LATAM Airlines says demand for US travel rising on vaccine tourism

LATAM Airlines Group, the region's largest carrier, said Thursday that it is seeing increased demand from South Americans seeking to travel to the United States to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. "The past few weeks we have seen an increase in that demand and in the occupancy of those planes, but we continue with a capacity that is infinitely lower than pre-pandemic," Ramiro Alfonsin, LATAM's chief financial officer, said. Chile-based LATAM on Thursday reported a net loss of $431m in the first three months of the year, which executives said reflected the crushing second pandemic wave that hit the region. Latin America has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, which has overwhelmed its weak health infrastructure while governments have struggled to secure coveted vaccines partly because of the higher purchase power of developed nations. As a result, some wealthier Latin Americans have been seeking vaccination in the United States, especially in recent weeks when the vaccines have become more widely available there. Alfonsin told reporters that LATAM passengers from Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are flying directly to the United States, while those from Argentina are flying via Santiago or Lima.<br/>