In a move that surprised no one who was paying attention for the past year, TAM Airlines (JJ) officially announced that they will be transitioning to the oneworld alliance in 2014.
The addition of JJ to the alliance further solidifies oneworld’s dominance in the Latin American sphere. The combination of LAN Airlines (LA) and JJ in 2010 created the region’s largest airline by market captialisation. Together with American Airlines (AA), which holds the largest market share in the Latin American market among US carriers, oneworld has further secured its position over rivals Star Alliance and SkyTeam within the region.
The addition of JJ brings the alliance’s market share in the region to over 30%.
oneworld expects JJ to complete their transition during the second quarter of 2014, though there currently is not an expected date for JJ’s exit from Star Alliance.
Embedded in the announcement of JJ’s entrance was the news that LA subsidiary airline LAN Colombia would become an official affiliate member of the alliance. The expected date for this addition is late in 2013.
Image Credit: MD-11/TAM/PT-MSI
Image Credit: TAM B777-32WER PT-MUA