Fresh off losing a key partner in South America to Delta, American Airlines is discussing a partnership with Brazilian carrier Gol.
A partnership with the low-cost carrier and Brazil’s second-largest airline could give American a key alliance in South America as it recovers from losing a deal with LATAM Airlines last month. Delta Air Lines bought a 20% stake in Chile’s LATAM for $1.9 billion as American was trying to negotiate a partnership.
American Airlines already has an interline agreement with Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA, which means it can transfer bags on connecting flights between the airlines.
“We’re always talking to potential partners as we grow the world’s largest network,” an American Airlines spokeswoman said. “We’ll continue to seek partnerships that make sense for us and our customers.”
The news was first reported by Brazilian news outlet Valor Economico, which said the two airlines have been in talks since Sept. 26.
A Gol deal would be a partnership swap for Delta and American.
American had a codeshare agreement with Gol before Delta bought 9% of Gol in 2011. Meanwhile, American was working on a partnership with LATAM in Chile. The Chilean courts upheld the deal between American and LATAM. Then in September, Delta swooped in and bought a 20% stake in LATAM and said it would sell its shares of Gol.
Now, American is again courting Gol.
The LATAM fray left a major hole in American’s partner network. American’s strongest international region has long been considered South America, and a partner in that region is key to connecting from the United States to smaller cities.
Gol flies a fleet a 122 Boeing 737 jets to more than 60 destinations, mostly in Central and South America. But most of its destinations are in Brazil. It also flies to Miami and Orlando, Fla., in the United States.
American said it will “wind down” its partnership with LATAM in the coming months. LATAM said it will ease out of the Oneworld Alliance, headed by American.
American said losing LATAM as a partner will result in a revenue dip of less than $20 million. The Fort Worth-based carrier had about $11 billion in revenue last year. (https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2019/10/11/american-airlines-talks-partnership-with-brazils-gol-after-latam-deal-falls-apart/)
