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LATAM Airlines Brasil

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TAM Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
KK (until 2000)
JJ (since 2000) 		TAM TAM
Founded1976
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programTAM Fidelidade
Multiplus Fidelidade
AllianceStar Alliance
Fleet size145 (+76 orders)
Destinations61
HeadquartersSão Paulo, SP, Brazil
Key peopleLíbano Barroso (CEO)
Websitehttp://www.tam.com.br
The headquarters of TAM
Former TAM logo
Airbus A340-500

Template:Three other uses

TAM Airlines[4] (Portuguese: TAM Linhas Aéreas) (BM&F Bovespa: TAMM3, TAMM4 / NYSE: TAM) is Brazil's largest airline. It is headquartered in the city of São Paulo,[5] and operates scheduled services to destinations within Brazil, as well as international flights to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. The company is traded on the São Paulo Exchange (BM&F Bovespa) and New York Stock Exchange as "TAM S.A."[6].

According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 2009, TAM had 45.60% of the domestic and 86.47% of the international market shares in terms of passengers/km and in relation to the same period in 2008, it increased its share in the domestic market in 6.46% and in the international market it increased in 14.24%. In July 2010, its shares were of 43.00% for the domestic and 82.73% for the international markets.[7]

History

TAM – Táxi Aéreo Marília

TAM – Táxi Aéreo Marília and TAM – Transportes Aéreos Regionais are two different judicial entities, though belonging to the same TAM Group. TAM – Marília, an air taxi company founded in 1961, provided the experience needed for the start-up of TAM – Regionais.

Further information: TAM – Táxi Aéreo Marília

TAM – Transportes Aéreos Regionais (KK)

TAM Airbus A319

On November 11, 1975 the Brazilian Federal Government created the Brazilian Integrated System of Regional Air Transportation and divided the country in five different regions, to which five newly-created regional airlines received a concession to operate air services. TAM - Transportes Aéreos Regionais S/A was the third of those regional airlines to be made operational. Its services started on July 12, 1976 and its operational area comprised parts of the Southeast and Central West regions of Brazil, specifically the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, and parts of Mato Grosso, and São Paulo plus the possibility to serve the cities Cuiabá, Rio de Janeiro, Londrina, Maringá and Brasília when linking them to its area of concession.[8]

TAM-Linhas Aéreas Regionais was formed as a joint-venture between TAM-Táxi Aéreo Marília and VASP, then a state-owned airline. The airline received the IATA code KK[9] and flew Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirantes at first. These, however, proved grossly inadequate for the task at hand, and even at full capacity needed to be subsidized by the government in order to be profitable.

TAM Airbus A320 in the former livery

TAM went on to purchase three used Fokker F27 turboprops, which were then refurbished by Fokker in Holland. In order to obtain the import authorization for the aircraft, a deal was struck with the government where TAM was forced to maintain 3 Bandeirantes for every F27, as well as removing 5 seats from each one, bringing the F27's capacity down to 40 passengers. A fourth F27, previously owned by Air New Zealand, was incorporated in 1981. TAM would eventually own 10 F27s by 1983.

By 1981, TAM had flown 1 million passengers, and 2 million by 1984.

TAM (KK) and TAM (JJ)

In August 1986 the company, under financial stress, went public and began floating stock in the market. The same year, TAM - Transportes Aéreos Regionais (KK) acquired another regional airline, VOTEC, which operated in areas of northern and central Brazil. VOTEC was renamed Brasil Central Linhas Aéreas. TAM and Brasil Central, were both regional airlines and operated in different designated areas. They however operated as a consortium with integrated networks and fleet, being the most notable differences the flight-number IATA codes, the color scheme of the aircraft and the areas where they were authorized to operate: whereas TAM - Transportes Aéreos Regionais flights had the IATA code KK, Brasil Central operated with the code JJ inherited from Votec; each one kept a different color scheme and operated in their own designated areas.

On May 15, 1990 the Brazilian Government lifted restrictions on operational areas of regional airlines allowing them to fly anywhere in Brazil. As a consequence, Brasil Central was renamed TAM - Transportes Aéreos Meridionais, acquired the same color scheme of TAM (KK) but maintained the IATA code JJ. In 2000 TAM (KK) was merged into TAM (JJ) and TAM (JJ) was renamed TAM Transportes Aéreos. The IATA code KK is now used by Atlasjet.

In 1988, TAM flew its 3 millionth passenger.

A TAM Fokker 100 in Curitiba in the former livery

Despite TAM's success in the market, it was evident the airline would not last long when competing against airlines such as Varig and VASP which already possessed Boeing 737s in their fleet. Amaro then tried to buy VASP, about to be privatized, and called the project "Revolution". Having lost the bid, he opted for a slower growth with a gradual addition of new aircraft, re-dubbed "Evolution".

