Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) has announced it intends to acquire a 10% stake in South American operator LATAM Airlines Group.

During the deal's announcement at the 2016 Farnborough Airshow, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker said the Gulf-based carrier would acquire up to 10% of LATAM Group for USD618 million. Finalization is expected by the end of the year.

The move will pave the way for greater cooperation in the fields of customer loyalty, codesharing, customer experience and more between the carriers, he added.

The LATAM Airlines Group entails: LATAM Airlines, LATAM Airlines Argentina; LATAM Airlines Brasil; LATAM Airlines Colombia; LATAM Airlines Ecuador; LATAM Airlines Perú; LATAM Cargo Chile; LATAM Cargo Colombia; LATAM Express; and Mas Air (1991).

For its part, this is Qatar Airways' second investment into a fellow Oneworld carrier group. It currently holds a 15.01% stake in the International Airlines Group (IAG) whose constituent members include British Airways (BA, London Heathrow), Iberia (IB, Madrid Barajas), Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin International), and Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat).