USA: LATAM Airlines Lost A Labradoodle Passenger's Dog

LATAM Airlines has lost a family’s emotional support dog, a labradoodle named Logan, in New York after the pet seemingly failed to board a flight to Paraguay on August 27.

LATAM Airlines based in Chile said that it deeply regrets the situation after the dog belonging to the parents of Connecticut man Jonathan Rolon—disappeared.

The parents had flown out of John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paraguay.

But when they landed, the pooch was nowhere to be seen.

According to Rolon, the airline company informed him the labradoodle never actually boarded the flight due to a ramp issue.

When he contacted the New York airport, Rolon said he was informed that an employee had taken the dog home, where it had then escaped and gone missing

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is a Chilean airline holding company incorporated under Chilean law and headquartered in Santiago.

It is considered the largest airline in Latin America with subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.

Chile's LAN Airlines and Brazil's TAM Airlines signed a non-binding agreement on 13 August 2010, a binding agreement on 19 January 2011, and papers to close the merger on 22 June 2012, with TAM Airlines shareholders agreeing to the takeover by LAN Airlines.

Enrique Cueto, former CEO of LAN, is CEO of LATAM; Mauricio Rolim Amaro, formerly vice-chairman of TAM, became LATAM chairman.

The agreement to establish LATAM was approved by Chilean authorities on 21 September 2011, with 11 restrictions.

These include transferring four landing slots at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport to competitors interested in operating flights to Santiago de Chile's Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.

Renouncing membership to either the Oneworld or Star Alliance airline alliance.

Restricting the increase in capacity on flights between Brazil and Chile; and opening code-share possibilities and fidelity program membership to interested competitors.

On 14 December 2011, Brazilian authorities approved the agreement, imposing similar restrictions as Chilean authorities.

LATAM would have to choose an alliance by August 2012.

Frequencies between Sao Paulo and Santiago de Chile would have to be reduced. At the time TAM had two pairs of slots while LAN had four, LAN had to relinquish two pairs to competitors interested in using them.

On 7 March 2013, LATAM announced its final decision to choose Oneworld as its global airline alliance; as a result TAM left Star Alliance during the second quarter of 2014 to join Oneworld.

In August 2015, it was announced that all LATAM Airlines Group airlines would fully rebrand as LATAM, with one unified livery to be applied on all aircraft by 2018.

The first of these aircraft were repainted or delivered new in a new LATAM livery in April 2016.

LATAM Airlines Group is currently working on the rebranding process, which is expected to be completed by 2019.

Changes are becoming gradually more evident in physical spaces, on aircraft, at business offices, airport service counters, web sites, uniforms among others.

Some changes are already in place, mainly in passenger travel experiences, such as the new cabin interiors which have been incorporated into the fleet, new VIP lounges in Sao Paulo.

Santiago currently open to the public and forming part of the largest network of frequent flyer lounges in the region, and digital platforms such as the onboard entertainment system for mobile devices.

LATAM Airlines shareholder structure is:

- Chile Cueto Group - 27.91%

- Chile Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones or Chilean Pension Funds - 21%

- Qatar Airways - 10.03%

- Chile Eblen Group - 5.93%

- Chile Bethia Group - 5.5%

- United States American depositary receipts (ADR) - 3.98%

- Brazil Amaro Group - 3%

- Foreign investors - 10.2%

- Others - 12.2%

LATAM Airlines Group is one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections, with its subsidiaries operating a combined fleet of 315 aircraft providing passenger transport services to 137 destinations in 24 countries.

LATAM Airlines has 18 aircraft providing cargo services to 144 destinations in 29 countries.

LATAM’s main hubs are Santiago de Chile's Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Sao Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport and El Dorado International Airport in Bogota.

The company is exploring the creation of a new hub in northeastern Brazil with the objective of expanding operations between Europe and South America.

Bogota was recently announced as the new hub for the Caribbean.

