OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2015. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries, (“LATAM Airlines Group” or “the Company”) (NYSE: LFL / IPSA: LAN / Bovespa: LATM33), the leading airline group in Latin America, today reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics for May 2015 compared to May 2014.

System passenger traffic increased by 1.4% while capacity increased by 2.1%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month decreased 0.5 points to 82.4%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 54% of the month’s total passenger traffic.

Domestic passenger traffic in LATAM Airlines Group’s Spanish speaking operations (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) rose 6.2%, while capacity increased by 5.2%. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor increased 0.8 points to 78.1%%.

Domestic passenger traffic in Brazil decreased by 3.9%, while capacity decreased by 2.0%. As a consequence, the domestic Brazil passenger load factor decreased 1.6 points to 78.7%.

International passenger traffic increased by 3.3%, while capacity increased by 3.8%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month decreased 0.4 points to 86.0%. International traffic includes international operations of both LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes.

Cargo traffic during the month of May was impacted negatively by an eight day strike at the Customs Office in Santiago, which stopped cargo traffic in Chile during this period. In addition, cargo demand continues to be weak, especially in Brazil domestic and international markets. As a result, cargo traffic for LATAM Airlines Group decreased 16.6% in May, and the cargo load factor decreased 9.1 points to 51.3%. We continue to adjust cargo capacity through a reduced freighter operation, which resulted in a decline of 1.7% of cargo ATKs in May.

(1)      Domestic SSC = Domestic passenger operations in Spanish speaking countries carried by LAN. Passenger statistics include domestic operations in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia.

(2)      Domestic Brazil = Domestic passenger operations of TAM in Brazil.

(3)      International = International passenger operations of LAN and TAM.