TAM Set For Expansion

Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines is gearing up for a major expansion in the domestic market. Historically, growth in demand on internal flights in Brazil has a strong correlation with GDP growth and based on an internal analysis, TAM estimates that for 2011 the demand in the domestic Brazilian market will grow between 15 per cent and 18 per cent, driven by both business and leisure traffic.

“In 2010 we observed a change in passenger profile in Brazil, with the migration of travellers from buses to airlines, especially on journeys of more than 800 kilometres,” explained Líbano Barroso, Chief Executive Officer, TAM Airlines.

This year TAM is due to add two Airbus A330 widebodies, two A321s and three A319s to its fleet. “We will also continue to optimise our costs through the healthy utilisation of our aircraft in the domestic market, growing our supply from 10 per cent to 14 per cent -in the international market the supply will grow 10 per cent,”added Marco Antonio Bologna, TAM S.A.’s CEO.