The airlines majority and minority-owned by LATAM Airlines Group through the primary airlines' various subsidiaries are as follows:

- Chile: LATAM Chile

- Argentina: LATAM Argentina

- Chile: LATAM Cargo Chile

- Chile: LATAM Express

- Colombia: LATAM Colombia

- Colombia: LATAM Cargo Colombia

- Ecuador: LATAM Ecuador

- Mexico: LATAM Cargo Mexico

- Peru: LATAM Peru

- Brazil: LATAM Brasil

- Brazil: LATAM Cargo Brasil

- Paraguay: LATAM Paraguay


Tourism Observer

INDONESIA: Kenya Among Indonesia’s Visa-free Partners In Travel Targeting 20 Million Tourists

Kenyans are free to travel to Indonesia without tourist visas, according to the latest directive issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indonesian government has offered visa-free travel for a group of countries including Kenya, hoping to pull in more numbers and boost its faltering tourism sector.

So far, tourists from 174 countries no longer need visas to enter the Asian nation. The latest group of countries offered the facility include Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, and Pakistan.

Others are Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Albania, Mozambique, Macedonia, El Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Armenia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania, and Paraguay.

“Offering visa-free travel is one of the easiest ways to boost tourist numbers,” Indonesian Tourism minister Arief Yahya was quoted as saying by the country’s local media.

Indonesia is known for its volcanic islands and scenic beaches. The country hopes to chalk up 20 million foreign tourists in 2019, doubling the 2015 record.

Visa-free travel will only be available through five international airports in Jakarta, Medan, Batam, Bali and Surabaya, and would come with tighter monitoring to minimise misuse of the facility, an Indonesian government official has said, adding foreign tourists found smuggling illegal goods, such as drugs, would face serious penalties.

The country’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has repeatedly said the visa-free travel is offered to boost the country’s tourism industry.

Kenya and Indonesia enjoy cordial relations and have had diplomatic ties since 1982. Diplomatic ties between the two countries began in July 1979, and in April 1982 Indonesia opened an Embassy in Nairobi.

The Kenyan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is accredited to Indonesia and In April, 2015 the Government of Kenya appointed Mr Bilal Asif as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kenya to Indonesia.

Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed said recently Kenya is seeking to forge a strong partnership with the two countries.

“Kenya considers Indonesia an important partner and has identified and expressed interest in opening a mission in your country. In the meantime, Mr Bilal Asif was appointed as the Honorary Consul of Kenya early last year and we hope that the Government of Indonesia is granting him the necessary support to carry out his mandate,” said Ms Mohamed.

She spoke in Nairobi during the farewell lunch in honour of Mr Sunu Soemarno, who was the outgoing Indonesian ambassador in early 2016. She said: “Kenya, like Indonesia, is outward looking to have a diversified and growing economy that creates a lot of opportunities. We look forward to the review of the JCC that was signed on 3rd December, 2008. I believe this will bring on board new areas for co-operation between Kenya and your great country.”

The countries have signed bilateral agreements for co-operation in various fields, notable among them the agreement on economic, scientific, technical and cultural co-operation signed in Nairobi on September 2, 1992, an MOU on establishment of Joint Commission signed on June 19, 2008.

The two nations also signed Agreed Minutes for Joint Commission for Co-operation signed on 3rd December, 2008 besides Bilateral Air Services Agreement signed in 2007 and an MoU on Fisheries Co-operation signed in 2009.

According to the Export Promotion Council, the bi-lateral trade between Kenya and Indonesia is heavily in favour of Indonesia, with the trade balance rising from $272.6 million in 2007 to $327.3 million in 2009 and $491.4 million in 2011.


Kenya’s exports to Indonesia amounted to $24.9 million and accounted for only 0.4 per cent of Kenya’s total exports in 2011.

The exports to Indonesia fluctuated over the period between 2007 and 2011 and the export products included soda ash, black tea, tobacco and products, sheep skin leather and dried leguminous vegetables. Imports from Indonesia amounted to $516.3 million in 2011 and accounted for 3.4 per cent of Kenya’s total imports.

The main import products include crude palm oil, industrial chemicals, refrigerator, yarns, natural rubber and paper and paperboard.

