TAM to add European markets

Brazilian national carrier TAM will open two new European gateways in the second half of 2010 planning to add widebody A330 aircraft from Rio de Janeiro to London Heathrow and Frankfurt. TAM operates Rio as a secondary European gateway with just a daily Paris CDG service, whereas from Sao Paulo the carrier operates a daily Frankfurt, London, Madrid and Milan (daily) to complement a double daily to Paris CDG.

BA currently operates a 3x weekly from LHR to Rio de Janeiro, there is no current non-stop service from Rio to Frankfurt. IATA BSP data (Airport IS) shows that over 21,000 passengers flew the route indirectly with the majority flying via Sao Paulo with TAM or with Air France via Charles de Gaulle.