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February 18, 2008 |
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TAM SA: Will Combine Frequent Flyer Programs With Lufthansa TAM and Lufthansa have initiated a partnership that will allow customers to accumulate and redeem frequent flyer points on Fidelidade TAM program and miles from Miles & More on flights operated by both airlines. The combination of the frequent flyer programs are part of the agreement signed between TAM and Lufthansa last year, aiming to expand services offered to customers. The companies are also planning to initiate codeshare flights on national and international routes within the first quarter of this year. In this first phase of the partnership between the two companies, TAM passengers can use points accumulated in the Fidelidade TAM program to travel on any domestic or international flight operated by Lufthansa. In the same way, participants in Lufthansa's Miles & More program can convert their miles into points to be used on TAM's domestic and international flights. TAM vice-president of Planning and Alliances, Paulo Castello Branco affirms that the agreement with Lufthansa will bring immediate benefits to passengers of both airlines. "The integration of Fidelidade TAM program with Miles & More strengthens our strategy of establishing partnerships with the main airlines in the world, and also seeking to offer individualized service to our customers," says Mr. Castello Branco. Lufthansa Group's office of the president member, Stephen Lauer, who is in Sao Paulo, Feb. 14, said that he is very satisfied with the partnership. "We are seeking through this agreement a way to increase our flight offerings between Europe and Brazil, which will come about through code sharing, as well as better ways of serving our passengers, including faster connections and, starting now, integration of our frequent flyer programs." The Lufthansa Group, including SWISS, has 21 weekly flights between Brazil and Europe, flying with Lufthansa from Sao Paulo to Munich and Frankfurt daily, and with SWISS, from Sao Paulo to Zurich daily. From these two hubs in Germany and Zurich, Lufthansa offers connections to all of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Overall, the group serves 188 different destinations in 79 countries, and is part of the Star Alliance. Lufthansa's mileage program Miles & More was started 15 years ago and has more than 14 million participants all over the world. In Brazil, there are approximately 80 thousand members. TAM is a pioneer among Brazil's airlines in launching its Programa Fidelidade for frequent flyers. The company now has 4.5 million members and has already issued more than 5.2 million tickets for frequent flyer points. A market leader, TAM serves 47 cities in Brazil, including all state capitals and the Federal District. Through business agreements signed with regional companies, it reaches 81 different destinations in the national territory. TAM operations abroad include direct flights to eleven destinations: New York and Miami (US), Paris (France), London (England), Milan (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Madrid (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Caracas (Venezuela) and Montevideo (Uruguay). With TAM Mercosur, it flies to Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Cordoba (Argentina), Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba (Bolivia), among other cities in South America. TAM's daily flight to Frankfurt departing from Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo began service last November 30th. This flight is operated with the Airbus A340-500, with a capacity for up to 267 passengers -- 42 seats in Executive Class and 225 in Economy Class. About TAM SA TAM SA (Bovespa: TAMM4 and NYSE: TAM) -- http://www.tam.com.br/ -- operates regular flights to 47 destinations throughout Brazil. It serves 72 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. The program has over 3.3 million subscribers and has awarded more than 3.6 million tickets. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Aug. 27, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BB' long-term corporate credit rating on Brazil-based airline TAM S.A. S&P said the outlook is stable. |
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