Lonely Planet and LAN Airlines Announce Partnership

LONDON, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- LAN Airlines, one of the leading airlines in South America, and Lonely Planet, the world's leading travel content provider, announced the signing of a five-year agreement at the World Travel Market in London. In this partnership, LAN Airlines is licensing content from Lonely Planet to promote tourism in South America and worldwide.

Starting in 2011, LAN.com will feature expert Lonely Planet content highlighting the destinations, tourist attractions and wonders of South America. This initiative will make LAN the only airline in Latin America to offer such a wide range of travel content on their website. Millions of tourists will have free access to this inspiring information in English, Spanish, German and French via LAN.com.

The signing took place during World Travel Market in London, the premier global event for the travel industry. During this event, LAN Airlines organized a forum entitled "South America: A Great Opportunity", a seminar that brought together prominent players from the tourism industries of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. The forum focused on new tourism opportunities in these countries.

Sarah Bradley, President of LATA Association (Latin American Travel Association), acted as the moderator of this landmark event, which included the highest representatives of the governmental organizations and tourism boards of each of these countries: INPROTUR (National Tourism Promotion Institute of Argentina), Chile Tourism (Chile Tourism Promotion Entity) MINTUR (Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador) and PROMPERU (Commission for the Promotion of Peru Export and Tourism).

At the end of the forum, Marcelo Grether, LAN Director of Global Tourism, Francisco Vidal, LAN Europe Managing Director, and Doug Schatz, Lonely Planet EMEA Managing Director, celebrated the signing of the agreement between the two companies.

Marcelo Grether added: "The development and growth of the tourism industry in South America is one of LAN Airlines´ main objectives, and the signing of the agreement with LONELY PLANET is a firm demonstration of the company's commitment to promote South America as a destination. We seek to build the most extensive tourist network in our continent."

"We are excited to be part of this dynamic partnership with LAN. By providing expert global destination content in multiple languages, we are enabling LAN to effectively promote travel in their market. Consumers will have trusted information easily accessible on LAN.com, as only Lonely Planet can provide." said Lonely Planet EMEA Managing Director Douglas Schatz.

About LAN

LAN Airlines is one of the leading passenger and cargo airlines in Latin America.  The company and its affiliates serve over 70 destinations around the world through an extensive network that offers full connectivity within Latin America, while also linking the region with North America, Europe and the South Pacific, as well as 70 additional international destinations through its various code share agreements.  LAN Airlines and its affiliates have a leading position in their respective domestic markets of Chile and Peru as well as an important presence in the Argentinean and Ecuadorian domestic markets.

Currently, LAN Airlines and its affiliates operate 91 passenger aircraft while LAN Cargo and its respective affiliates have a fleet of 11 dedicated freighters.  The Company has one of the youngest fleets in the world which has meant greater efficiency and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, reflecting its strong commitment to the protection of the environment.

LAN is one of the few Investment Grade airlines in the world (BBB).  The company's world class quality standards enabled its membership in oneworld™, an alliance of leading global airlines of which LAN has been a member for 10 years.  For more information please visit www.lan.com or www.oneworldalliance.com.

About Lonely Planet

Established in 1973, Lonely Planet knows travel. As one of the world's leading travel content providers, we enable curious people to experience the world and get to the heart of a place. Lonely Planet's content is available across all platforms including our trailblazing guidebooks, an award-winning website, innovative mobile apps, enhanced ebooks, and television programming. We've have a devoted audience and community that values our unmatched range of global travel coverage. With operations in Melbourne, London and Oakland, CA, the company employs over 400 staff worldwide and a team of over 200 expert authors. In October 2007, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in Lonely Planet. For more information about Lonely Planet, visit www.lonelyplanet.com.

Our Client Solutions Team works with leading brands to provide inspirational digital travel content, tailored print publications, custom mobile applications and integrated online marketing campaigns. Find out more about our Client Solutions group at www.lonelyplanet.biz.

SOURCE LAN Airlines