MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands/Malvinas naming “a delicate issue”

Lan Chile admitted that “the Falklands/Malvinas route naming is a delicate issue” because both Britain and Argentina are insistent, but what really matters is that in a global world “we must learn to incorporate the different country codes and that takes time”, said Ignacio Cueto, Lan's Passenger transport general manager.

In an interview published Sunday in Santiago's EL Mercurio, Mr. Cueto admitted the controversy over the route which flies to Falklands/Malvinas, adding that "the British don't like us calling the Islands, Malvinas. But what is important is that these experiences have helped us to learn that there's no internationalization without integration".

In the interview Mr. Cueto expands on Lan Chile's recent experience in the Argentine market where it began domestic flights last week in association with Argentine partners, but has been under constant "unfair attacks" from its main competitor Spanish owned Aerolineas Argentinas.

Furthermore Mr. Cueto complains that Lan in Argentina has been facing constant labour strife, criticisms from local competitors and lately bureaucratic inconveniences for the registry of aircrafts.

"The mediatic attack we have suffered is most unfortunate and unfair. Yes, they accuse us of being Chileans and it's true that 49% of Lan Argentina is Chilean, and we are proud of it", stressed Mr. Cueto who recalled that competing Aerolineas Argentinas which belongs to the Spanish group Marsans, published on inauguration day an ironic full page add in Argentina's main newspapers congratulating Lan "for flying with us".

When asked specifically if he identified an "anti Chilean attitude" in Argentina, Mr. Cueto pointed his guns directly to Antonio Mata, Aerolineas Argentinas CEO.

"It's a paradoxical situation since the opposition we are finding is clearly headed by Spanish controlled Aerolineas and their CEO who is also Spanish", said Mr. Cueto. "We don't criticize their Spanish condition or the fact that they already operate in Chile through Aerolineas del Sur; we only demand from authorities reciprocity, and as they have been licenced to fly in Chile, we can also have the same rights to fly in Argentina", highlighted Mr. Cueto.

Mr. Mata in several interviews accused Lan Chile of referring to the Islands as Falklands instead of Malvinas.

Lan which has the goal of becoming the top line in the region and one of the ten leading in the world "must first ensure its presence in Argentina and Brazil".

"Brazil is very important; so far we've given a bite to the Argentine market, a market where we have targeted a significant share. Our objective is 15% of domestic traffic this year and 30% in 2006", confessed Mr. Cueto.

However Mr. Cueto said that much will depend on how the government administers air rates in the domestic market.

"I believe that as competition improves, the government will be addressing the rates scale which currently has much to do with the dominating position of Aerolineas Argentinas", said Mr. Cueto.