TAM Airlines Boosts Capacity to Europe And North America

Richard Maslen April 14, 2011

TAM Airlines has confirmed plans to increase frequencies from Rio de Janeiro to Frankfurt, London and New York following the arrival of two additional Airbus A330s in April and May this year. From May 1, it plans to serve Frankfurt daily and introduce a fifth weekly rotation to New York. From August 1, it plans to add a sixth weekly flight to New York as well as doubling capacity to London from three to six services per week. The growth for May has already been approved, although the August expansion is still awaiting the green light by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).

Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s major tourist destinations and TAM already has a strong presence at its Tom Jobim International Airport/ Galeão. "Rio's airport is already our second international connecting hub, from it we already have direct flights to New York, Miami, Buenos Aires, Paris, Frankfurt and London,” said Líbano Barroso, Chief Executive Officer, TAM Linhas Aéreas. “With the new frequencies we are reaffirming our passion for Rio and recognising the city's importance as a gateway to and from the country for business or leisure travelers."

AIRPORT ANALYSIS: RIO DE JANEIRO TOM JOBIM INTERNATIONAL (non-stop weekly flights)
Rank	Airline	Destinations	Flights	Seats	% Capacity
1	Gol Transportes Aereos	26	506	84,084	42.6 %
2	TAM Airlines	24	429	64,722	32.8 %
3	WebJet Linhas Aéreas	5	56	6,608	3.3 %
4	Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras	1	39	4,524	2.3 %
5	Air France	1	12	4,273	2.2 %
OTHERS			168	33,327	16.9 %
TOTAL			1,210	197,538	-

TAM has served the Frankfurt route for just eight months but has already secured a 56 per cent share of the 13,400 O&D passengers that travelled on the route in the past year. It has served the New York market from Rio de Janeiro slightly longer, launching flights in November 2008. It carried approximately 26,000 O&D passengers on the route in the last year. Meanwhile, between Rio and London, a route that British Airways also plans to boost frequencies from January 2012, TAM holds a 25 per cent share of the 48,000 O&D passengers.

“Rio de Janeiro is the main gateway for tourists in the country, and this should extend to major events to come, as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, "said Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro. "I am very pleased to hear the announcement by TAM, which recognises the global importance of Rio de Janeiro and will bring, with these new flights, a greater offer of access for passengers from Europe and the United States to our city and our state, both for tourism and business."

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