After formalising an Open Skies Agreement with Brazil last year, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed that Sao Paulo will be its first South American destination, a route it will serve from its Singapore base via the Spanish city of Barcelona. Subject to receiving regulatory approvals, the carrier will launch the three-times weekly Boeing 777-300ER rotation from March 28 under a codeshare arrangement with fellow Star Alliance partner Spanair.
There is a strong potential for flights between Singapore and Brazil. There are currently no direct links between the two countries, although IATA BSP data shows that more than 12,000 passengers travelled between them during November 2009 and November 2010. On the Barcelona-Sao Paulo sector, SIA will again be the sole operator and with connecting traffic from its Star partners at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, its world-renowned onboard service and Spanair’s ‘JK’ code on its flights, it is sure to stimulate the market, potentially taking traffic away from Madrid. According to Flightbase (January 14-20), Iberia, TAM and Air China offer flights from Madrid to Sao Paulo, the latter as an extension of its Beijing service.
SIA has said it is looking to expand its network further in the region enhancing trade and tourism between Asia and South America. It has been eyeing opportunities in the fast-growing South American market for some time with the largest current traffic flows being to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Bogota, although these numbers are relatively low.
Related Content
