Airline alliances are shifting rapidly in Latin America – though the death at the weekend of an American Airlines pilot in a wild shootout outside a Puerto Rico strip club is making bigger headlines.
The American Airlines pilot was killed early Sunday during a gunfight between a disgruntled customer at the strip club and four bouncers, according to US reports.
Investigations continue, but it seems the pilot was caught in crossfire after an aggrieved customer left the club following a discussion over his bill. The customer came back with a gun and started shooting. Club bouncers drew their own guns and returned fire, killing the customer.
The unfortunate American Airlines pilot, who was on a layover, was apparently standing outside the club, reportedly having a cigarette, and was hit by a stray bullet during the gunfire.
He was identified as 48-year-old Matthew Stapula.
American Airlines issued the following statement to Charlotte-based news outlet WBTV:
On Sunday, we lost a Charlotte-based member of the American Airlines family in a tragic incident which occurred in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleague’s family, friends and loved ones. We have mobilized teams to provide care to his family, as well as fellow team members during this difficult time. Local law enforcement is investigating this incident, which occurred during the early morning hours of Feb. 2. We are providing any investigative assistance possible.“
Meanwhile, in less lurid matters, American Airlines has signed an agreement with Brazilian carrier Gol to boost its South American presence, after failing to buy into Chile’s LATAM Airlines. American Airlines had been pursuing a LATAM stake for some years, but the bid was torpedoed last year by Chile’s supreme court.
The court struck down a proposed deal on routes between LATAM, American, British Airways and Iberia – putting an end to a proposed deal that had been touted as reshaping international air travel in Latin America.
Delta has now moved in and bought a 20% stake in LATAM, a bitter blow for American, which has always maintained a major presence in South America. Delta and American are keen rivals in the region. American previously shared codes with Gol, from 2009 to 2011, but that arrangement ended when Delta bought a stake in Gol.
The upshot of this activity arrived this week, when LATAM confirmed it would depart the oneworld alliance, of which American Airlines is a founder member, from 1 May 2020.
“Up to and including 30 April 2020, there will be no change to the reciprocal benefits offered on all oneworld member flights,” a LATAM statement said.
From 1 May 2020 onwards, LATAM will maintain its existing bilateral agreements with the majority of oneworld members (British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines), and continue to offer the following customer benefits:
- Flight purchases via latam.com and partner airline websites to over 1000 destinations worldwide
- Earn and redeem frequent flyer miles via respective loyalty programs
- Reciprocal lounge access, subject to final agreement with individual carriers
- Top tier recognition in respective frequent flyer programs, subject to final agreement with individual carriers
The above does not apply to Royal Air Maroc that will join oneworld, effective 1 April 2020.
Termination of frequent flyer agreement with American Airlines
With LATAM’s departure from oneworld, the airline group will end its frequent flyer and reciprocal lounge access agreements with American Airlines.
Effective 1 May 2020, LATAM Pass members will not be able to earn or redeem miles on American Airlines flights or access American Airlines lounges. However, LATAM will honour all award tickets on American Airlines flights that have been redeemed with LATAM Pass miles prior to 1 May 2020, for up to 12 months following this date.
In addition, LATAM will continue to honour mile accumulation outside of the frequent flyer agreement for LATAM Pass members who have purchased tickets prior to 1 May 2020 for American Airlines flights up to 12 months following this date.
Advances in the LATAM-Delta framework agreement
As of 1 February 2020, LATAM will relocate its operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York City) from Terminal 8 to Terminal 4, where Delta serves over 90 destinations in the United States, Canada and worldwide, paving the way for smoother connections between LATAM and Delta flights. LATAM Premium Business and top tier LATAM Pass members (Black Signature, Black and Platinum) will also have lounge access in Terminal 4.
Regulatory approval has been received by authorities in the United States and Colombia for the codeshares announced in December 2019 between Delta and LATAM Airlines Peru, LATAM Airlines Colombia and LATAM Airlines Ecuador respectively. LATAM’s affiliates in Brazil and Chile also plan to establish codeshare agreements with Delta during 2020. In parallel, LATAM is negotiating agreements with Delta to establish reciprocal lounge access and frequent flyer benefits, which are anticipated to be in place during the first half of 2020.
These changes are part of the ongoing work to implement the framework agreement announced by LATAM and Delta in September 2019, which includes a proposed strategic alliance to combine the carriers’ highly complementary route networks and provide customers with a seamless travel experience and greater connectivity to over 435 destinations worldwide, subject to governmental and regulatory approvals.
Written by Peter Needham
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