LATAM trades in SFO-Lima flights to bolster service from LA to Peru

A year into their historic merger LAN and TAM - now LATAM Airlines Group - are continuing a network optimisation concentrated largely in its Brazilian domestic operations; but tweaks are also occurring in its international services as the company works within the dedicated LATAM operations and with its oneworld partners on network optimisation. At the same time the scale created by the tie-up is allowing LATAM to shed older, less fuel efficient widebodies from the combined fleet.

One subtle shift in LATAM's North American operations is the ending of a four year stint on flights between its Lima hub and San Francisco in Mar-2014. The move appears to be less about weak performance on the route and more geared towards freeing up some widebodies for operation by TAM as well as perhaps coordinating more closely with LATAM's oneworld partner American in Los Angeles, which is introducing new service from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo in Nov-2013.