Latham announces withdrawal from US judicial reform process – 11/03/2022

The Latam Group announced this Thursday, 3, that it has ended the process known as Chapter 11 in the United States (equivalent to judicial restructuring in Brazil). The process was initiated voluntarily in May 2020 to reduce the debt of the business and guarantee new sources of financing for the Chilean airline, amid the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company is emerging from the restructuring as a more efficient group, with more than $2.2 billion in cash flow and less than $3.6 billion in debt on its balance sheet – 35% less than before the process.

“Today is an important milestone for Latham. We are pleased to have completed a significant transformation. We have emerged from our restructuring process with a strengthened financial position and a renewed commitment to operational excellence,” group CEO Roberto Alvo said in the document.

The Latam group achieved a flight network to 144 destinations in 22 countries in October and expects to recover more than 85% of its global capacity by the end of 2022 compared to 2019 (the pre-pandemic period). Between 2021 and 2022, it added 10 new destinations in Brazil and plans to operate 36 new routes by 2023.

According to the document, Ladam Cargo and its cargo subsidiaries are in the midst of an expansion plan that will allow them to increase their fleets from 11 Boeing 767-300F aircraft in 2019 to a total of 20 Boeing 767-300F aircraft in 2024.

Recently, the group implemented a partnership with Delta that allows travelers access to more than 300 destinations between the US/Canada and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). “This agreement will allow us to increase the level of cooperation of airlines in the aforementioned markets to reinforce the advantages of a greater number of routes, better connections and frequent flyer programs,” the Chilean group says.

An extraordinary general meeting will be held on November 15 to renew Grupo Latham’s board of directors, the company said.