Three more foreign airlines have applied to operate domestic flights in Brazil as Latin America’s largest air travel market continues to open up to new entrants. Routesonline looks at the growth of the Brazilian domestic market despite the suspension of Avianca Brasil’s operations.
Scandinavian low-cost carrier Norwegian has unveiled plans to “break the monopoly” on flights from the UK to Brazil, with its first service from London Gatwick to Rio de Janeiro set to begin in March 2019. The airline is also making a series of changes to its US network.
Brazilian airline GOL is adding a tenth country to its network with the launch of a direct route to Ecuador. The São Paulo - Quito service is the result of a “decisive breakthrough” made at Routes Americas 2018, which took place in the Ecuadorian city in February.
LATAM Airlines has signalled its intention to expand its European footprint with flights to Munich at a time when Brazil’s aviation market looks primed to take off again.
The long-awaited open skies agreement between the US and Brazil has finally been ratified, allowing for increased air services between the two countries and greater competition between airlines.
United Airlines has raised its stake in Brazilian low-cost carrier Azul, citing connecting traffic as a reason behind the move. The deal comes as an impending US-Brazil open skies agreement looks set to increase services, routes and competition between the two countries.
Peter Cerdá, the regional vice president in the Americas for IATA, discusses the future of Latin America, infrastructure concerns and trends throughout the region.
