American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) and LATAM Airlines Group have applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for antitrust immunity for their proposed joint business agreement (JBA) covering the US, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

"The JBA will align the Parties’ incentives to open and integrate their complementary route networks, vastly expanding connectivity and enabling 429 new codeshare segments for travel to the JBA countries. In total, the JBA will generate at least USD273 million annually in quantifiable consumer benefits," the airlines said in their filing.

The airlines further reminded that they formed the JBA in 2016 already and applied for antitrust immunity at that time. However, the DOT suspended the proceedings pending the entry into force of the US-Brazil Open Skies in mid-2018.

The JBA already received unconditional approvals in Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. In Chile, the partnership was okayed under conditions related to pricing, capacity, and frequent flyer benefits. The airlines are still studying the Chilean conditions and their response to them.

"Should ATI be denied, American expects that the Parties’ existing cooperation will deteriorate because it has developed in anticipation of the JBA and will need to be renegotiated if that does not come about," American Airlines said.

Both American Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group are members of Oneworld and already have a code-share agreement in place.