Zika News: Pregnant Passengers Get Refunds From Airlines

Travellers worried about the implications of flying to Latin America amid growing concerns about the Zika virus should be able to amend their travel plans without expense – as airlines and holiday firms acknowledge the threat from the mosquito-borne infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” regarding the virus, and warned that it could affect up to four million people in the Americas. Its epicentres are Brazil and Ecuador, but cases have also been reported in Mexico, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cape Verde.

While the WHO has also stated that there “should be no restrictions on travel or trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission”, tourists who are pregnant and who wish to alter their travel arrangements should be able to do so for free if they act quickly.

The Zika virus is mainly an issue for pregnant travellers, as, while it causes flu-like symptoms of fever and headaches in adults and children, it can be devastating for the human foetus – leading to babies born with defects that include abnormally small heads.

The majority of the big airlines have been united in their response to this threat – with British Airways allowing passengers a month-long window to reorder their travel plans.

A spokesperson for British Airways says: “If a pregnant customer is due to travel up to and including February 29, but they no longer wish to travel, they can change their booking free of charge, and delay their journey or amend to an alternative destination.”

“This applies to flights to Brazil, Mexico, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.”

This advice includes flights booked with affiliate airline Iberia.

Virgin Atlantic is taking a similar line, stating that “we are closely monitoring reports of cases of Zika virus in Barbados, Mexico and other destinations in the Caribbean and South America.” The airline is offering refunds to pregnant passengers due to fly to all affected destinations – including countries which it does not fly to directly, but offers connections to, such as Colombia, Panama and the United States territory of Puerto Rico.

Lufthansa has said that pregnant passengers and - unusually - their travelling companion, can alter an existing booking to any of the affected countries for free, stating that “this policy applies to all flights from or to Latin and Central America, and Caribbean countries, from January 28 until March 21 2016. Tickets must be issued on or before January 28 2016.”

This concession also applies to affiliated carriers Austrian Airlines and Swiss.

Airlines on the other side of the Atlantic have also reacted to the threat from the virus.

United Airlines has stated that “we are offering customers who are travelling to the affected regions the opportunity to rebook at a later date or receive a full refund.”

American Airlines is offering a full refund to pregnant passengers if they are flying to El Salvador, Honduras, Panama or Guatemala.

Delta says that pregnant customers can alter their flights to alternative destinations, change their dates or receive a refund – but “changes need to be made by February 29.”

Holiday companies are also responding to customers’ fears about the health scare – with Thomas Cook saying it will accept changes to existing bookings until the start of May.

“Thomas Cook is currently allowing amendments to an alternative destination for anyone who is pregnant and due to travel on a Thomas Cook charter holiday to the affected areas, up to and including April 30 2016,” a spokesperson says.

“We are contacting all customers due to travel to Mexico, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cape Verde, up to and including April 30, to advise them of the situation, and offer assistance – prioritising those departing over the next few days.”

Thomson has outlined a similar strategy, stating that “customers due to travel with us to Mexico, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia and Martinique, who would like to amend to an alternative destination, and have a doctor’s note confirming their pregnancy, can do so without incurring an amendment fee.”

Travel insurance policies should also shield holidaymakers from any costs of having to alter their plans due to the Zika situation – with policies purchased prior to the outbreak likely to offer cover. However, tourists also should check the small print on their policies.

“If one of our customers is currently pregnant and has booked a holiday to Barbados, Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, St Martin, Suriname or Venezuela, they would be eligible to make a cancellation claim – as long as they purchased the policy before January 20,” advises Rob Clarkson of Post Office Money Insurance.

However, non-pregnant travellers may find that they are less protected in this scenario.

“If one of our customers is not pregnant then, as the Foreign Office has not advised against travel to this area, there would be no cover for cancellation,” Mr Clarkson adds.

“It is important that any customers planning on holidaying in countries with ongoing Zika virus outbreaks do their research before they travel, and take all necessary precautions.”

Byron Shirto, chairman of the Latin America Travel Association, says: “In line with the current recommendations of the Foreign Office and National Health Network and Centre (NHNC), we would advise pregnant travellers to areas where Zika virus outbreaks are currently reported available via the Pan European Health Organisation to consult a health professional prior to travel."

