LAN Sets New Record

BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Chile-based LAN Airlines posted another strong year, thanks to growth in cargo and passenger traffic and in several markets. The airline managed to boost revenues by 16.2 percent to $3.5 billion, while net income grew 27.8 percent to $308 million. The strong growth came despite challenges such as fuel hikes.

LAN is not alone among Latin American airlines that had a good year. "In December, Latin America was the fastest growing air traffic market in the world," points out Robert Booth, chairman of U.S.-based consultancy AvGroup, quoting data from IATA. Other airlines like Colombia's Avianca, for example, have also reported good results. But LAN is widely seen as the most efficient airline in Latin America.

"LAN does a lot of things right," says Booth, explaining the airline's success. "They have one of the highest net operating margins in the industry, i.e. 12 percent or better. And also one of the highest fleet utilization numbers at 11 plus hours daily."

For starters, to avoid suffering from the constant fuel price fluctuations, LAN...

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Keywords: Argentina, cargo, Chile, China, Peru, TAM