Brazil’s Council for Economic Defence has approved the merger between LAN Airlines of Chile and TAM Airlines in a unanimous vote. Conditions imposed include giving up two pairs of slots at the Guarulhos Airport for the Sao Paulo-Santiago route and an eventual resignation to one of the airline’s alliance memberships.

Travel technology partner Amadeus and LAN Airlines have signed a multi-year full content agreement. The deal guarantees Amadeus travel agents worldwide access to the entire range of fares, schedules and inventory relating to the more than 18 million seats sold annually by the LAN Group Airlines.

LAN Airlines has confirmed it expects to complete the takeover of TAM Airlines of Brazil in the first quarter of 2012, following conditional approval from regulators. However, the carrier said it would assess the impact of conditions imposed by regulators in Chile.

The proposed merger of Chilean airline to Brazilian rival TAM Linhas Aereas has cleared its next administrative hurdle, with the antitrust unit of Brazil’s finance ministry granting its approval earlier. The body said it believed the deal would not harm competition in the country’s civil aviation market.

Brazilian airline TAM has confirmed it saw a sharp drop in profits during financial 2010, despite an upturn in company turnover. The largest airline in Brazil saw profits fall $362 million, down some 48.9 percent on the previous year, in part due to rising operating costs for fuel, staffing and maintenance.

Brazilian carrier TAM Linhas Aereas has outlined plans to merge with LAN Airlines of Chile to create the largest carrier in South America. However, discussions remain at a preliminary stage, with any transaction subject to approval from shareholders and regulators.