Alex McWhirter looks at new Europe-South America options
Prompted by increasing trade and passenger numbers, the big airlines are increasing flights between Europe and South America. But that is not the sole reason – the airlines like South America because it is a lucrative area of the world for them to serve.
Flight prices to the region are higher than to other parts of the world when distance is taken into consideration because the competition is limited. A European carrier serving South East Asia faces serious competition from dozens of carriers flying both direct and indirect, which drives down the cost of tickets in all classes. But in the case of some South American countries, you can count your competitors on the fingers of one hand.
The European carriers are also anxious to strengthen their presence in South America to compete with the increasing threat from their Gulf-based rivals (see “New world order”, page 26).
For an example of growing passenger numbers, look no further than Brazilian airline TAM, which launched a three-times-weekly London Heathrow to Rio de Janeiro service in August to complement its existing daily service to Sao Paulo. TAM reports a healthy growth in business travel to Rio, led by the oil and gas industries, as well as finance and banking.
Official statistics for passengers flying direct between the UK and Brazil show a monthly average of 9,500 travellers in 2007, rising to 10,900 in 2008 and 15,600 in 2009. The figure for the first five months of 2010 is 17,200. This equates to an increase in demand of 81 per cent.
British Airways will boost its presence in Sao Paulo at the end of March with a dedicated service from London Heathrow. The carrier will also operate nonstop to Buenos Aires from Heathrow from March 27 (the existing service stops en route at Sao Paulo), which will make the flight to the Argentine capital the longest on the British Airways network.
The main development in future will be BA’s link with Iberia, which will open up almost the entire continent for its passengers when they change planes at Madrid’s Terminal 4. Iberia serves about a dozen destinations in South America, ranging from Caracas and Bogota in the top half to Buenos Aires and Santiago in the south.
The current drawback with the British Airways/Iberia link is the fact it’s London-centric. Neither BA nor Iberia serves a UK regional destination. It means that a Mancunian taking KLM or Lufthansa would have only one plane change, but if he or she were to take BA/Iberia it would involve two changes of plane on top of a Heathrow terminal change from T5 to T3.
But BA indicates the situation might change. A spokesman says: “If the route network does not work for our joint company then this is something that can be reviewed.”
Other developments:
- TAM launched a five-times-weekly service between Frankfurt and Rio de Janeiro in August.
- Lufthansa launched a five-times-weekly service between Frankfurt and Bogota on October 31.
- KLM added an extra weekly flight at the end of October (making it a daily service) between Amsterdam and Sao Paulo. It will schedule its larger B777-300ER for the route starting in March.
- March is also the month when Singapore Airlines will extend its Singapore-originating service beyond Barcelona to Sao Paulo. There will be three flights a week. It will be the first ever direct link between South East Asia and Brazil.
- In June, Alitalia will launch a thrice-weekly service between Rome and Sao Paulo, going up to four flights a week from July.
- Also in June, Air France will again serve Lima with a five-times-weekly service out of Paris Charles de Gaulle.
