6:55 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8th, 2005, the inaugural flight of a new airline in Argentina took off from Buenos Aires.
See also: #TBT: Alitalia flights between Italy and South America in 1965.
After the cessation of several companies in Argentina (Aerovip, American Falcon, Dinar and LAPA) following the 2001 crisis, LAN Argentina arrived in the country in 2005 and inaugurated its operations with the first flight from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in the city of Buenos Aires to Mendoza.
See also: #TBT: Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) flights to South America in 1987.
LAN was entering into an Argentine market dominated by Aerolineas Argentinas, still privately owned by the Marsans Group, and Southern Winds, which was increasingly weakened by its severe crisis.
In the first instance, LAN Argentina’s fleet consisted of three Boeing 737-200s, all ex LAN Chile. Their respective registration were LV-BBI, LV-BBO and LV-BBM. In the end, there were five Boeing 737s (LV-BCB and LV-BCD).
See also: #TBT: Flights between Argentina and Spain in 2005.
Regarding destinations, Mendoza and Córdoba were the first ones, both offered with two daily flights to and from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. Later, Salta, Tucumán, San Juan, Iguazú, Bariloche, Neuquén, El Calafate, Ushuaia, Comodoro Rivadavia and Río Gallegos joined the company’s schedule at Aeroparque.
A year after inaugurating operations, LAN Argentina announced the start of its international flights, all departing and arriving at Ezeiza. Miami had its first flight on August 15th, 2006, and Santiago de Chile shortly thereafter. Punta Cana was added in 2007.
See also: #TBT: American Airlines flights between Chicago and Buenos Aires in 2007 and 2008.
In November 2006, with a fleet of Airbus A320s, Boeing 737s and Boeing 767s, LAN’s schedule in Argentina was as follows:
Schedule in Argentina (domestic and international flights) – LAN
LAN Argentina
To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position
| Flight | From | To | Aircraft | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bariloche | ||||
| 4M 4346 | AEP: 11:20 | BRC: 13:43 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4350 | AEP: 13:30 | BRC: 15:30 | A320 | Mo, We, Fr |
| 4M 4342 | AEP: 18:20 | BRC: 20:43 | A320 | Daily ex Wed |
| Córdoba | ||||
| 4M 4202 | AEP: 07:15 | COR: 08:38 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4206 | AEP: 08:35 | COR: 09:58 | A320 | Daily ex Sa and Su |
| 4M 4200 | AEP: 17:10 | COR: 18:33 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4210 | AEP: 19:15 | COR: 20:38 | 737 | Daily ex Sa and Su |
| El Calafate | ||||
| 4M 4430 | AEP: 13:45 | FTE: 16:51 | A320 | Mo, We, Sa, Su |
| Iguazú | ||||
| 4M 4020 | AEP: 06:30 | IGR: 08:15 | A320 | Daily ex Wed |
| 4M 4028 | AEP: 11:40 | IGR: 13:15 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4022 | AEP: 12:30 | IGR: 14:15 | 737 | Mo, Tu, Th |
| 4M 4032 | AEP: 13:10 | IGR: 14:55 | A320 | Daily |
| Mendoza | ||||
| 4M 4240 | AEP: 06:15 | MDZ: 08:05 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4246 | AEP: 17:20 | MDZ: 19:10 | A320 | Daily |
| Miami | ||||
| 4M 4520 | EZE: 23:00 | MIA: 06:05+1 | 767 | Daily |
| Río Gallegos | ||||
| 4M 4422 | AEP: 21:10 | RGL: 00:19+1 | A320 | Wednesday |
| Santiago de Chile | ||||
| 4M 4616 | EZE: 09:00 | SCL: 11:15 | 767 | Daily |
| Ushuaia | ||||
| 4M 4430 | AEP: 13:45 | USH: 18:44 | A320 | Mo, We, Sa, Su |
| Flight | From | To | Aircraft | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bariloche | ||||
| 4M 4347 | BRC: 14:25 | AEP: 16:28 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4351 | BRC: 16:35 | AEP: 18:38 | A320 | Mo, We, Fr |
| 4M 4343 | BRC: 21:50 | AEP: 23:53 | A320 | Daily ex Wed |
| Córdoba | ||||
| 4M 4203 | COR: 09:20 | AEP: 10:30 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4207 | COR: 11:15 | AEP: 12:25 | A320 | Daily ex Sa and Su |
| 4M 4201 | COR: 19:15 | AEP: 20:25 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4211 | COR: 21:20 | AEP: 22:30 | 737 | Daily ex Sa and Su |
| El Calafate | ||||
| 4M 4431 | FTE: 20:34 | AEP: 00:04+1 | A320 | Mo, We, Sa, Su |
| Iguazú | ||||
| 4M 4021 | IGR: 08:55 | AEP: 10:45 | A320 | Daily ex Wed |
| 4M 4029 | IGR: 13:55 | AEP: 15:45 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4023 | IGR: 14:55 | AEP: 16:45 | 737 | Mo, Tu, Th |
| 4M 4033 | IGR: 15:35 | AEP: 17:25 | A320 | Daily |
| Mendoza | ||||
| 4M 4241 | MDZ: 08:45 | AEP: 10:17 | A320 | Daily |
| 4M 4247 | MDZ: 19:50 | AEP: 21:22 | A320 | Daily |
| Miami | ||||
| 4M 4521 | MIA: 21:00 | EZE: 07:55+1 | 767 | Daily |
| Río Gallegos | ||||
| 4M 4423 | RGL: 01:00 | AEP: 03:53 | A320 | Thursday |
| Santiago de Chile | ||||
| 4M 4681 | SCL: 19:25 | EZE: 21:30 | 767 | Daily |
| Ushuaia | ||||
| 4M 4431 | USH: 19:25 | AEP: 00:04+1 | A320 | Mo, We, Sa, Su |
LAN Airlines and LAN Perú
To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position
| From | To | Aircraft | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lima (LIM) | Buenos Aires (EZE) | 767 | 11 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Bariloche (BRC) | 737 | 1 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Bariloche (BRC), via PMC | 737 | 1 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Buenos Aires (EZE) | A319, A320, A340, 737, 767 | 71 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Córdoba (COR) | A320, 737 | 10 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Mendoza (MDZ) | 737 | 14 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Río Gallegos (RGL), via PMC y PUQ | A320 | 1 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Rosario (ROS), via COR | A320 | 7 |
| Santiago (SCL) | Ushuaia (USH), via PMC y PUQ | A319 | 1 |
LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina and LAN Perú
LATAM Argentina ceased operations in June 2020 after 15 years of uninterrupted service in Argentina. This month, on the 17th, it will be three years since the closure.
Source
- Guía Argentina de Tráfico Aéreo (nov-2006) – LAN Argentina.
