San Francisco Gateway Inaugurated

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, LAN Airlines and its affiliates inaugurated their fourth US gateway at San Francisco International Airport with LAN Peru's nonstop service to Lima, Peru. LAN Peru will offer four flights per week to Lima on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with continuing service to Sao Paulo, Brazil and additional connections available on LAN Airlines and its affiliate carriers to over 50 destinations in South America.

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San Francisco will join the existing US gateways of New York, Los Angeles and Miami.  

"LAN Airlines and its affiliates are honored to connect the city where East meets West with the rich business, tourism, historical and cultural opportunities that South America has to offer," said Pablo Yunis, Vice President, North America and the Caribbean, LAN Airlines.  "We hope that Bay Area residents and West Coast travelers will see LAN Peru's new service to Lima as their gateway to South America."

San Francisco's position as a major tourism and business destination, a strong hub for the West Coast, and as a gateway to Asia's capital cities including Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul made it a strategic location for LAN Peru.

The new route continues LAN Airlines and its affiliates' dedication to supporting the growth of tourism in the region.  The new route will offer passengers more options for travel to unique destinations like Machu Picchu in Peru, Patagonia in Argentina and Chile, as well as Easter Island, Iguazu Falls and the Galapagos Islands.

LAN Peru will service the new route on modern Boeing 767-300s with long-haul reach and a capacity for 221 passengers. These aircraft offer a Premium Business Class cabin that includes full flat, 180 degree reclining seats with a completely horizontal sleeping option that only a select group of airlines in the world offer, in addition to a renovated Economy class. Both cabins feature a state of the art on demand entertainment system with personal high definition screens for every seat.

The inaugural LAN Peru flight to Lima will depart SFO today at 1:30 p.m.  The flight arrived at SFO for the first time this morning at 7:00 a.m. with passengers from Lima.

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 alliances. 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 domestic market and has completed its first year of operations in the domestic market of Ecuador.

Currently, LAN Airlines and its affiliates operate one of the most modern fleets in the world, with 86 passenger aircraft, and its cargo subsidiary, LAN CARGO and its respective cargo affiliates, have a fleet of 11 freighters. The company recently completed its short haul fleet renovation process by acquiring new aircraft from the Airbus A320 family, enabling LAN to improve its efficiency and to reduce significantly its CO2 emissions. The fleet renovation is part of the company's 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™, the global alliance that encompasses the best airlines in the world. For more information please visit www.lan.com or www.oneworldalliance.com  

SOURCE LAN Airlines