Flying solo.Chilean airline LAN's President Luis Ernesto Videla knows his company doesn't run with the pack. And that's a good thing. The global airline industry lost billions between 2002 and 2004. Yet LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. has been profitable since 1993 and has expanded across the region. LATIN TRADE Latin Trade is a monthly magazine covering global business in Latin America and the Caribbean. Similar to Forbes and Fortune Magazine in coverage, the magazine was founded in 1993 and now publishes 87,000 copies 1 each month in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Correspondent Kenneth Rapoza talked with Videla about the price of oil and finding partners. Oil price volatility is expected to continue by most estimates. What's your hedging strategy? Last year we spent US$100 million in extra expenses because of fuel prices and 50% of that ended up being recovered by our hedging strategy. We've got investment-grade credit lines available to us, which not every airline has. We're betting on oil prices regularly. We have a fuel surcharge An overcharge or additional cost. A surcharge is an added liability imposed on something that is already due, such as a tax on tax. It also refers to the penalty a court can impose on a fiduciary for breaching a duty. for our cargo, which works as another hedge for fuel, so we've been successful at hiding fuel prices in this environment so far. Where do you think these prices are going to go? Up or down? Down ... in the short term. Partnerships have been a big deal for LAN. With a growing interest in South America-China trade relations, what's in store for LAN? It's very difficult for a regional carrier to compete with direct flights to Asia because you end up having to offer daily flights if you want to be an alternative for business travelers. We can't do that, so we've partnered, in this case, with Korean Air  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , as the best possible alternative to get our customers to Asia and get some revenue out of it. You've also been using partnerships to increase LAN's cargo service. Lufthansa is our partner in Europe. Partnerships are so important and we have been successful at it, with American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the , Qantas and Iberia. As far as daily cargo operations, 40% of our cargo gets shipped on passenger flights. Mixing cargo and passengers has given us key competitive advantages. How come I can't get a pretzel on Southwest Airlines This article is about the American airline. For the former Japanese airline, see Japan Transocean Air. For the British airline, see Air Southwest. Southwest Airlines Co. but I can get a sandwich and drinks on LAN? If you can afford it, and we can, good onboard Refers to a chip or other hardware component that is directly attached to the printed circuit board (motherboard). Contrast with offboard. See inboard. and good elite services are going to separate you from the competition, so we focus on cutting back other things to be more efficient. No way are we cutting back on our food service. |
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