By Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio
LATAM Gradually Recovers Passenger Operations
In September, LATAM Airlines Group offered more frequencies to domestic destinations in Chile, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador and restarted the domestic operation in Colombia. On international flights, the novelties were the routes from Sao Paulo to Montevideo, and Santiago to Montevideo, two weekly flights from Santiago to Los Angeles and New York respectively, an increase to three flights a week from Santiago to Madrid, in addition to the Sao Paulo to New York. In Chile, LATAM flew 11 destinations, going from 20 to 35 daily frequencies.
According to ALNNEWS, LATAM Airlines Group and its subsidiaries continue to show a gradual recovery of its passenger operations during the last three months. In September it operated 20.0% of its capacity (measured in “Available Seat-Kilometer” – ASK), while in August it was 13.9% and in July 9.2%, in relation to the same period of 2019. These results come after a drastic reduction in LATAM’s operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regarding the particular operation of September, passenger traffic (measured in “Rented Passenger Kilometers” – RPK) was 16.9% of the traffic of the same period of the previous year, reaching a load factor of 69.6% (12.9% below the previous year).
In relation to the cargo operation, the load factor was 70.4% (16.9% over that registered in the same period of the previous year). LATAM Cargo has maximized the use of its B-767F cargo fleet and has used passenger aircraft for exclusive cargo transportation.
After months of uncertainty and a complex process of bankruptcy reorganization in the United States, investors are waiting for what will be one of the key steps in the financial rescue of LATAM Airlines Group: the placement of an investment fund for $150 million that privileges minority shareholders of the airline.
It is the Toesca Private Debt DIP LATAM, managed by the Chilean firm Toesca Asset Management. According to DiarioFinanciero, the operation, which corresponds to the Tranche C of Debtor in Possession financing (DIP), will look more like a debut on the stock market than the structuring of a common and current private debt investment fund. The placement of the allocations will be carried out in the stock market, so the capital commitments will be signed when signing offers in the order book.
The opening of the auction book will be next Wednesday and will close on October 29, and sources close to the process maintain that in informal conversations there are already 80 investors who have expressed interest in contributing resources to the fund.
At the end of September, LATAM Airlines Group had 3,704 shareholders in total, according to data from the Commission for the Financial Market. At the end of March, before the reorganization process was announced, there were only 1,437 investors.
The three things Juan Pedro loves most about aviation are aircraft, airports, and traveling thousands of miles in just a few hours. What he enjoys the most about aviation is that it is easier and cheaper to travel around the world and this gives you the opportunity to visit places you thought were too far away. He has traveled to different destinations in North, Central, South America and Asia. Born, raised and still living in Perú, Juan is a lawyer, soccer lover, foodie, passionate traveler, dog lover, millennial and curious by nature.