At 2:45 PM on November 30, the first flight of LATAM departed from Pinto Martins International Airport, serving Fortaleza, heading to Santiago, Chile. This marks the eighth connection between Chile’s capital and Brazil.
The direct flight will be operated using Airbus A320neo aircraft with a capacity of 174 passengers (162 in Economy Class and 12 in Premium Economy). The flights will have a duration of 6 hours and 30 minutes. Compared to a connecting trip through Guarulhos Airport (São Paulo), the new route will reduce the average travel time between Ceará’s capital and Chile by three hours.
- Flight LA 8124 FOR 14:45 – 21:25 SCL / Saturdays.
- Flight LA 8125 SCL 06:55 – 12:55 FOR / Sundays.
“Fortaleza is a very important and strategic city for LATAM. Today we are responsible for 45% of departures. With this new route, we will be the first airline to operate Fortaleza-Santiago, a flight that will serve approximately 14,500 passengers annually and bring Ceará closer not only to Chile but also to Australia and New Zealand through quick connections in Santiago. This is yet another example of our commitment to Brazil and the regional integration of South America,” commented Aline Mafra, LATAM Brazil’s Director of Sales and Marketing.
LATAM, a leader in the market between Chile and Brazil
Currently, LATAM is the airline that most connects Brazil with Chile, accounting for 70% of the passenger volume traveling by air between the two countries, according to ANAC Brazil (National Civil Aviation Agency). Between January and October, it transported 1,127,365 passengers with an occupancy rate of 84%, making it LATAM’s third-largest international market.
The airline operates from Santiago (SCL) to Belo Horizonte/Confins (CNF), Brasília (BSB), Curitiba (CWB), Florianópolis (FLN), Porto Alegre (POA), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU), and starting in December, to Recife (REC). In Fortaleza, LATAM operates flights to Miami and domestically to Belém, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Congonhas, Guarulhos, Manaus, Natal, Recife, Salvador, São Luís, Rio de Janeiro, Teresina, and Vitória.
During the first half of 2024, the airline transported 1,330,891 passengers in Fortaleza, making it LATAM’s fourth most important city in Brazil.
