Airline Has Added 14 Aircraft To Fleet This Year

Aero-News has learned Brazil's TAM received three more Airbus A320s last weekend, which are being incorporated into its operational fleet. This year, TAM has already received 14 aircraft -- eleven in the A320/319 family and three MD-11s. With these acquisitions, the company will have 85 Airbus models -- 15 A319s, 60 A320s and 10 A330s.

With the arrival of the three Airbus A320s, TAM increases its fleet to 105 aircraft -- 85 Airbus, 17 F-100s and 3 MD-11s. The company plans to end 2007 with 112 planes in operation.

The company's new fleet planning forecasts the inclusion of 32 aircraft during this year, 14 of which are already delivered. During its Q1 results presentation earlier this year, the company announced the acquisition of three more wide-body Airbus aircraft by the end of 2007, and will increase the number of international long haul aircraft to 18 -- 15 Airbus planes, and 3 MD-11s.

The company estimates that it will increase its international market capacity by 70 percent during 2007.

TAM has also signed contracts with Airbus for the inclusion of another 54 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled through 2010. The contracts also include 20 options for planes in the A320 family, which may be exercised by the company in accordance with the market's growth.

As ANN reported, TAM also recently announced the acquisition of four new Boeing 777-300ERs and another four options, with delivery forecast for next year. The airline's strategic planning forecasts an operating fleet of 141 aircraft in 2011.

Used on domestic routes and for destinations in South America operated by TAM, the new A320s cater to the increased demand seen in the last months. In the first four months of this year, air passenger traffic on the domestic market grew 13.8%. In the same period, TAM grew 26.8% in relation to the previous year, according to official data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC -- Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil).

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.tam.com.br