Brazilian flagship airline TAM has started, this Friday, November 21, a new daily flight from Brazil to Orlando, Florida. This is the company's 18th international destination. TAM already offers flights also to New York and Miami in the United States.
The 210-seat Airbus A330 will be used for this service, with 39 seats in Executive Class and 171 in Economy.
The flight departs daily from Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo at 11:30 a.m. (local time) and arrives in Orlando at 5:00 p.m. (local time). For the return trip, the flight will leave for Brazil at 6:50 p.m. (local time), arriving in São Paulo at 6:35 a.m. (local time).
TAM currently has 18 weekly flights between Brazil and New York City, as well as 28 flights to Miami. All flights accept and offer connecting flights.
The new route is part of the company's strategy of selective growth in the international market. "Orlando is one of the most popular destinations for Brazilians both for vacations as well as business trips," says Paulo Castello Branco, Sales and Planning Vice President.
TAM Airlines has signed a contract with IBM for the management of its service desk. The solution includes installation, help desk and field support of TAM's information technology (IT) infrastructure.
The project's goal is to help solve challenges associated with the check-in system, software used by employees to sell airline tickets and reserve seats on flights, and server reliability.
IBM has mobilized a team of 90 onsite professionals to support many of TAM's departments and back office. IBM's Hortolândia Service Center, located in São Paulo, will also have a team dedicated to help desk services for TAM's IT users.
The agreement, signed in August 2008, is the second large contract between TAM and IBM. The first one, dating from 2007, involved application development services.
TAM has been leading Brazil's domestic market since July 2003 and has ended this September with 52.8% market share. The company flies to 42 destinations in Brazil. With the commercial agreements signed with regional companies that total goes up to 79 different destinations in national territory.
TAM's market participation among Brazilian airline companies operating international lines was 82.1% in September. Its overseas operations include direct flights to 16 destinations in the United States, Europe and South America.
