's announcement will bring all of Latin America's top airline group into the same global airline alliance, alongside 11 of the other leading carriers from around the world and 30 of their affiliates.

An exact date for TAM's departure from the Star Alliance will be announced in due course. The intention is for it to become part of oneworld immediately after it exits Star.

 

[FWAAA]

I've never been in the "Oneworld is clearly inferior as an alliance because *A has a lot more dots on its route map, including hundreds of villages served by third world airlines with dubious safety records in out of the way places where very few will ever venture" camp, but it looks to me like this plus US' departure plus the other recent members of OW may be helping to balance out the disparity in size.

 

[AANOTOK]

Warning - there is no mention of Delta, USAPA, DOH vs. FCFS, or the TWU in the following link. Perhaps the discussion of this topic could remain free of all those side topics as well?

http://www.oneworld....?objectID=54228

AMEN!!!

 

[WorldTraveler]

this just means that AA's chances of winning any more Brazil frequencies just went from slim to none... and the same can be said about just about every other country that has new frequencies available in Latin America - unless no one else wants them.

AA's chances of ATI/JVs in Latin America are slim as well.

UA is the real loser in this as expected.

 

[AANOTOK]

...and the winner is?

 

[WorldTraveler]

The context is not winner vs. loser but that UA loses far more than it gains. That other airline secured its place in the market with its partial acquisition of the company linked to Brazil's favorite sport.

 

[Kev3188]

Warning - there is no mention of Delta, USAPA, DOH vs. FCFS, or the TWU in the following link.

Lol.

Give it time...

 

[AirwAr]

...and the winner is?

And I'll bet that AA gets ATI with TAM too once open skies happen...especially because DL will be applying for ATI with GOL.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

(Yawn)...Along with JFK/LAX transcons, and JFK/LHR, Brazil and (make that) ALL of S A, is ANOTHER prime area ol' DEL-DUH..Will NEVER dominate !

 

[WorldTraveler]

Bears,
it is business, not the game of War.
It doesn't matter how many terrritories you gain if you can't do it profitably.

In case you missed it, Virgin is the dominant airline in the US transcons and they seem to have a bottomless pit of money that they are using to grab market share while also recording ongoing losses. It is no surprise that AA and UA with their much larger exposure to the transcons are getting hurt far more than DL.

LHR? AA/BA will still have twice the capacity of DL/Virgin but LHR is the only large viable hub that oneworld is using right now for connecting US-beyond gateway Europe traffic. DL/VS will have as much capacity to compete in the US-LHR local market as AA/BA - or AA/BA can focus on the local LHR market to the exclusion of much of the rest of Europe and beyond.

Nobody has said AA won't continue to be the dominant carrier in Latin America - but the region has been effectively closed to new competitors for years, esp. from MIA due to bilateral limitations. Not hard to be #1 in a region where other's can't compete.
Latin America-US is still a smaller region than US-Europe or Asia.

And it still doesn't change that AA has no viable strategy so far to come anywhere close to DL or UA to Asia.

And then of course they have to make money flying to any of these places.

War and business do share the common theme that when the money runs out, the competitor wins.

DL owns equity in Gol and has a seat on the board. They are obtaining the equivalent of a joint venture and ATI before ATI/JV is available to airlines that don't have equity seats.

Gol's financial performance has bounced back considerably over the past several months....