OREANDA-NEWS. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries, (“LATAM Airlines Group” or “the Company”) (NYSE: LFL / IPSA: LAN / Bovespa: LATM11), the leading airline group in Latin America, today reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics for September 2013 compared to September 2012.

System passenger traffic increased 1.9% as capacity decreased 1.2%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month increased 2.6 points to 83.0%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 52% of the month’s total passenger traffic.

Domestic passenger traffic in LATAM Airlines Group’s Spanish speaking operations (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) rose 12.1%, as capacity increased 10.3%. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor increased 1.3 points to 78.8%.

Domestic passenger traffic in Brazil decreased 2.8%, as capacity decreased 6.6%. As a consequence, the domestic Brazil passenger load factor increased 3.2 points to 81.2%.

International passenger traffic rose 2.4%, while capacity decreased 0.5%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month increased 2.5 points to 85.5%. International traffic includes international operations of both LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes.

Cargo traffic for LAN increased 0.2% as capacity decreased 0.6%. As a consequence, the cargo load factor increased 0.5 points to 59.2%. The slight decrease in cargo capacity is a result of a reduced freighter operation partially offset by an increased availability in the belly of passenger aircraft.