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 December 2015 compared to December 2014.

System passenger traffic increased by 2.1% while capacity increased by 2.3%. As a result, the Company’s load factor for the month decreased 0.2 points to 82.6%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 53% 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 4.3%, while capacity increased by 3.6%. As a consequence, the domestic passenger load factor increased 0.6 points to 81.7%

Domestic passenger traffic in Brazil decreased 10.6%, while capacity decreased by 10.1%. As a consequence, the domestic Brazil passenger load factor decreased by 0.4 points to 81.9%.

International passenger traffic increased by 10.1%, while capacity increased by 10.6%. Accordingly, the international passenger load factor for the month decreased 0.4 points to 83.3%. International traffic includes international operations of both LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes.

Cargo traffic continues to be weak during the month of December especially in Brazil domestic and international markets. Additionally, weaker seasonal exports from Latin America contributed to the softness in demand. As a result, cargo traffic for LATAM Airlines Group decreased 11.2% in December, and the cargo load factor decreased 6.1 points to 54.1%. We continue to adjust cargo capacity through a reduced freighter operation, which resulted in a decline of 1.3% of cargo ATKs in December.