Archive for airlines
a question for Trip airlines
Posted by: | CommentsWe have a simple and direct question for Brazilian airline Trip:
Is the airline interested at all in having foreign tourists as part of their customer base or would the airline rather have those tourists fly with its competitors?
Do you know what the photographs above have in common? They were taken at destinations served by the Brazilian airline Trip. No prices for guessing they are all very popular destinations among the foreign crowd.
The airline, however, does not allow foreigners to purchase tickets through its website. All potential customers are requested to supply a Brazilian Tax ID number (known as CPF).
As we don’t know what a foreign national not in posession of a CPF can do to overcome that obstacle, we’ve approached Trip several times. We’ve done so through its Twitter profile and directly by email using the contact form found at its website. Our friend and colleague at D Airfare, Rodrigo Purisch, author of the essential Aquela Passagem has also approached the company with the same question. Several months have gone by and we haven’t received a single reply.
Poor customer relations? Trip is not interested in flying foreign tourists? We don’t know. But the fact is, foreign tourists that would willingly fly with Trip end up choosing a competitor that allows them to purchase tickets from abroad.
It is a pity. At a slow but firm pace Trip has developed a substantial network, reaching destinations where no one else flies and offering a standard of service above that of the main Brazilian airlines. Maybe after this post the company gets in touch with D Airfare (contact details here) with an explanation. We promise we’ll spread the news.
LATAM, the new Lan Brazil? – our assessment of the LAN/TAM merger
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Airline consolidation is an irreversible trend that is reaching Latin America now. British and Iberia in partnership with American; Delta and Northwest and an agreement with Air France / KLM which in turn have a share in Alitalia; Lufthansa taking control of Swiss and Austrian; United and Continental; and so on.
To date, the closest airline consolidation had come to Brazil was the union of Avianca, Taca and Avianca Brasil (former OceanAir). The merger advances at a very slow pace, at least Brazil-wise. This merger might have been one of the reasons behind Lan and Tam’s reaction.
The current president of Chile, Mr Piñera, was one of the majority stockholders at Lan. Before reaching the presidency he promised he would get rid of this shares. When the sale of his stock took place Tam was repeteadly mentioned as a prospective buyer, given the good relationships between the Amaro family (Tam) and the two families controlling Lan. But the deal never came about and part of Piñera’s shares were sold at the stock exchange. The biggest share ended up in the hands of the Cueto family, which became the main controller of Lan.
The release issued to the market states that Tam, controller of Tam Linhas Aéreas, ceases to exist as a company and joins the Holding LAN, known from now on as LATAM. Tam’s stock is out of the Bovespa and the NYSE. LATAM’s stock will be negotiated at the Santiago SE and NYSE.
Enrique Cueto, Lan’s CEO, becomes LATAM’s CEO too.
Lan will control 79% of the voting stock while Tam will have 20,4%, according to Exame magazine.
All leads us to believe that in actual fact Lan bought Tam. Two reasons prevent the deal to be presented as such:
- the strict limits imposed by Brazilian legislation to the foreign control of airlines. 20% is the limit to foreign capital on a national airline (Congress is currently debating increasing that limit to 49%).
- marketing issues, with Tam still attempting to occupy the space left by Varig in the public’s imagination.
It is clear we don’t know all the details of the business deal. Due mostly to nationalistic issues, both companies will continue operating for a while with their respective names and frequent flyer programs. But the future might bring changes. Avianca/TACA are allowing transfer of rewards between their respective programs.
Tam’s Multiplus can become a useful tool for the exchange of points for miles and viceversa. That would allow the Lan Pass and Fidelidade Tam programs to continue operating independently.
Another unresolved issue is the status of two merged airlines belonging to two different alliances. Will Tam throw away the considerable investment made to join the Star Alliance? Or will Lan leave the Oneworld alliance leaving a space for Gol? Speaking of which, foreign capital is likely to set its eyes on Gol sooner than later.
Tap should be quite concerned and who knows, it might even be considering joining LATAM in the not so distant future.
Many uncertainties remain making room for speculation. Exciting months ahead.
