US Airways has applied for permission to serve São Paulo from its Charlotte hub in South Carolina using B767-200ER equipment from January 10, 2011 with a planned daily rotation.
The move will not be the carrier's first entry into Brazil as it already has non-stop service from its Charlotte hub to Rio de Janeiro, which is operated on a daily basis, also with B767 equipment.
US Airways will increase its presence in the US to Brazil market where there are currently 182 weekly frequencies operated by the following carriers:
|
Carrier |
Weekly Flights |
Route Pairs |
|
55 |
6 |
|
|
53 |
6 |
|
|
27 |
5 |
|
|
21 |
3 |
|
|
14 |
2 |
|
|
7 |
1 |
|
|
Korean Air |
3 |
1 Extension service |
|
2 |
1 Extension service |
|
|
Total |
182 |
25 |
Source Flightbase September 14-20, 2010
The leading non-stop city pairs by carrier between the US and Brazil in terms of passenger volume are outlined below:
|
Route Pair |
Passenger Numbers (Two-Way) |
Carrier |
Share of total US- Brazil market |
|
Miami-São Paulo |
167,305 |
American Airlines |
6% |
|
Miami-São Paulo |
114,469 |
TAM |
4% |
|
JFK-São Paulo |
87,125 |
American Airlines |
4 |
|
JFK-São Paulo |
87,526 |
TAM |
4 |
|
JFK-São Paulo |
65,164 |
Delta Air Lines |
2 |
Source: IATA BSP data (Airport IS) May 09-10
IATA BSP data shows that the US to Brazil market is growing. Between May 2008-2009, according to IATA BSP data just over 2.5 million passengers flew between the two countries. During May 2009-2010 this number had risen to over 3.1 million O+D passengers, 2.8 million of which flew on non-stop services.
The table below illustrates the leading carriers in terms of passengers share between the US and Brazil:
|
Carrier |
Passengers (May 09-10 Two-Way) |
Passenger Share |
|
American Airlines |
1.745 Million |
32% |
|
TAM |
762,562 |
23% |
|
Delta Air Lines |
465,865 |
15% |
|
United Airlines |
369,016 |
12% |
|
Continental Airlines |
289,466 |
9% |
|
Others |
251,551 |
9% |
|
Total |
3,103,205 |
100% |
Source: IATA BSP DATA
The leading carrier that does not operate any non-stop service between the two countries is Copa Airlines, which carried over 2% of the total US-Brazil traffic via its Panama hub.
Charlotte is a natural hub for US Airways' Latin American expansion, as it offers shorter sector lengths than Philadelphia as well as a growing European network. The O&D market between Charlotte and São Paulo is smaller, with approximately 5,000 annual passengers flying between the two cities, however US Airways will seek to capture transfer traffic at Charlotte.
Charlotte will be used a transfer point that allows passengers to connect to US Airways' services. In terms of operated flights, Charlotte is US Airways' largest hub, with 4,210 weekly flights to 124 destinations, which provides excellent onward connections for its own passengers and those of Star Alliance partner TAM. US Airways passengers will also be able to connect onto TAM's flights in São Paulo.
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