Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways has started a daily service from Doha to Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
It is the airline's first foray into the South America market and completes chief executive Akbar Al Baker's ambition of expanding the network across six continents.
Al Baker said the service would help boost economic ties between Qatar and both Brazil and Argentina.
Speaking after the inaugural QR921 flight, he said: "The timing of our new routes could not have been better and we are confident that entering the relatively untapped South American market will be a great success.
"With a large Lebanese and Japanese community living in Brazil, Argentina and neighbouring South American countries, the route is a perfect match for our business model, which carries passengers from East to West and vice versa via our Doha hub."
The new routes complete a five-month expansion programme this year which has seen the airline introduce flights to Bengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen, Ankara, Tokyo and Barcelona.