The proposed merger
between Latin American carriers LAN Airlines and TAM Lineas Aereas into the
LATAM Airlines Group has sparked questions as to which carrier's alliance
affiliation would prevail if the transaction closes, considering LAN's 10-year
home in Oneworld and TAM's recently established loyalty to Star Alliance.
The carriers said a final
decision on alliance loyalties would await the deal's closing, but alliances continue
to jockey for position to attract carriers across growth markets in Latin
America.
TAM
in May this year officially became a full member of Star Alliance, the culmination
of a decision in 2008 to join. Oneworld in a statement said the carriers have
"stressed both airlines would continue to operate independently in the
future. TAM has only recently joined Star, but Oneworld has made no secret that
Brazil is one of the regions where we would like to add a partner so we will
continue to explore all opportunities there."
Noting
that "consolidation has already
made its mark on alliance composition and may have future effects in this
respect," Star Alliance in a statement said it "was already well
represented across Latin America, and with TAM's decision to join Star Alliance
in May of this year, this presence was further solidified. Hence, for our
customers nothing changes. Both TAM and Star Alliance remain committed to
delivering the Star Alliance benefits across the Latin American and global
network."