Aerolane
Ecuador · LAN ECUADOR · Active
Airline Identity
History
The airline behind IATA code XL was incorporated in Ecuador in July 2002 under the legal name Aerolane, Líneas Aéreas Nacionales del Ecuador S.A., and began flying as LAN Ecuador on 23 April 2003 with two Boeing 767-300ERs as part of the Chile-based LAN Airlines group's regional expansion. It joined the oneworld alliance in 2007 as a LAN subsidiary, added domestic Ecuadorian routes from 2009, and was rebranded LATAM Airlines Ecuador in 2016 after LAN's 2012 merger with Brazil's TAM Airlines formed LATAM Airlines Group.
Current Operations
LATAM Airlines Ecuador (still using "Aerolane" as its legal corporate name) continues flying today as the Ecuadorian operating subsidiary of LATAM Airlines Group, serving domestic routes and connections from its Guayaquil and Quito bases; it withdrew from the oneworld alliance in May 2020 alongside the rest of LATAM Group. Like its parent, the carrier filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020 amid the COVID-19 downturn but continued operating throughout the process, and LATAM Airlines Group completed its financial restructuring and exited Chapter 11 in November 2022.
Last verified 2026-09-03· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.