USA: U.S. Airlines Refund Tickets For Pregnant Passengers Travelling Zika Regions.

Two major U.S. airlines are offering refunds to passengers worried about the Zika virus outbreak in many tropical countries.

United Airlines says customers booked to fly to areas affected by the virus can reschedule or get refunds. American Airlines says it will give refunds to pregnant women who were planning to travel to parts of Central America.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned pregnant women to take precautions against mosquito bites when traveling to areas in Latin America and the Caribbean where there have been Zika outbreaks. The CDC says the mosquito-borne illness could be linked to a birth defect of the brain.

The United Airlines offer began Tuesday and includes any country covered by a CDC travel notice, an airline spokesman said. American Airlines began refunds Monday for pregnant passengers holding tickets to El Salvador, Honduras, Panama or Guatemala, according to a spokesman.

A spokesman for Delta Air Lines said the carrier was monitoring the situation but not yet offering waivers. JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines were not immediately able to say whether they were offering refunds. Southwest Airlines said it was sticking to its normal policy, which lets customers who cancel ahead of time reuse the value of their tickets. All of those airlines fly to at least some affected locations.

On Tuesday, the CDC expanded its travel alert for pregnant women to add the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic to the list of areas with Zika outbreaks. The CDC has already recommended that pregnant women consider postponing trips to 22 other destinations.

— In Central and South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.

— In the Caribbean: Barbados, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Martin and Puerto Rico.

— And Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa, and Samoa in the South Pacific.

PERU: Unrecognised Small Fields of Peru

The mountain and hill slopes of Peru look different from anywhere else. Around Cusco and elsewhere in the Andean republic they look quilted from a myriad of small field and foot paths while in my home they are large swaths of uninterrupted space. The difference is that in Peru they slopes have been cultivated continuously for millennia.

Though the slopes are very steep still they contain fields, as if every bit of land were valuable for producing food and sustenance. You can see the boundaries marking families’ plots and some days you will see men and women working them, using a foot plow, a chaquitaqlla, to turn the earth and plant seed.

These tiny fields, so different from the endless stretches of corn in Nebraska, or the soybeans that have claimed entire savannahs in Bolivia, Paraguay, or Brazil, have been the backbone of Peruvian civilization and life.

It is not just the small fields, but also that they are farmed and often still “owned” in community—families have enduring rights to till, that has made the system work and has fed millennia of Peruvians. Even today, this system provides much food, perhaps even the vast majority of food, that feeds the cities and towns of the country.

Nevertheless, the country currently pushes larger scale and capital intensive farming, especially for export. In Ica you an see vast expanses claimed from the desert and watered with advanced and expensive systems of limited irrigation that produce onions, peppers, and fruit for export.

These exports also make their way into markets and especially stock supermarkets throughout the country, though most agriculture is the small scale variety.

Nevertheless, Peru’s government is uncomfortable with the traditional system, because it is traditionally communal and not individual, labor intensive and not capital intensive, dedicated to small internal markets rather than vast internal and external exchanges, and so on. Peru is interested in modernity and development though its laws still protect and support the small farm sector.

The small family farmers of Peru are under appreciated for their contribution to Peruvian civilization and for their important role in modern times. Planners lament the many small coffee or cacao plantings worked by small scale farmers because of their “inefficiencies”, while they fail to see the efficiencies of such historically and even in the present.

The planners’ scope is myopic, focused of large scale management and monetary profits, things that are calculable in ways that enter on ministerial forms to show the growth and advancement of the country as a neoliberal power.

Still the farmers of Cusco and elsewhere in Peru continue. They keep the thousands of varieties of potatoes and corn alive and send them to the market, sometimes int he trucks of cooperatives or those of aggregators, and sometimes in bags they carry them selves.

The richness of Peru may lie these days in formal investment and percentages of return on capital, but it also rests in its small farmers. Their seed stocks and productive fields, their knowledge, and their contribution to feeding the country are immense and should be recognized and valued.

Not all is a large modern tractor slicing into the earth or endless fields of oil palms, the quilt of fields and foot plows should be images on the walls of every planner and every politician. They are the ancient, contemporary, and future support of Peru.