LATAM and Delta Air Lines have announced plans for a direct service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Sao Paulo (GRU) as part of its recently approved joint venture.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) initially approved the joint venture in September. Together, the two carriers aim to create the most extensive airline partnership connecting North and South America, with shared access to more than 300 destinations.
The new route—the only direct flight between Brazil and Los Angeles—is expected to initiate at the beginning of July 2023 and will be operated by LATAM with its highest-density aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER. The wide-body jet has a total capacity of 410 passengers across three classes, including 38 in Premium Business class, 50 in Economy+, and the remaining 322 seats in Economy class.
The new flights will initially run three times per week. Starting on July 1, the outbound LATAM flight will depart Sao Paulo at 11:05 PM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, landing at LAX at 7:00 AM the following day. The return leg of the journey is scheduled to depart LAX at 1:00 PM on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, touching down in Sao Paulo at 5:20 AM the following morning.
And thanks to LATAM’s partnership with Delta Air Lines, customers will also be able to take advantage of Delta’s extensive network out of LAX—one of its primary hubs—with connections to popular West Coast destinations like Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Seattle.
LATAM and Delta have recently announced significant increases in flight capacity and frequencies between the two continents. More than 23,000 seats per week will be available between North and South America thanks to the joint venture, with the number of weekly seats to Chile and Brazil growing by 130% and 170%, respectively, this winter.
Other routes that Delta has announced it will be increasing the capacity of include:
- Atlanta (ATL) to Santiago (SCL): From three weekly flights to daily
- Atlanta (ATL) to Lima (LIM): Upgrade to Airbus A350 with 1,700 extra seats per week
- New York (JFK) to Sao Paulo (GRU): From three weekly flights to daily
- Atlanta (ATL) to Sao Paulo (GRU): Second seasonal flights to be added each day
- Atlanta (ATL) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG): Seasonal service to resume on December 17
- Miami (MIA) to Orlando (MCO): New daily service to launch on December 1
- Miami (MIA) to Los Angeles (LAX): New daily service to launch on December 17
LATAM will also be making capacity changes to select routes, including:
- Santiago (SCL) to Los Angeles (LAX): From three-weekly flights to five-weekly, from September 2023
- Sao Paulo (GRU) to Orlando (MCO): From three-weekly flights to four-weekly, from August 2023
- Lima (LIM) to Miami (MIA): From 14 weekly flights up to 17 weekly flights
- Lima (LIM) to New York (JFK): From 7 weekly flights up to 12 weekly flights
- Lima (LIM) to Los Angeles (LAX): From 7 weekly flights up to 12 weekly flights
