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VersionUnited Kingdom
Miami, june11, 2008
LAN Airlines S.A. and its related companies, ("LAN" or "the Company") (NYSE: LFL / IPSA: LAN), one of the leading airline groups in Latin America , reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics and punctuality indicators for May 2008.
System passenger traffic for May increased 13.5% as capacity rose 8.9%. As a result, the Company's load factor increased 2.9 points to 71.6%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 87% of total passenger traffic.
International passenger traffic for May rose 12.3% as capacity increased 8.0%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month increased 2.7 points to 71.7%. Long-haul capacity grew due to an increase in operations to the United States , Europe, the South Pacific and the Caribbean . Short-haul capacity grew mainly as a result of an expansion in the Argentine and Peruvian domestic markets.
Domestic passenger traffic in Chile rose 22.3% as capacity increased 15.2%. As a consequence, the domestic load factor for the month increased 4.1 points to 71.1%. Growth in domestic traffic was stimulated by the Company's new business model for short haul operations.
Cargo traffic increased 12.5% as capacity rose 16.2%. As a consequence, the cargo load factor decreased 2.4 points to 71.6%, affected mainly by higher capacity on regional routes. Cargo traffic grew mainly as a result of the continued strength in import markets, especially in Brazil , and an increase in wet lease capacity (ACMI-aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) in preparation of the arrival of the Boeing 777 cargo fleet.
During May, 86.1% of the Company's total flights left on time, based on a fifteen-minute standard (all departures leaving within fifteen minutes of the scheduled departure time are considered as "on-time"). This rep resented an increase of 1.0 points compared to the same month of 2007.
