TAM and Lufthansa Combine Their Frequent Flyer Programs
February 14 2008 - 7:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Agreement makes possible to accumulate and redeem points from
Fidelidade TAM program, and miles from Lufthansa's Miles & More
program, on national and international flights of both airlines SAO
PAULO, Brazil, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM (Bovespa:
TAMM4 and NYSE: TAM) and Lufthansa have initiated a partnership
that will allow customers to accumulate and redeem frequent flyer
points on Fidelidade TAM program and miles from Miles & More on
flights operated by both airlines. The combination of the frequent
flyer programs are part of the agreement signed between TAM and
Lufthansa last year, aiming to expand services offered to
customers. The companies are also planning to initiate codeshare
flights on national and international routes within the first
quarter of this year. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060418/SPTU001LOGO ) In this
first phase of the partnership between the two companies, TAM
passengers can use points accumulated in the Fidelidade TAM program
to travel on any domestic or international flight operated by
Lufthansa. In the same way, participants in Lufthansa's Miles &
More program can convert their miles into points to be used on
TAM's domestic and international flights. Paulo Castello Branco,
vice-president of Planning and Alliances at TAM, affirms that the
agreement with Lufthansa will bring immediate benefits to
passengers of both airlines. "The integration of Fidelidade TAM
program with Miles & More strengthens our strategy of
establishing partnerships with the main airlines in the world, and
also seeking to offer individualized service to our customers,"
says Castello Branco. Stephen Lauer, member of the president's
office of the Lufthansa Group, who is in Sao Paulo today, February
14, said that he is very satisfied with the partnership. "We are
seeking through this agreement a way to increase our flight
offerings between Europe and Brazil, which will come about through
code sharing, as well as better ways of serving our passengers,
including faster connections and, starting now, integration of our
frequent flyer programs." The Lufthansa Group, including SWISS, has
21 weekly flights between Brazil and Europe, flying with Lufthansa
from Sao Paulo to Munich and Frankfurt daily, and with SWISS, from
Sao Paulo to Zurich daily. From these two hubs in Germany and
Zurich, Lufthansa offers connections to all of Europe, Asia and the
Middle East. Overall, the group serves 188 different destinations
in 79 countries, and is part of the Star Alliance. Lufthansa's
mileage program Miles & More was started 15 years ago and has
more than 14 million participants all over the world. In Brazil,
there are approximately 80 thousand members. TAM is a pioneer among
Brazil's airlines in launching its Programa Fidelidade for frequent
flyers. The company now has 4.5 million members and has already
issued more than 5.2 million tickets for frequent flyer points. A
market leader, TAM serves 47 cities in Brazil, including all state
capitals and the Federal District. Through business agreements
signed with regional companies, it reaches 81 different
destinations in the national territory. TAM operations abroad
include direct flights to eleven destinations: New York and Miami
(USA), Paris (France), London (England), Milan (Italy), Frankfurt
(Germany), Madrid (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago
(Chile), Caracas (Venezuela) and Montevideo (Uruguay). With TAM
Mercosur, it flies to Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay),
Cordoba (Argentina), Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba
(Bolivia), among other cities in South America. TAM's daily flight
to Frankfurt departing from Guarulhos International Airport in Sao
Paulo began service last November 30th. This flight is operated
with the Airbus A340-500, with a capacity for up to 267 passengers
-- 42 seats in Executive Class and 225 in Economy Class. Investor
Relations: Press Agency Contact: Phone: +55-11-5582-9715 Phone:
+55-11-5582-8167 Fax: +55-11-5582-8149 Fax: +55-11-5582-8155
http://www.tam.com.br/ir MVL Comunicacao Phone: +55-11-3594-0302 /
0304 / 0305 About TAM: TAM (http://www.tam.com.br/) has been the
leader in the Brazilian domestic market for more than four years,
and held a 48.6% domestic market share and 67.0% international
market share at the end of January 2008. TAM operates regular
flights to 47 destinations throughout Brazil. It serves 81
different cities in the domestic market through regional alliances.
Additionally, it maintains code-share agreements with international
airline companies that allow passengers to travel to a large number
of destinations throughout the world. TAM was the first Brazilian
airline company to launch a loyalty program. Currently, the program
has over 4.5 million subscribers and has awarded more than 5.2
million tickets. About Lufthansa: The Lufthansa group
(http://www.lufthansa.com/) currently offers 21 weekly flights
between Sao Paulo and its three hubs in Frankfurt and Munich
(Lufthansa), as well as Zurich (SWISS). Passengers traveling from
Brazil's financial hub arrive at their destinations in Europe,
Asia, the Middle East and Africa with only one stop and short
layovers. Lufthansa serves 192 destinations in 78 countries and
last year set a new record of 62.9 million people flown.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060418/SPTU001LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: TAM CONTACT: Libano Miranda
Barroso, TAM Investor Relations, +011-55-11-5582-9715, fax,
+011-55-11-5582-8149, Web site: http://www.tam.com.br/
http://www.lufthansa.com/
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