Source: Flight International

Hmm...I can understand the objection to Lan Ecuador, but objecting to Lan Peru? Seems like AA and IB would be all over that in order to codeshare, amongst other places, to Cusco and Arequipa. Go figure. Too bad Lan Argentina still seems to be sitting on the sidelines.

Was just looking on the Lan website to see if the official press release had been posted and also saw this. Don't recall it being posted in this forum, but it appears that Lan started a bus service to the great state of NJ under a Lan "flight" number. Wonder if you'll get miles for the trip.

I thought LAN Peru was already part of oneworld.

As a subsidiary, but not as an independent. It would be like Comair or B-Med joining as actual carriers instead of subsidiaries of BA. That being said, however, I don't know the advantage of necessarily having Lan Peru as a member other than saying there is another member. I don't remember how Lan Peru works in terms of status recognition and lounge access as an LA subsidiary, but maybe you will get more of both with LP as a regular member. I don't know. Lan Ecuador, on the other hand, is not, never has been, and (probably) never will be an LA subsidiary, so there are all sorts of benefits that come from them joining. Especially since they occasionally have good sales to Ecuador from NYC and Miami.

I would like to see Lan Argentina become a member. In fact I think all of the Lan group should be members.

And in fact, the way they market, as "LAN", if you aren't savvy, you can end up with no miles, no benefits, no nothing if you haven't bought a ticket with the right "metal". For all we know, maybe they're scoping out Lan Lingus

Or LAN Varig

I assume it's just like the LAN bus "flight" from Vina Del Mar to SCL in Chile, and if that's the case, no miles....... still a cheap nice way to get to the airport from the beautiful coastal resort town

LAN flight number and all......

:-: This week there a news story that Ecuadorian airlines will soon have approval to fly in the US again. This was banned years ago but it's now passed muster.

This should open up Lan Ecuador to be eligible for One World. Spanish Readers who want to read this article can go to www.eluniverso.com

Crossing my fingers... Lan is much nicer than American when flying south, plus saving 5 hours travel time from JFK - GYE is a perk.

Not sure I would term Union, Paterson, or Newark as beautiful resort towns, but to each their own.

Figured as much about the miles but thanks for the info. Might make life a little easier for NJians who live in those areas and God only knows it must be better than going through Manhattan and taking the subway.

I have no inside info on how the setup works, but the bus wasn't exactly a LAN bus, it was run by the same company that did the city/country/wineries tours. It's just a guess, but LAN probably pays some very minimum (if anything) amount for this service and the bus company gets to keep the fares. It helps feed the system and it's very much appreciated by the passengers. $10 for a 60km non-stop ride, straight to the airport....how can you beat it?

BTW, LAN runs 3 or 4 small busses a day from Vina Del Mar to SCL. You needed reservations and you pay the driver.

Why the airlines here in the US don't do this is beyond me?

I agree, but I suspect their value must be limited, depending on the circumstances. JAL had a bus that ran from I think it was Fort Lee, NJ, to JFK but they ended the service near the start of the year. But I expect the demographics were very different. My understanding is that Fort Lee is highly Asian but also highly affluent. Union, Paterson, and Elizabeth, not so much. I have also heard of some other ones. I remember Santa Barbara Airlines set up a similar bus trip, but I don't remember where or why.

The language of the press release reads, "Passengers simply make a reservation with their travel professional or by calling LAN at (1 866) 435 9526, arrive at the bus station according to the following schedules, and present their LAN airline ticket or e-ticket for same day departure." It's a free service that runs only once a day for any given flight. In other words, it appears if you are on a LA or XL flight, you take a specific bus that services that particular flight.

It will be interesting to see if it works the way they want it to. Realisically, I am sure one more ticket sold per day due to the bus justifies the cost. With Varig potentially going under, it's a good way to get more Latino pax in Union, Essex, and Passaic onto Lan Chile and its progenies. Maybe if it works, we will see more of it. Maybe New Brunswick to JFK or Sylmar/San Fernando to LAX or similar.

I thought that AA had a bus from Milwaukee to ORD in the 90's. Could only be booked in connection with a flight as some tried to use the bus only and get the AA miles.

I'm not sure about a bus from Milwaukee as AA had and has regularly scheduled flights to ORD from MKE. In fact back in mid-90s I bought a one-way ticket on AA in the morning to fly the same afternoon for under $50 all in. (sorry, can't remember the exact amount)....

Maybe you're thinking about Rockford? I'm not sure if the service is still available, but at one time one could actually collect miles, but as you said, it had to be a connection with AA flight.

I'm hoping for LanEcuador to become a oneworld member, because that extra time connecting thru MIA ( from JFK on AA) is uncomfortable and not worth it ! Where is that article about Ecuatoriana - I couldn't find it !