By Mark Pilling at Farnborough
Brazil’s TAM is the very epitome of a loyal customer. In late June it announced it was ordering another 37 Airbus aircraft, adding to a fleet that already numbers 60 A319s/A320s and A330s.
Furthermore, it demonstrated its loyalty to Airbus again recently by converting its 10 commitments for the original version of the A350 into the A350 Xtra Wide Body (XWB) model that the manufacturer unveiled at mid-July’s Farnborough Airshow. “The XWB is going to be a better aircraft so we are happy. It is going to fulfil our needs,” says TAM president Marco Antonio Bologna. Once Airbus has finalised the specification of the aircraft and when it is fully launched, TAM and Airbus will decide on a delivery timetable.
TAM will take the -900 version of the A350, which seats 314 people in a three-class configuration. It will serve long-haul routes like Brazil to London, New York and Paris, says Bologna. The type also has a decent cargo-carrying capacity which is important for TAM, he adds. Commonality with its current Airbus fleet was a major factor in TAM choosing the A350, says Bologna.
Like several other A350 customers, Bolgona is happy to see to relaunch of the aircraft with its wider cabin, especially if the price of the XWB model remains the same. He does not want to talk in detail about the financial discussions TAM is having with Airbus over the price, but he notes: “We don’t believe we should pay more.” Airbus is planning to deliver the first A350 XWBs from mid-2012.
In a briefing at Farnborough, Rafael Alonso, head of sales for Airbus in Latin America, stressed TAM’s importance for the manufacturer. “We thought TAM was going to be the airline of the future,” he says, as it examined the structure of the Brazilian market. “We bet on TAM.” With all the troubles at Varig, Brazil’s ailing flag carrier, it seems like a wise choice. “They have taken delivery of every single aircraft they have ordered, which is not something that happens everywhere,” says Alonso. “TAM is a very important airline for us.”
TAM’s A330s launched the Sao Paulo-based carrier’s first long-haul route to Miami in 1998, says Bologna. Its latest move is to London Heathrow, a route that TAM was given the approval by the Brazilian regulatory authorities to serve in late June. Daily A330 flights to Sao Paulo will begin in October.
Other plans are to boost frequencies on its double-daily Sao Paulo service to Paris and up frequencies on its US routes, says Bologna. “Our strategy is a selective approach,” he says, as it chooses where to fly. That selection is often limited because of restrictive bilateral agreements.
TAM is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. “Over these 30 years we have been growing regardless” of Brazil’s often turbulent economic environment and despite its limited ability to expand overseas, says Bologna.
But the Brazilian authorities are becoming more liberal. In March, carriers were allowed more pricing freedom on domestic services and more freedom on serving domestic routes. Bologna is hopeful its limited rights on services to France and Italy will be increased. “If we do all the long-haul routes planned, we will need 22 widebodies,” he says. At present, in addition to the A350, it has 16 A330s either in service or on order.
On the domestic front, TAM has built up a strong 47% market share. Its main rival is low-cost player GOL. Over the next few years it will phase out its fleet of 11 Fokker 100s in favour of the A319. By year end the carrier’s fleet will number 96 aircraft, with some 127 aircraft, all Airbus, in service by 2010.
Source: Airline Business
