LATAM Airlines expands frequency of Brazil international flights; Air France adds route

LATAM Airlines

16/05/2024 16:57

By Gabriel Araujo
       SAO PAULO, May 16 (Reuters) - LATAM Airlines  LTM.SN 
will increase the frequency of seven of its international routes
connecting Brazil to the United States and countries in Europe
and Africa, it said on Thursday.
    The move by Chile-based LATAM, whose local unit is currently
Brazil's No. 1 carrier in international operations by market
share, comes as rival Air France KLM  AIRF.PA  also announced it
would add a new route to the South American nation.
    Carriers have been enjoying healthy demand for air travel in
Latin America's largest economy and expressed optimism about the
Brazilian market, even as they struggle to add capacity during 
an ongoing aircraft shortage.
    LATAM said starting Oct. 27, it will increase flights from
Sao Paulo to Orlando, Los Angeles, Johannesburg, Milan, Rome,
Madrid and Lisbon by 38% when compared to the same period a year
ago.
    All flights will be operated by widebody aircraft seating up
to 410 passengers, LATAM said, such as the Boeing 777  BA.N .
The company's long-haul fleet also includes the Boeing 787. 
    The South American airline has been growing since its exit
in late 2022 from a bankruptcy process triggered by a drop in
traffic related to the coronavirus pandemic. It expects to post
record core earnings in 2024 backed by increased demand.
    Earlier on Thursday, Air France KLM said it would also bump
up its operations in Brazil with a new flight connecting Paris
and Salvador three times a week from late October.
    "Brazil is one of the countries that received the most
investments from Air France in recent months," the carrier's
South America head Manuel Flahault said, adding the flights will
be operated by Airbus A350  AIR.PA  planes.
    With the move, Air France KLM will get back to the number of
weekly flights it had in Brazil before the COVID-19 pandemic,
with 44 operations a week also serving Sao Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro, Fortaleza and Belem.
    Air France has a commercial partnership with Brazilian
airline Gol  GOLL4.SA  in the country.

 (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((Gabriel.Araujo2@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5047-3352;))