American Gets Green Light for LAN Ecuador Codeshare

US carrier American Airlines has received approval from United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and Ecuadorean authorities to begin a codeshare cooperation with LAN Ecuador. The agreement will provide new options to all the oneworld alliance members and will offer more choice and greater connectivity between the US and Ecuador with effect from January 9, 2012.

The arrangement will allow American to place its ‘AA’ code on LAN Ecuador flights to and José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil from New York John F Kennedy International and Miami International Airport and to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) in Quito from Miami International. It will also be able to offer ‘AA’ connections on to Baltra and Cuenca from Quito and to Baltra and San Cristobel from Guayaquil, as well as between Guayaquil and Quito.

Meanwhile, LAN Ecuador will be permitted to place its own code on American’s international link between Miami International Airport and the cities of Guayaquil and Quito, as well as connecting services between Miami and New York, expanding its offering across the US.

“By strengthening and broadening our relationship with oneworld partner LAN, we are able to offer our customers more travel options and are better positioned to deliver enhanced benefits across our respective networks,” said Kenji Hashimoto, Vice President – Strategic Alliances, American Airlines.

“This agreement will improve connectivity between the two countries with access to more destinations by providing flight connections and therefore promoting trade and tourism,” added Maximiliano Naranjo, General Manager, LAN Ecuador.

In the past year an estimated one million O&D passengers travelled between the US and Ecuador. The two oneworld partners currently dominate the market with a 70.8 per cent share of the total traffic between the two countries with American holding a 37.1 per cent share and LAN 33.7 per cent. Continental Airlines also serves Quito on a daily basis from its Houston hub; Delta Air Lines has a daily link to the city from Atlanta, while Aeorgal offers a daily service between New York JFK and Guayaquil.