Avianca-TACA and Copa put Star on top in Latin America but the victory will be short-lived

Six carriers from Latin American airline groups Avianca-TACA and Copa are formally entering the Star Alliance on 21-Jun-2012, marking the first of several key alliance movements in the fast-growing Latin American market. The six carriers - which include two from Colombia and one each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and Peru - will temporarily widen Star's market-leading position in Latin America. But the gain will not offset the upcoming loss of Latin America's largest airline TAM, which will be exiting Star within 24 months. Star would find itself as the third biggest alliance in the key Latin American market under the increasingly likely scenario of TAM joining new sister carrier LAN in oneworld and Brazil's other major carrier, Gol, being affiliated with SkyTeam.

Star has enjoyed the status of Latin America's largest alliance since TAM joined in May-2010. Star has since accounted for about 20% of total capacity in the Latin America and Caribbean region, compared to about 14% for oneworld and 10% for SkyTeam.