SAO PAULO, Brazil, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM (Bovespa: TAMM4 and NYSE: TAM) and Lufthansa signed a contract on Saturday, December 1, to start an operational code-sharing agreement on national and international routes. TAM and Lufthansa's flight partnership is expected to begin during the first half of 2008. Starting in February, clients of both companies will be able to accumulate and exchange points earned on TAM's Programa Fidelidade loyalty program and miles with Lufthansa's Miles & More program on flights operated by either company.
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The code-sharing agreement will allow both companies to offer more flight options to their passengers who travel between Brazil and Germany. TAM's clients will be able to purchase tickets on flights operated by Lufthansa, which depart from Sao Paulo and arrive in Frankfurt and Munich (Germany). From Frankfurt, connections will be available to other destinations in Germany, such as Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Stuttgart, as well as Zurich and Geneva (Switzerland).
Lufthansa passengers will be able use the new TAM flight to Frankfurt and, in Brazil, will be offered connections from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Recife, Florianopolis, Salvador and Foz do Iguacu. The code-sharing will also cover TAM flights to other South American destinations: Santiago (Chile), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay).
TAM began flights to Frankfurt, its fourth direct European destination, on November 30. The operation uses an Airbus A340-500, with a carrying capacity of up to 267 passengers -- 42 seats in business class and 225 in economy. The first flight took off as 80% occupied and returned from Frankfurt on December 1 with 98% of the seats filled.
Investor Relations Contact: Press Agency Contact:
Phone: (55) (11) 5582-9715 Phone: (55) (11) 5582-8167
Fax: (55) (11) 5582-8149 Fax: (55) (11) 5582-8155
invest@tam.com.br tamimprensa@tam.com.br
http://www.tam.com.br/ri
About TAM:
TAM (http://www.tam.com.br/) has been the leader in the Brazilian domestic market for more than four years, and held a 46.6% domestic market share and 71.2% international market share at the end of October 2007. TAM operates regular flights to 47 destinations throughout Brazil. It serves 81 different cities in the domestic market through regional alliances. Additionally, it maintains code-share agreements with international airline companies that allow passengers to travel to a large number of destinations throughout the world. TAM was the first Brazilian airline company to launch a loyalty program. Currently, the program has over 4.3 million subscribers and has awarded more than 4.7 million tickets.
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TAM
