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TAM, the largest Latin American airline, will start its daily Sao Paulo-Bogotá -Sao Paulo flight this coming December 19th on an Airbus 320 offering its passengers business class and coach seats..
" Bogotá is the last of the large markets in South America where we did not operate, and its importance is strategic to TAM,&rdquo said Commercial and Planning Vice President, Paulo Castello Branco.
During the Avab 2010 tourist fair which took place in Brazil last October, company executives Joã o Francisco Amaro Filho and José Roberto Pereira visited the PROCOLOMBIA exhibit and expressed the airline&rsquo s interest in beginning operations in Colombia.
According to Castello Branco, " Bogotá is a metropolis with an industry, trade, financial and corporate services-based economy, aside from its significant cultural and tourist offering.&rdquo
The announcement of TAM's arrival comes almost one month after German airline Lufthansa&rsquo s operations reactivation in Colombia on October 30th and the purchase of Aires by Chilean airline LAN.
According to the Colombian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism&rsquo s figures, as of the 2009 closing there were 47,493 passengers coming from Brazil, which represents a growth of 4,4% with respect to the previous year, which observed 45,506 tourist arrivals. Brazilian participation reached 4,4% between January and July 2010, after registering 3,4% within the same period in 2009.
