LAN Chile Buys Two Dozen Airbus Jetliners

Chilean airline LAN, one of South America´s leading carriers, announced last week the purchase of 25 Airbus for regional and domestic routes, an operation involving $750 million.

LAN also has the option for another fifteen A318s and A319s, plus the nine A319s the company will be receiving somewhere between 2005 and 2008.

"The new aircraft will be flying in Latin America, including domestic routes in Argentina, Peru and Chile, consolidating the growth and internationalization process of the company", said LAN in an official release.

The Chilean flag carrier has a fleet of 56 passenger aircrafts and seven cargo planes. With the addition of the next 25 airliners, beginning in the second half of 2006, the company will be reinforcing its expansion strategy.

The new aircraft will replace the aging Boeing 737/200 and with the current nineteen A319s and A320s, LAN will have one of the region´s most modern short-range fleets.