On September 15, 1989, TAM arranged for the acquisition of two Fokker 100 jets, which had originally been ordered by the now-bankrupt Pan American World Airways. Like the F27s before them, TAM did not actually purchase them, but used Amaro's credibility to arrange for a third-party asset management company, Guinness Peat Aviation to purchase them and subsequently lease them back to TAM. Two more were added in 1991. In 1992, TAM carried its eight millionth passenger. By 1993, through the use of the Fokker 100 fleet which now numbered at 14, TAM was serving 56 cities in Brazil.

TAM (PZ)

In 1994 TAM Airlines established a small subsidiary airline in Paraguay, called ARPA - Aerolineas Paraguayas, with a fleet consisting mostly of Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft, formerly operated by TAM. On September 1, 1996, TAM via ARPA purchased 80% of the shares of the former state-owned LAP - Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas and merged it with ARPA. The new airline was named TAM - Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur and maintained the IATA code of LAP, PZ. Today TAM owns 94.98% and the Paraguayan government 5.02% of the shares.

In 2008, following a branding strategy, the name TAM Mercosur was dropped and the airline adopted an identical corporate identity of TAM Airlines. However, its corporate structure remains the same.[10]

Main article: TAM Airlines (Paraguay)

International flights

TAM Airbus A330-200 in the former livery

In 1996, TAM bought another air company, Helisul, which used the trade name of TAM. In 1997, TAM ordered its first large jets; the airline ordered 45 planes from Airbus, including 10 A330s, 4 A319s, and 34 A320s. In 1997, the Airbuses began to be delivered and the airline flew its first international service, from São Paulo to Miami International Airport.

Two years later, in 1999, services to Europe were inaugurated through a code share service with Air France, to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. In 2000 the airline was renamed TAM Linhas Aéreas in Portuguese. Long running discussions to merge with Varig ended in 2004. In 2008, TAM transported 30,144,000 passengers, with an average load factor of 71%.[11]

As of 2010, the airline is owned by the Amaro family (46.25%), Amaro Aviation Part (3.52%), treasury stocks (0.27%) and minority shareholders (49.96%). It employs 24,000 staff.[11]

On May 13, 2010 TAM became the 27th member of Star Alliance.[12]

On August 13, 2010, TAM signed a non-binding agreement with Chilean airline LAN Airlines to merge.[13]

Destinations

This building across from Congonhas-São Paulo Airport advertised TAM Airlines's TAM Express (now TAM Cargo) service. The TAM Airlines Flight 3054 disaster destroyed the building.

TAM Airlines has an extensive networking covering Europe, South and North America.

Main article: TAM Airlines destinations

Many other destinations are operated through code-share agreements, most of them by its partners airlines from Star Alliance, but also from others airlines such as LAN Airlines and Pluna.

Subsidiaries

  • TAM Cargo provides cargo services.[14]
  • Multiplus Fidelidade is the customer loyalty network.[14]
  • TAM Aviação Executiva provides air services for business executives.[14]
  • TAM Museum (Portuguese: Museu TAM) is a museum dedicated to the airline's history.[14]
  • TAM Viagens provides vacation package services for Brazilians,[14] while TAM Vacations provides vacation package services for Americans.[15][16]

TAM Airlines (Paraguay) a Paraguayan airline owned by TAM

Pantanal Linhas Aéreas is a airline company owned by TAM

Cine TAM is a theater in São Paulo owned by the airline company.

TAM Fidelidade

TAM Fidelidade is the frequent flyer program of TAM Airlines. The program points can be reversed in tickets for TAM and all Star Alliance partners. It is divided into the following categories and percentages of mileage accrual:

Card Type Economy class seats Business class seats First class seats
WHITE
100% (100%)
100% + 25% (125%)
100% + 50% (150%)
BLUE
100% + 25% (125%)
100% + 25% + 25% (150%)
100% + 25% + 50% (175%)
RED
100% + 50% (150%)
100% + 50% + 25% (175%)
100% + 50% + 50% (200%)

Fleet

On June 16, 2005, TAM announced the purchase of 20 additional Airbus A320 family aircraft (including all the models A319, A320 and A321), plus an additional 20 options. These are expected to be delivered between late 2007 and 2010, adding to the already scheduled delivery of 6 A320s between 2006 and 2008. At the same time, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus stating its intent to buy 10 of the new Airbus A350-900 (plus 5 options), with deliveries due to commence at the end of 2012. These are expected to replace the A330 on the Paris and Miami routes as they become available.[citation needed]

TAM has signed a firm contract with Airbus to acquire 37 additional aircraft. The order comprises 12 A319s, 16 A320s, 3 A321s and 3 A330s and includes 12 unspecified extra options. This would bring TAMs fleet, acquired directly from Airbus to 115 aircraft [17] The commitments are separate from deals last year for 29 firm-ordered A320s and 20 options. The deliveries are to be concluded by 2010.

