“Given the restriction was less pronounced than Chile’s, this give some comfort to the companies,” Rene Medrado, Lan’s attorney, told reporters in Brasilia today.

Tam shares rose 1.5 percent to 36.33 reais in Sao Paulo.Lan climbed 0.8 percent to 12,160 pesos in Santiago.

Santiago-based Lan agreed to buy Tam in an all-stock transaction announced in August last year. The combination follows similar tie-ups among US and European carriers trying to reduce operating costs and increase revenue by offering a broader global market to passengers.

Lan is appealing the Chilean antitrust conditions in the country's Supreme Court and expects to close the deal in the first quarter of 2012

Source: Bloomberg