LanChile has reached an out of court settlement with former LanPeru partner and shareholder Peruval allowing the Peruvian carrier to resume domestic operations. At the same time, rival TACA Peru has been given US approval to codeshare with and wet lease aircraft to its associate Grupo TACA carriers in a move to limit Category 2 restrictions.
LanPeru plans to restart domestic services from 1 February, following Peruval's decision to sell its 30% interest in the carrier to a new local investor. Operations had been suspended since late last year after LanChile, which owns 49% of LanPeru, fell out with Peruval over cargo revenue on US flights.
The carrier will restart flights from Lima to Cuzco, Arequipa and Juliaca using two Boeing 737-200s originally leased for the services last year from LanChile affiliate Falcon Aviation. "International operations, such as the Lima-Miami flight will resume in the near future, and we also hope to soon operate using shared codes to other destinations," says LanPeru general manager Sergio Purcell.
Among the chief beneficiaries of the LanPeru shut down has been Grupo TACA-backed TACA Peru. The carrier has been given a further boost by US approval for the TACA group to extend existing wet lease and codeshare rights to its Peruvian associate.
The move effectively gives TACA greater flexibility to circumvent recently imposed Federal Aviation Administration restrictions on US services. Under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment programme, TACA's El Salvador main base was downgraded to Category 2 status, freezing existing US services. Other TACA group members are to operate under similar restrictions.
Source: Flight International
