DANIEL YUNG HOFFMANN Commercial Vice-President LAN Ecuador

Recognizing Guayaquil as a unique business opportunity, award-winning LAN Ecuador has new flight destinations all over the world and is sustaining impressive levels of growth

ATIN America’s prestigious airline group LAN launched LAN Ecuador, or Aerolane, in 2003 as a joint venture with Translloyd and has since captured 25 percent of the country’s international market. Its phenomenal growth has not shown signs of slowing, with gains of up to 30 percent at the beginning of this year.
Over the past year LAN Ecuador has increased its flights to nearly all of its main destinations, and the airline’s Commercial Vice-President Daniel Yung Hoffman says that this trend will also continue. “We have increased our operations to Europe to six times a week, and LAN now offers daily flights to Lima and Bogotá. We have been increasing rapidly over the last few months and we expect to keep growing,” he states, adding that LAN Ecuador currently offers seven flights a week to Miami and New York, six to Madrid, two to Buenos Aires and one to Santiago.

Now, with new headquarters in Guayaquil and a brand new airport to support its operations, the airline is ready to contribute to and share in the city’s growth. “LAN Ecuador is ready to serve the needs of the country’s passengers and to help Guayaquil achieve its objectives as a city,” comments Mr. Yung, adding that the airline has received a tremendous welcome from both Mayor Nebot and the citizens of Guayaquil. According to Mr. Yung, LAN Ecuador sees Guayaquil as a unique business opportunity with its improved infrastructure and solid position as the industrial and commercial engine of the country and with its growing significance in the national and regional airline industry.

A member of the Oneworld alliance since 2000, along with British Airways and American Airlines, LAN Group also incorporates LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Peru and LAN Express. The year 2005 was a milestone year for the company. LAN Airlines was recognized by American consulting firm Zagat as one of the best international airlines operating in the U.S., and LAN was named the best South American airline for the quality of its product and service by British market study firm SkyTrax.

The group registered net profits of $146.6 million in 2005 and a 16 percent increase in its market capitalization. It also ordered 44 new aircraft to support its position as Latin America’s airline of choice and to consolidate its growing importance as the main operator between Asia and South America. Finally, it launched a new travel initiative, LAN Tours, and announced its intention to upgrade its business class.

LAN’s new Premium Business class, which will be fully phased in over the next two years, features full-flat sleeper seats and individual television screens – a first for a Latin American airline. Moreover, it is a product that complements Guayaquil’s intention to establish itself as a center for business tourism, which Mr. Yung believes is a growing reality.

“I agree with Mayor Nebot. I think that this city is going to start being a real competitor in the business tourism sector and that it will eventually be a very important conference destination,” he observes. “I also believe that it will become the main transit city for the Galapagos and the Sierra region.”