On October 31, 2006, TAM announced an order for 4 Boeing 777-300ER wide-body planes plus options for another 4 planes of the same type, which it later confirmed as orders. Deliveries of the 370-seat 777s commenced in 2008.[18]

TAM announced that on November 30, 2007, it would offer a new daily flight to Frankfurt am Main, Germany after receiving its second Airbus A340-500.[19][20]

Fleet maintenance is partly conducted at the technology center at São Carlos Airport [21][22]

The passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of April 2010):[23]

TAM Airlines Fleet[11][24][25]
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers[26]
(First/Business/Economy) 		Age
(years) 		Notes
Airbus A319-100 25 6 144(0/144) 5.9
Airbus A320-200 82 44 174(0/174)

156(0/12/144)

6.2
Airbus A321-200 7 13 220(0/220) 1.9
Airbus A330-200 18 2

223(4/36/183)

6.2
Airbus A340-500 2 0 267(42/225) 7.0
Airbus A350-800 0 12 TBA
Airbus A350-900 0 15 TBA
Boeing 767-300ER 3 0 205(30/175) 14.8 Phasing out by: 2013
Boeing 777-300ER 4 6 362(4/56/302) 1.4
Total 141 86 6.1
TAM Airlines check-in counter at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport


RETIRED TAM Airlines Fleet [25]
Aircraft Total Years of operation
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante - -
Fokker F27 - -
Fokker 50 10 1991—2003
Fokker 100 54 1991—2008
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 3 2007—2008

Accidents and incidents

  • On February 8, 1979, a Bandeirante crashed near the town of Agudos killing all 18 people aboard. This was the first accident with loss of life for TAM.[citation needed]
  • On July 4, 1984 a second Bandeirante crashed in poor weather on approach near Macaé, killing all 17 people aboard.[citation needed]
  • On February 12, 1990 a F-27 aborted its landing, striking houses and a car outside the airport of Bauru. The 2 occupants of the car were killed.[citation needed]
  • On October 31, 1996, TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashed shortly after take-off from Congonhas, striking an apartment building and several houses. All 90 passengers and 6 crew members on board died. Three people were killed on ground. The crash was attributed to a faulty thrust-reverser in the right engine deploying after take-off.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Star Alliance Facts & Figures"
  2. ^ "Star Alliance Facts & Figures"
  3. ^ "Star Alliance Facts & Figures"
  4. ^ "TAM Airlines." TAM Airlines. Retrieved on February 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "Contact Us." TAM Airlines. Retrieved on September 21, 2009.
  6. ^ "TAM S.A.," NYSE Euronext
  7. ^ "Dados Comparativos Avançados" (in Portuguese). Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  8. ^ Garófalo, Gílson de Lima (1982). O Mercado Brasileiro de Transporte Aéreo Regional (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas. pp. 103–107, 122–125.
  9. ^ Home Page on October 13, 1999. TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais
  10. ^ "TAM Airlines Consolidates Fleet and Initiates New Air Network." Reuters. Monday May 26, 2008. Retrieved on February 2, 2009.
  11. ^ a b c Airways magazine, Fast Facts - TAM Linhas Aereas, February 2010, p. 25
  12. ^ Caswell, Mark (30 March 2010). "TAM to join Star Alliance on May 13". Business Traveller. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  13. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN1321787820100813?rpc=44
  14. ^ a b c d e "TAM Group Companies." TAM Airlines. Retrieved on August 12, 2010.
  15. ^ http://www.tamviagens.com.br/
  16. ^ http://www.tamvacations.com/
  17. ^ Airliner World January 2007
  18. ^ TAM Announces Purchase of Four Boeing 777-300ERs and Four Purchase Rights.
  19. ^ TAM Press Release," TAM Airlines
  20. ^ "TAUME.COM Business News," Taume.com - World Business
  21. ^ "Centro Tecnológico de São Carlos," TAM Airlines
  22. ^ "Brazil MRO sector poised for major expansion". Flightglobal. 06 July 2010. Retrieved 06 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  23. ^ Fleet Ref
  24. ^ TAM Airlines fleet - Official website
  25. ^ a b http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/TAM.htm
  26. ^ http://www.seatplans.com/airlines/TAM-Brazilian-Airlines
  27. ^ TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 283, Airdisaster.com
  28. ^ Video of Flight 3084 after landing YouTube. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
  29. ^ Template:Pt iconTAM says damage assessment is still not possible. Folha Online. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  30. ^ Template:En icon'Many dead' in Brazil plane crash. BBC News. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  31. ^ Template:Pt iconTAM Airplane loses control and hits warehouse. Folha Online. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  32. ^ Fiery plane crash at São Paulo airport kills at least 200
  33. ^ "Acidente com o Airbus da TAM é o pior da América Latina." BBC Brasil. July 18, 2007. Retrieved on June 5, 2009.
  • [1] (2007). TAM magazine.
  • [2] (2007). TAM confirms purchase of 02 Airbus A340-500. São Paulo.
  • Thales Guaracy(2003). O Sonho Brasileiro. São Paulo : A Girafa.
  • [3](2005). TAM confirms purchase of 20 Airbus A319/A320/A321. São Paulo.
  • [4](2006) . Airbus customer turns to Boeing with billion-dollar 777 order. The Seattle Times.
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