LATAM Airlines posts narrower quarterly loss as fuel costs bite

LATAM Airlines, South America's largest carrier, reported on Tuesday a narrower Q3 net loss of $296m, the company said in a statement, partly hit by high fuel prices. The Chile-based airline's quarterly loss this year compares to a $694m loss during the same three-month period last year. LATAM's revenue during the July to September period rose 97% to total $2.587b compared to Q3 last year. The airline, created by the 2012 merger of Chile's LAN with Brazilian rival TAM, operates units in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The company's quarterly results follow the firm's early November completion of a years-long restructuring. LATAM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020 after the airline was hammered during the pandemic. "We're cautious in what we're seeing going forward ... as we see a more difficult macroeconomic environment, a pandemic that's not over yet and a fuel price that's still very high," said Ramiro Alfonsin, LATAM's vice president for finance.<br/>