Brazilian airline TAM is to step up its operation between Sao Paulo and Frankfurt to a daily service following approval by ANAC (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil) to introduce four additional weekly frequencies to Germany. The airline will code share with Lufthansa and plans to start its new flights by the end of this year.
TAM, founded in 1961 and now the largest Brazilian airline, has been increasing its market share on international routes in recent times. It ended July with a 64.3% share among the Brazilian companies that operate internationally.
The airline serves London and Milan on a daily basis from Sao Paulo and Paris with three flights per day, two from Sao Paulo and one from Rio de Janeiro. In the US it flies to Miami (three flights per day, two from Sao Paulo and one from Manaus) and to New York (two flights per day).
TAM also flies to various destinations within South America: Buenos Aires and Cordoba (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), and Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba (Bolivia). The company has already announced the beginning of daily flights to Caracas (Venezuela) in September, Montevideo (Uruguay) in October, and Madrid (Spain) in December.
Sao Paulo is British Airways' only non-stop destination from the UK in the whole of South America. Varig, now part of GOL, says that it is planning Heathrow flights for November.