OREANDA-NEWS.   LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries, (“LATAM Airlines Group” or “the Company”) (NYSE: LFL / IPSA: LAN / Bovespa: LATM33), the leading airline group in Latin America, today reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics for May 2014 compared to May 2013.

System passenger traffic increased by 2.8% while capacity decreased by 1.1%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month increased 3.1 points to 82.9%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 53% of the month’s total passenger traffic.

Domestic passenger traffic in LATAM Airlines Groupґs Spanish speaking operations (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) rose 5.5%, while capacity increased by 2.8%. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor increased 2.0 points to 77.3%.

Domestic passenger traffic in Brazil increased by 0.6%, while capacity decreased by 1.2%. As a consequence, the domestic Brazil passenger load factor increased 1.4 points to 80.2%.

International passenger traffic increased by 3.4%, while capacity decreased by 2.1%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month increased 4.6 points to 86.4%. International traffic includes international operations of both LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes.

Cargo traffic for LATAM decreased 0.7% as capacity decreased 4.4%. As a consequence, the cargo load factor increased 2.3 points to 60.5%. The decrease in cargo capacity is a result of a decreased availability in the bellies of passenger aircraft in addition to a reduced freighter operation. Cargo traffic decrease was driven by weaker imports into Latin America and a decrease in exports in certain products from the region.