August 23, 2026
I have flown LATAM more times than I can count — into Bogotá, around Colombia, and down into the rest of South America — and my short version is simple: it is a solid airline. Safe, modern, predictable. But there is one booking trap I watch catch travelers over and over, so let us start there: the cheapest LATAM fare does not include a carry-on bag.
Who LATAM Colombia Actually Is
The Colombian operation has deeper local roots than the name suggests. It began as AIRES in 1980, a Colombian regional carrier, was bought by Chile’s LAN in 2010, and has flown under the LATAM name since the group rebranding. Today LATAM Airlines Colombia is part of LATAM Airlines Group — South America’s largest airline group — with its Colombian hub at El Dorado in Bogotá and an all-Airbus A320-family fleet on domestic routes. It is the second-largest airline in Colombia after Avianca, and on a lot of routes it is the natural alternative when Avianca’s fare looks high.
In practice that history means you get group-level standards — fleet, safety systems, the app, the loyalty program — applied to a domestic Colombian network.
Is LATAM a Safe Airline?
Yes, by the measures that matter. AirlineRatings, the independent safety monitor, scores LATAM six stars out of seven: IOSA certified, no fatal accidents in the past ten years, no EU operating ban, full marks on operating standards. Nothing in my own experience across many flights has ever contradicted that — the operation feels drilled.
For the sake of honesty rather than alarm: the Colombian operation’s predecessor, AIRES, had a fatal landing accident in San Andrés in August 2010, before LAN bought the airline and rebuilt it. That is part of the record and I would rather you hear it from me. The airline flying today — fleet, management, procedures — is a different operation under group standards, and its last decade is clean.
Punctuality: Good, Not the Best in the Region
Cirium’s 2025 on-time data puts LATAM group-wide at 82.4% on-time across more than 580,000 flights. That matches what I have lived: flights mostly leave when they say they will, and when they slip it is usually minutes, not hours. It is still well behind the regional benchmark, Copa’s 90.75% — if your itinerary lives or dies on a tight connection, that gap is worth knowing about. I compared the region’s carriers in our Copa Airlines review.
The Fares — and the Carry-On Trap
LATAM sells domestic tickets in four buckets, and the names matter more than they seem:
- Basic — a personal item that fits under the seat, and nothing else. No carry-on suitcase. I have stood at gates at El Dorado and watched travelers find this out in real time, card in hand.
- Light — adds the carry-on bag. For most travelers this is the real minimum fare.
- Plus — adds checked baggage (23 kg, one or two bags depending on route) and seat selection.
- Top — two 23 kg checked bags and flexible changes.
When you compare LATAM against Avianca or a low-cost carrier, compare Light against Light — the Basic price in the search results is not the price most people can actually travel on. The current allowances and fees are on LATAM’s own baggage pages, which is where I check before every booking.
WiFi, LATAM Play, and the One Tip That Saves Your Flight
The domestic A320s have no seat-back screens. Everything runs through LATAM Play on your own phone or tablet — so download the LATAM app and your content before you board, because you cannot install anything once you are in the air. I learned that one the way everyone does. Bring your own headphones too.
Beyond that, LATAM operates the largest WiFi-connected fleet in Latin America — more than 250 aircraft — with the narrow-body fleet, which is what flies domestically in Colombia, slated to be fully equipped. Long-haul widebodies start getting WiFi in 2026. On a one-hour Bogotá–Medellín hop this hardly matters; on Bogotá–Santiago it does.
The Alliance Question — Read This If You Collect Miles
LATAM left the oneworld alliance in May 2020 and did not join another. It is allied with no one, which still surprises frequent flyers who remember earning British Airways or Qantas points on LATAM metal. Today the loyalty program is LATAM Pass, and the airline’s big partnership is with Delta across the Americas. If your miles live with American, British Airways or another oneworld program, they no longer accrue here the way they once did — check your program’s current partner list before assuming anything.
Who Should Fly LATAM in Colombia
LATAM makes the most sense when it is priced against Avianca on the trunk routes into and out of Bogotá, when you are connecting onward into the group’s South American network — Lima, Santiago, São Paulo — or when you hold LATAM Pass or Delta status. Budget travelers comparing against Wingo or JetSMART should do the Light-fare comparison first; the gap is usually smaller than the headline prices suggest.
My Verdict
After many flights: a safe, modern, well-run second option in Colombia — six-star safety rating, a young Airbus fleet, real WiFi coverage, honest mid-pack punctuality. Book Light unless you genuinely travel with nothing, download the app before boarding, and know that your oneworld miles stopped working here in 2020. For how it stacks against the rest of the market, see our reviews of Avianca, Copa, JetSMART, Wingo and SATENA.
