Brazilian airline expands fleet

Brazilian airline TAM has placed an order for 37 new Airbus aircraft to be delivered over the next four years.

Brazil's largest airline company, TAM, which ordered the planes to keep pace with growth in demand in its domestic market, will allocate six of its new planes to international routes including Paris, Miami and New York.

According to the Brazilian authority ANAC (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil) year-on-year growth of 21.2 per cent in the period from January to May was the decisive factor in the company's decision to order aircraft with greater numbers of seats.

The order includes 15 Airbus A319s, 16 A320s and six A330s.

Marco Bologna, TAM's Chief Executive Officer commented: "The increase in traffic density calls for us to use bigger aircraft that will help us cut costs per each seat/kilometre."

TAM has held the top position in the Brazilian domestic market for over two years while Latin America's former leading carrier, Varig, has been operating under bankruptcy since last year.

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