Brazilian regulators supervising the proposed TAM/Varig merger have cleared the two airlines to codeshare on domestic flights from S‹o Paulo Congonhas Airport, enabling them to reduce services by 30%.
Brazil's anti-trust agency CADE cleared the two airlines to codeshare last month, but has banned them from extending the codeshare to other routes and has blocked the carriers from returning any surplus aircraft to lessors.
The airlines also had to assure the Brazilian government that the agreement was reversible. This last condition may delay the launch of the codeshare flights, scheduled to begin this week.
CADE is still studying the consequences of a TAM/Varig merger, with its president Jo‹o Grandino Rodas believing that the tie-up could produce a monopoly in the Brazilian air transport industry, and may require special approval. Rodas hints that CADE may force Varig to sell one of its two subsidiary airlines, Rio-Sul and Nordeste.
Varig is scheduled to return six Boeing 767-200ERs and three MD-11s to lessor GE Capital Aviation Services, and is discussing with TAM using the latter's six Airbus A330-200s on its international routes.
Source: Flight International
