Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines has announced that it will launch regional operations within the South American country next year and it is currently in discussions with aircraft manufacturer’s to source regional jet equipment to support the latest stage in its development.
The carrier’s chairman, Marco Antonio Bologna, and chief executive officer, Claudia Sender confirmed at a board meeting last week that independent of any regulatory changes that may be implemented by the Brazilian government through the Regional Aviation Development Program (PDAR), TAM will grow its regional activities.
This decision, which has already been included in the strategic plans of LATAM Airlines Group for the future, will see TAM add between four and six new regional destinations to its network every year. To support its plans it is in the “advanced stages of negotiations” with aircraft manufacturers to acquire 18 aircraft and options for 12 more.
“Our plans call for the use of new-generation aircraft,” said Bologna. “Now we only need to conclude these negotiations with competitive prices and adequate financing conditions”. It hopes to conclude these negotiations by the end of the first quarter of 2015.
TAM is playing an active role in expanding domestic aviation in Brazil by investing $4.6 billion in its fleet through 2018, with orders for over 50 new aircraft. The carrier is also evaluating other regional aircraft options to strengthen its presence in this market but until then, the airline will operate regional routes using leased aircraft or aircraft currently in its fleet. The smallest aircraft currently in the TAM fleet is the Airbus A319, with capacity for 144 passengers.
“Regional aviation is where we started; it is in our corporate DNA. We serve cities in the so-called average-density markets and, therefore, we are already established in this segment,” said Sender. “Given its vast size, regional aviation is vital to Brazil.”
In keeping with the Group’s strategic fleet plan, TAM will be the first airline in the Americas and the fourth in the world to take delivery, in late 2015, of the new Airbus A350. “We are also investing around $183 million within the next two years in over 200 projects that will provide for new services and technologies for our customers, productivity and sustainability technologies, and infrastructure for our employees,” announced Sender.
“This initiative reinforces our confidence in the country and our desire to advance even further. We are the airline that transports the greatest number of Brazilians in both domestic and international routes. TAM is also the air carrier that transports the most foreigners to Brazil and the most cargo within Brazil,” she added.
In the chart, below, we look more closely at the Brazilian domestic market and highlight the largest operating carriers by seat capacity over the past five years. Total capacity within Brazil has seen a slight decline over the past two years (down 1.8 per cent in 2013 and 0.7 per cent in 2014) from the high of 2012, but still equates to over 131 million annual seats.
A period of consolidation has seen TAM’s own capacity decline over the past five years from 46 million annual seats in 2010 to almost 42 million this year, but it remains the second largest operator in the domestic market behind Gol Transportes Aereos.
Data provided by 
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