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RELATED POSTS:
TAM and LAN sign agreement on merger
TAM and LAN sign agreement on merger
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Brazilian airline Tam and Chilean airline Lan have just announced a merger agreement. The deal will create the largest carrier in Latin America.
More information on LAN-TAM merger would create new LatAm airline giant.
Mexicana files for bankruptcy protection
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Mexican airline Mexicana has just filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Mexico.
No announcements have been made with regard to its routes to Brazil and from Brazil, which continue to operate normally.
yet again Air Europa announces its flight from Madrid to Salvador de Bahia
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As part of the neverending saga of announcements and cancellations, it is Air Europa’s turn to announce its return to the Madrid – Salvador de Bahia route from 31 October. The airline will operate three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. An Airbus A330-200 with capacity for 299 passengers will be used on the route.
Given its past record, we advice you to be very cautious when purchasing Air Europa tickets well in advance.
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once again Air Europa cancels its Madrid-Salvador flight
Air Europa and Tap, competition on the Salvador – Spain route
Air Europa flying to Brazil from 17 December
Air Europa’s return to Brazil, latest rumours
caution: Air Europa announces it will no longer fly to Brazil
Tam Museum reopens
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After a long season with its doors closed, the Tam Museum reopens on Sunday 13. The museum contains a considerable collection of aircraft (more than 80) and is located in the city of São Carlos, in the interior of the state of São Paulo.
We hope the reopening of the museum will also mean its website will be functional again, with the essential info on opening times and instructions on how to get to the museum.
The following box shows the exact location of the museum on Google Maps.
Brazilian airlines still making a mockery of consumers
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We saw three months ago how Azul, Gol and Tam had been reprimanded by the authorities for including on their sales websites pre-selected optional services (travel insurance). At the time we were quite happy that the authorities seemed to be doing something about this cunning trick.
It was with dismay that over the last weekend we discovered that at least two airlines, Azul and Tam, continue pre-selecting optional services. We don’t know whether that is still the case with Gol too as we didn’t purchase any tickets from them this time.
Since the authorities seem incapable of disciplining the airlines, all we can do is warn you so you don’t end up paying for a service you didn’t select. Check carefully the details for the fare you are paying and de-select those options you don’t want to purchase.
the main Brazilian airlines will be present at the São Paulo Tourism Fair
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The main Brazilian airlines will be present at the Salão do Turismo in São Paulo from 26 to 30 May. The Salão is the most important Tourism Fair in the country and you will find more details at our blog post Salão do Turismo 2010, the most important Tourism Fair in Brazil.
Avianca, Azul, Gol, Tam, Trip and Webjet have all confirmed their presence at the event.
Tam sets up agreements with frequenty flyer programs of 16 airlines
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One of the first outcomes of Tam’s entrance into the Star Alliance is a series of agreements with the frequenty flyer programs of 16 airlines belonging to the Alliance. They are: Adria Airways, Air China, Air New Zealand, Ana, Asiana Airlines, Blue1, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, LOT Polish Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Shangai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Thai and Turkish Airlines.
Before it joined the Alliance Tam had already signed agreements with Lufthansa, United, TAP, US Airways, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines, Austrian, Bmi, Continental Airlines and Swiss. Those agreements will continue to be valid now. The agreement Tam maintains with Chilean airline Lan continues too.
From now on, Tam passengers with a Fidelidade card will be able to:
- accumulate Fidelidade points while flying with the airlines mentioned above
- issue tickets for flights with those airlines using Fidelidade program credits
Likewise, passengers from all the airlines will accumulate points while flying Tam and will be able to issue Tam tickets using their loyalty program credits.
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RELATED POSTS:
Tam joins the Star Alliance tomorrow
Tam joins the Star Alliance tomorrow
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The long process of incorporation of the Brazilian airline Tam into the Star Alliance comes to an end tomorrow, when Tam will officially join the biggest of all airline alliances in the world.
During the coming months you will have here at D Airfare detailed information of the changes brought forward by this event.
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RELATED POSTS:
TAM initiates proceedings to join the Star Alliance
Tam in the Star Alliance only in 2010