TAM Is Authorized to Fly to Italy
November 23 2006 - 4:34PM
PR Newswire (US)
Italian and Brazilian Governments Approve Increase in the Bilateral
Agreement SAO PAULO, Brazil, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM
S.A. (BOVESPA: TAMM4, NYSE: TAM), received today the official
authorization from the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) to
initiate regular daily flights to Italy. TAM obtained this flight
based on the increase in the bilateral agreement, authorized this
month by the Italian and Brazilian governments. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060418/SPTU001LOGO ) The
start date and schedule of the new international operation will be
opportunely announced by TAM. All necessary measures to initiate
the flight in the first half of 2007 are already in place. Milan
will be the third destination that TAM flies to in Europe. This
flight will depart from Sao Paulo. The company already flies to
Paris (currently twice a day and, as of January 12 2007, three
times a day) and London. The strategy adopted by TAM in the
international segment is to grow selective in profitable markets.
According to ANAC, TAM ended last October with 58.2% market share
among the Brazilian companies that operate in the international
market. "The flight to Italy will strengthen our international
network because it is a destination that attracts both business and
leisure passengers, and also is another entrance to Europe," said
Marco Antonio Bologna, TAM's CEO. Brazil has a huge Italian
community, composed by 25 million descendants, of which 15 million
live in the State of Sao Paulo. Also in the international market,
TAM will start its second daily flight to New York, as of December
15, operates three daily flights to Miami, one departing from
Fortaleza (Ceara) with connections in Belem (Para) and Manaus
(Amazonas). Once a week, the flight to Miami that leaves from Sao
Paulo stops in Salvador. In South America, TAM has 49 weekly
flights to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and will operate the second
daily flight to Santiago, Chile as of January 2. Through TAM
Mercosur, it operates to six other destinations: Asuncion and
Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Montevideo and Punta del Este
(Uruguay), Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba (Bolivia). The
company also has a daily flight to Lima, in Peru, through a
code-share operation with Taca. About TAM: TAM
(http://www.tam.com.br/) has been the leader in the Brazilian
domestic market for more than three years, and held a 51.1%
domestic market share and 58.2% international market share at the
end of October 2006. TAM operates regular flights to 48
destinations throughout Brazil. It serves 74 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 3.3 million subscribers and has awarded more than 3.6
million tickets.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060418/SPTU001LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: TAM S.A. CONTACT: Investor
Relations: +55-11-5582-9715, Fax: +55-11-5582-8149, , or Press
Agency: +55-11-5582-8167, Fax: +55-11-5582-8155, , for TAM S.A. Web
site: http://www.tam.com.br/
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