LAN Airlines and its affiliates, part of LATAM Airlines Group, have announced that beginning from next month, five of its existing routes will begin to be served by its expanded fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The change in aircraft deployment will bring a more modern service to routes from Santiago, Chile to Miami, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Cancun, Mexico City (both Mexico) and Sao Paulo, (Brazil).

In addition to confirming the aircraft’s debut in these five markets, LAN plans to reinstate the 787 on flights to and from Los Angeles, adding to the markets of Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Madrid and New York which are already served on a scheduled basis using the Dreamliner.

“In 2012 we were the first airline in the Americas to receive and operate the 787, one of the most modern aircraft in the world", said Ignacio Cueto, chief executive officer, LAN Airlines. "By operating the most modern aircraft in our fleet to more destinations we are renewing our dedication as an airline to constantly improve the in-flight experience of our passengers."

LAN welcomed its first 787 in August 2012 and has a total of 22 787-8s on order and a further four larger 787-9s. It currently operates a fleet of six examples all configured in a two-class arrangement with 217 seats in Economy and 30 in Premium Business. After initially debuting the type in October 2012 on the route between Santiago and Buenos Aires, it was introduced on its New York link and European routes from October 2013.

Its new deployment will commence from August 9, 2014 when the 787 will be introduced on daily flights between Santiago and Miami and once weekly on weekend flights between the Chilean capital and Cancun and Punta Cana. From October 1, 2014 the type will debut in the Los Angeles market on a daily basis and Sao Paulo with a three times weekly offering, increasing to a daily schedule from November 1, 2014. Later the same month the 787 will also be introduced on flights between Santiago and Mexico City with a schedule flying four times weekly and three times weekly each alternating week from November 15, 2014.

In our analysis, below, we look at LAN Airlines’ annual network capacity in 2014 by aircraft type. The airline’s total capacity will increase 0.3 per cent this year, based upon published schedules, with 787 deployment up 181.6 per cent to over 800,000 departure seats, albeit only 2.4 per cent of its total capacity.

Data provided by