Delta Air Lines has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to add additional nonstop flights between Sao Paulo and the key business markets of New York and Atlanta, increasing competition on air service between the U.S. and Brazil. If approved, Delta will begin second daily Sao Paulo flights to both Atlanta and New York in 2013. That will position Delta to benefit from the increase in traffic to Brazil for the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016.
“Delta has a strong commitment to the Latin American market and we want to increase options of travel to and from Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest and most important market for business travelers,” said Nicolas Ferri, Delta’s vice president— Latin America and the Caribbean. The airline currently operates 35 nonstop weekly flights between Brazil and the U.S. including Atlanta, Detroit and New York-JFK to Sao Paulo, as well as from Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.
Delta’s proposed addition of a second daily flight between Sao Paulo and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York is part of the airline’s stated goal to invest and grow in New York. The new flight will operate out of Terminal 4, which opens its doors in 90 days amid a $1.4 billion million terminal expansion project.
In its filing, Delta also requested approval to continue its daily nonstop service between its hub in Detroit and Sao Paulo. Delta’s right to operate that flight will transfer to US Airways in 2015 as part of a previously approved slot transaction that allowed Delta to expand at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Delta said that this is the first time in more than a decade that the Department of Transportation can allocate new Sao Paulo frequencies. These opportunities arise as direct result of the U.S. government’s success in negotiating a new air service agreement with Brazil, which is expected to result in a full Open Skies agreement by 2015.
The new frequencies will be served with Delta’s 767-300ER aircraft, which features fully flatbed seats for Business Elite class passengers. The 767 has a capacity of 210 passengers: 35 Business Elite, 32 Economy Comfort and 143 economy class seats.
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