Qantas announced that it would codeshare on services operated by oneworld™ partner Lan Chile between Sydney and Santiago, Chile, from 1 July.Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing John Borghetti said Qantas would codeshare on three services each week between Sydney and Santiago via Auckland.

"Through the oneworld™ alliance, Qantas and Lan Chile have been working together to provide customers with the benefits of a comprehensive network, linked frequent flyer programs and smooth airport transfers.

"The addition of Santiago services to the Qantas network is a further strengthening of our relationship with Lan Chile, which will provide connections from Santiago to other South American destinations including Argentina and Brazil." The new services to Santiago will replace Qantas flights to Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Mr Borghetti said the number of passengers travelling between Buenos Aires and Australia had decreased significantly as a result of Argentina's political and economic turmoil.

"South America is an important market for Qantas, and for Australia, and by working with Lan Chile we are able to increase the number of services between Australia and South America," he said.