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American just did what is perhaps the most difficult thing we've ever seen in the airline industry (and this includes flights between Qatar Airways and Atlanta to "scrub the hair in the sore" of Delta), as well as Delta trying to block access to Qatar Airways. in Atlanta).
Delta's LATAM investment
Yesterday, it was announced that Delta would buy a 20% stake in LATAM and create a joint venture with them. This is a massive development, as American and LATAM pursued a common project, but faced regulatory challenges.
It also means that LATAM will cut ties with American and that LATAM will leave the oneworld alliance.
What does the American say …
Following this news, American has attempted to act in the same way as anyone who acts publicly after being dropped. They said they understood LATAM's decision and also stated that during the transition period, they would work with LATAM to ensure a seamless customer experience.
The American promised a "smooth transition"
Sounds good, does not it?
What does America do …
As it is noted by incredibly clever Cranky Flier, American has just made a foolish policy change. Let's first see how this is written in "code", then I'll explain:
LA-045 LATAM AIRLINES GROUP
CAN NOT ISSUE ACCORD TKT-NO ON A DOSSIER
AA-001 AMERICAN AIRLINES / AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
CAN NOT CHECK LUGGAGE NO FILE AGREEMENT
What does it mean? With this update, effective immediately:
- American Airlines will not issue more tickets including a LATAM trip; you will notice that all LATAM code share flights have been extracted from the American website.
- American Airlines will no longer save their luggage on LATAM routes, even if you use a single ticket involving trips to America and Latin America.
American just released all LATAM inventory
Uh, wow. It's literally the least transparent transition you can imagine.
How is it possible?
This raises logistical issues:
- Who at American thought it was a good idea?
- How does it work? LATAM is still a member airline of oneworld, but at the moment, you can not even book a LATAM segment on an American Airlines ticket, or register a bag when two airlines belonging to the same alliance travel on a single ticket?
I guess it was intentional and not an error. If that is the case, I wonder if this decision was really considered at a higher level at American, or if an angry and overzealous executive drew the conclusion and decided that it made sense.
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