Brazilian airline TAM is to double its departures from Heathrow to Rio de Janeiro, matching British Airways’ frequency.
TAM will offer six flights a week from August 2, identical to BA, which also moved from three flights a week to six last month. TAM, which only began operating the Rio route last August, offers an overnight service to Rio, whereas BA offers a daytime flight.
BA, unlike TAM, does not feature a first class product on the Rio route, but TAM’s business class seat is an inclined flat bed, unlike BA’s. Both carriers are keen to have increased frequencies in place in the run-up to Rio’s hosting of the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2012. There are also strong business links, chiefly the oil and gas industries.
BA uses a Boeing 777 to fly to Rio, but TAM operates an Airbus A330 seating 223, with four seats in first class and 36 in business.
Brazil has seen a big increase in flights from UK. Earlier this year, BA made its Sao Paulo route stand-alone, having previously operated to the city en route to Buenos Aires. TAM's appearance on the Rio route last year also effectively left its Sao Paulo flight as a stand-alone, as many had used it just to connect to Rio.