OREANDA-NEWS. LATAM Airlines Group today finalized an agreement to sub-lease the first of four Airbus A350 XWB aircraft to Qatar Airways.

The sub-lease agreements will be for periods of between six and 12 months, each with the possibility of extension. During this time, Qatar will be exclusively responsible for the operational control of these aircraft.

With the measure, LATAM continues to take a flexible approach to its fleet plan, adapting to operational requirements and market conditions.

To this end, the group evaluates its fleet plan on an ongoing basis and is able to expand, rationalize or adapt its fleet requirements according to demand in each country where it operates, as well as taking its overall network needs into account.

LATAM Airlines Brasil will continue to operate its remaining fleet of A350 XWB aircraft on its S?o Paulo-Madrid and S?o Paulo-Paris routes and the group remains committed to seeking business models that offer its passengers the best and most modern fleet in Latin America.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is the new name given to LAN Airlines S.A. as a result of its association with TAM S.A. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. now includes LATAM Airlines Group (before LAN Airlines) and its affiliates in Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador, and LATAM Cargo and its affiliates, as well as TAM S.A. and its subsidiaries TAM Linhas Aereas S.A. (LATAM Airlines Brasil), including its business units TAM Transportes Aereos del Mercosur S.A., (LATAM Airlines Paraguay) and Multiplus S.A. This association creates one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections, providing passenger transport services to about 140 destinations in 25 countries and cargo services to about 140 destinations in 29 countries, with a fleet of 335 aircraft. In total, LATAM Airlines Group S.A. has more than 47,000 employees and its shares are traded in Santiago, as well as on the New York Stock Exchange, in the form of ADRs.

LATAM is the brand that has been adopted by the airline members of LATAM Airlines Group, and has started to implement the LATAM and LATAM Airlines brand to its customer contact points and aircraft, as part of a gradual roll-out that will last until 2019.