In order to serve the 7 million engers who are expected to fly with LATAM Brasil between December 2022 and January 2023 on its 3.200 extra flights for the high season, the company opened more than 1.100 new jobs in various functions and locations in the country and invested in new technologies for customers and differentiated procedures in the operation to offer an even better experience and mitigate possible contingencies at this time with such high demand for travel.
“This is a special year for Brazilians because it will be the first after the height of the pandemic. For many, it's the return of holiday travel. Therefore, we have been preparing since October to offer the best possible experience, increasing capacity, implementing improvements and mapping opportunities to make our customers reach their destination, even in a scenario of great operational complexity and high expectations”, he explains. Derick Barboza, Director of Airports at LATAM Brazil
And this high season complexity can be perceived by the following numbers of the LATAM Brazil operation:
- 3.200 more flights on the network between December and January;
- 3,5 million engers transported per month, almost double when compared to low season months;
- Increased occupancy rate, when compared to the low season, with peaks above 90%;
- 37.500 operations in the domestic market and 3.500 in the international market, an average of approximately 700 daily flights;
- Traditionally adverse weather conditions at key airports for LATAM operations in this period (Congonhas and Guarulhos).
In light of this scenario, the company is preparing on the following fronts:
- TARGETED OFFER: In constant monitoring of the search and interest in the most popular destinations and routes in this period, the company reorganized its network to meet this demand. Rio, Brasília and Belo Horizonte mark the increments in the national and Buenos Aires, Lima and Santiago, in the international. This increase was planned to serve approximately 7 million engers that the company expects to carry in the 2022-2023 high season, a volume that is 60% higher than the 2021-2022 high season.
- MORE EMPLOYEES IN THE OPERATION: The company decided to concentrate most of the hires planned for the year in the last quarter, thinking precisely about the high season demand. Therefore, these 1.100 vacancies are focused on operational areas, such as Airports, Cargo, Maintenance and Crew. With the increase in staff, LATAM should end 2022 with almost 18 employees. And the good news is that these vacancies are permanent. It is LATAM growing again and continuing to invest in the country.
- MORE AGENTS AT THE EDGE: To assist service at strategic airports, the company will increase the number of agents in stores, at positions for baggage delivery and in the lounge and boarding gates.
- WHATSAPP FOR PERSONALIZED SERVICE: The company continues to invest in Whatsapp service to facilitate and speed up the flow of information between the customer and the company. With this channel, it is possible to solve doubts, make changes and reschedule. The number is: +56 9 6825 0850.
- MORE TECHNOLOGY FOR FASTER SHIPMENT: A striking feature of LATAM's service, the company has invested throughout the year in improving and expanding services aimed at streamlining the boarding process, even thinking about the high season period. For this, customers will be encouraged to use the Automatic Check-in and Express Baggage Dispatch.
O automatic check in, an exclusive innovation that is already used by around 80% of its clients in Brazil and which, in practice, eliminates the need for the client to carry out the procedure in person or online.
With automatic check-in, engers receive a virtual card that is dynamically updated with all the necessary information for boarding, allowing them to go directly to the gate of their flight as soon as they arrive at the airport. This process reduces the time spent by customers in queues at the airport by up to 20%.
Already Express Baggage Drop-off is currently present in 9 airports: Brasília, Rio de Janeiro/Galeão, São Paulo/Guarulhos, Salvador, Natal, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte/Confins. LATAM's pioneering technology reduces customers' time in queues by up to 50% to make their journey faster, more autonomous and safer.
- REINFORCEMENT IN THE MAINTENANCE TEAM: Maintenance is serious business at LATAM. It is part of a strict safety and prevention routine and is something constant in its operations throughout the year. At this time, maintenance and engineering teams have their routines reinforced to be always ready to get the planes ready to fly and avoid cancellations.
LATAM OPERATIONS
More efficient, LATAM managed to open since 2021 operations in 10 new destinations in Brazil: Cascavel (PR), Caxias do Sul (RS), Jericoacoara (CE), Juazeiro do Norte (CE), Juiz de Fora/Zona da Mata (MG ), Montes Claros (MG), Petrolina (PE), Presidente Prudente (SP), Sinop (MT) and Vitória da Conquista (BA). For 2023, LATAM has already announced that it intends to start operations in o Fundo (RS).
During this period, the company has always remained the airline that flies the most abroad from Brazil, and has already returned to 21 direct international destinations from the country (there were 26 before the pandemic).
The destinations already resumed are: Asunción, Barcelona, Bogotá, Boston, Buenos Aires/Aeroparque, Buenos Aires/Ezeiza, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Mendoza, Miami, Milan, Montevideo, New York, Orlando , Paris, Rome and Santiago.
