LATAM Airlines recorded an operating income of US $48.2 million and an operating margin of 2.1% during the second quarter which is an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2016 making the second quarter the strongest in recent LATAM history.
During the second quarter of 2017, total revenues reached US$2,273.7 million, an improvement of 7.7%. This increase is mainly explained by a 10.6% increase in passenger revenues, as a result of significant improvements in yields across all LATAM markets and the appreciation of local currencies, especially the Brazilian Real.
The Group has implemented its new travel model in all its domestic markets, which account for about 75% of LATAM's total passengers. The fare segmentation model and Mercado LATAM, the new food and beverage buy-on-board service, enable LATAM to offer the best and most convenient options to its customers.
In addition to the eight new routes announced during the first quarter, LATAM Airlines Peru announced two new routes connecting the Lima hub with Rio de Janeiro and San José in Costa Rica from November 2017 and January 2018 respectively. In addition, LATAM Airlines Brasil will connect its Brasilia hub with Punta Cana, and LATAM Airlines Chile will connect its Santiago hub with Bariloche and Punta del Este during the summer.