TAM Airlines

Infobox_Airline
airline=TAM Airlines
logo=TAMairlinesLogo.gif
logo_size=135
IATA=JJ
ICAO=TAM
callsign=TAM
parent=TAM Linhas Aéreas S.A.
company_slogan = "Passion to fly and serve" ("Paixão por voar e servir")
founded=1961
headquarters=São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
key_people=Rolim Amaro
David Barioni Neto(CEO)
hubs=Guarulhos Int'l Airport
Congonhas Airport
focus_cities=Galeão International Airport
Santos Dumont Reg. Airport
Salvador Int'l Airport Tancredo Neves Int'l Airport
Salgado Filho International Airport Afonso Pena International Airport Belém International Airport
frequent_flyer=Fidelidade| Star Alliance
lounge=VIP Lounge
alliance=Star Alliance (future member)
fleet_size=118 (+90 orders)
destinations=65
website= [http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/jsp/ListaPaisesB2CInternacional.jhtml www.tamairlines.com]

TAM Airlines [" [http://www.tamairlines.com/b2c/jsp/default.jhtml TAM Airlines] ," "TAM Airlines"] (Portuguese: TAM Linhas Aéreas), the Southern Hemisphere's largest airline [" [http://www.mzweb.com.br/tam/web/arquivos/TAM_PR_20080221_ENG.pdf TAM Press Release (PDF)] ," "TAM Airlines"] ; is based in São Paulo and operates scheduled services from São Paulo to destinations within Brazil, as well as international flights to Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. The company is traded on the São Paulo Exchange (Bovespa) and New York Stock Exchange as "TAM S.A." [" [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/tam.html TAM S.A.] ," "NYSE Euronext"]

History

TAM was founded on February 21 1961 by five former air-taxi pilots. The company was named "Transportes Aéreos Marília, S.A." (Marília Air Transport) after the pilots' hometown of Marília, São Paulo. It began operations with 4 Cessna 180 and a single Cessna 170, ferrying cargo and passengers across Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso states.

In 1964, Orlando Ometto, owner of agricultural ventures in the region, purchased a 50% stake in the company, with the intent to use its aircraft and pilots to support an agricultural expansion project of his own in central Brazil. With the capital, TAM purchased aircraft. As the original pilot-owners left the company, Ometto purchased their share of the company, eventually owning 100% of the company.

In 1966 the company bought twin-engined aircraft models, including the Piper Aztec, Piper Navajo and the Rockwell Grand Commander. During this period, the company also relocated its offices from Marília to the state's capital, São Paulo.

Rolim Amaro

In 1971, Ometto was losing money. In his search for someone to turn TAM around, Ometto called Rolim Amaro, a former pilot of TAM who had left and had formed an air-taxi company. Amaro proposed to liquidate his company and purchase a portion of TAM. While this did not constitute 50% of TAM's capital, he proposed to Ometto that if he was able to make TAM profitable within one year, he would be given the remaining portion of the 50%. In case he failed, he would receive nothing. In April, 1972, the contract between Amaro and Ometto was signed, giving Amaro operational control over the company.

At the end of 1972, Amaro sold TAM's entire fleet. At the same time, he travelled to Cessna's Wichita, Kansas facility and after two months of negotiations with the company, he bought 10 Cessna 402 aircraft. Within one year, Amaro fulfilled his promise and was given 50% of TAM's capital.

In 1974, TAM added two Learjets to its fleet. In exchange for one of these jets, 33% of the company's stock was given to the jet's owner, Tião Maia. The three-way split between Maia, Ometto and Amaro would remain until 1975, when Maia sold his share to Ometto. This deteriorated the atmosphere between Amaro and Ometto. In 1976, after 9 months of negotiation for Ometto's 50%, Amaro wrote a check for $2 million, with the promise to pay it over a period of time.

Despite selling one of the jets and other assets, he was still unable to make the payments. For a period of time, Amaro went as far as cancelling insurance for his planes, in an attempt to reduce costs. The morning after insurance was reinstated, on September 24 1977, one of TAM's LearJets crashed on approach to Santos Dumont Regional Airport. Despite no injuries, the aircraft was a total loss. However, with the cash from the Lear's insurance and the proceeds of the sale of a farm, Amaro concluded his purchase of TAM.

TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais

In 1976, prior to Amaro's takeover, TAM had participated in a joint-venture with VASP (then a state-owned airline) to create regional routes between São Paulo and Mato Grosso. The company, dubbed TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais S/A [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19991013025157/http://tam.com.br/default_flash.htm Home Page] on October 13, 1999. "TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais"] (TAM Regional Airlines), flew EMB-110 Bandeirantes at first. These, however, proved grossly inadequate for the task at hand, and even at full capacity needed to be subsidized by the government in order to be profitable.

TAM went on to purchase three used Fokker F27 turboprops, which were then refurbished by Fokker in Holland. In order to obtain the import authorization for the aircraft, a deal was struck with the government where TAM was forced to maintain 3 Bandeirantes for every F27, as well as removing 5 seats from each one, bringing the F27's capacity down to 40 passengers. A fourth F27, previously owned by Air New Zealand, was incorporated in 1981. TAM would eventually own 10 F27s by 1983.

By 1981, TAM had flown 1 million passengers, and 2 million by 1984.

In August 1986 the company, under financial stress, went public and began floating stock in the market. In 1986, the airline acquired rival VOTEC, earning access to areas in northern and central Brazil. The new acquisition would at first operate in conjunction with Brasil Central, but this plan was dropped and TAM suffered yet another acronym change, to TAM - Transportes Aéreos Meridionais. In 1988, TAM flew its 3 millionth passenger.

Fokker 100s

Despite TAM's success in the market, it was evident the airline would not last long when competing against airlines such as Varig and VASP which already possessed Boeing 737s in their fleet. Amaro then tried to buy VASP, about to be privatized, and called the project "Revolution". Having lost the bid, he opted for a slower growth with a gradual addition of new aircraft, re-dubbed "Evolution".

On September 15 1989, TAM arranged for the acquisition of two Fokker 100 jets, which had originally been ordered by the now-bankrupt Pan American World Airways. Like the F27s before them, TAM did not actually purchase them, but used Amaro's credibility to arrange for a third-party asset management company, Guinness Peat Aviation to purchase them and subsequently lease them back to TAM. Two more were added in 1991. In 1992, TAM carried its eight millionth passenger. By 1993, through the use of the Fokker 100 fleet which now numbered at 14, TAM was serving 56 cities in Brazil.

Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur S.A.

Flying Abroad

In 1996, TAM bought another air company, Helisul, which used the trade name of TAM. In 1997, TAM ordered its first large jets; the airline ordered 45 planes from Airbus, including 10 A330s, 4 A319s, and 34 A320s. In 1997, the Airbuses began to be delivered and the airline flew its first international service, from São Paulo to Miami International Airport.

Two years later, in 1999, services to Europe were inaugurated through a code share service with Air France, to Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris. In 2000 the airline was renamed "TAM Linhas Aéreas" in Portuguese. Long running discussions to merge with Varig ended in 2004. The airline is owned by the Amaro family (69%), the Bank Garantia Fund (22%), and others (7%). It employs 10,471 staff.

Accidents and incidents

* In February 8 1979, a Bandeirante crashed near the town of Agudos killing all 18 people aboard. This was the first accident with loss of life for TAM.

* On July 4 1984 a second Bandeirante crashed in poor weather on approach near Macaé, killing all 17 people aboard.

* On February 12 1990 a F-27 aborted its landing, striking houses and a car outside the airport of Bauru. The 2 occupants of the car were killed.

* On October 31 1996, TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashed shortly after take-off from Congonhas, striking an apartment building and several houses. All 90 passengers and 6 crew members on board died. Three people were killed on ground. The crash was attributed to a faulty thrust-reverser in the right engine deploying after take-off.

* On July 9 1997, at Suzano a bomb was detonated in the rear part of the passenger cabin of a Fokker 100 on TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 283. The explosive decompression blew one passenger out of the aircraft. The plane landed safely despite a 10 by convert|5|ft|m|sing=on hole next to the right engine. [ [http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=07091997&reg=PT-MRB&airline=TAM+Linhas+Aereas TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 283] , "Airdisaster.com"]

* On August 30 2002, TAM Airlines Flight 3084, a Fokker 100, was forced to land at a farm near Araçatuba after running out of fuel due to a faulty fuel indicator gauge. The gear-up landing's only victim was a cow on the ground. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIEe8AT_gI Video of Flight 3084 after landing] YouTube. Retrieved July 18, 2007.] No passengers were injured. On the same day, another Fokker 100 made an emergency gear-up landing at Viracopos airport. Shortly after the incidents of August 31, TAM announced its intention to reduce its fleet of Fokker 100 immediately and phase out the type completely within three years. As of November 19 2007 TAM continues to operate a Fokker 100 fleet.

* On August 8 2006, the forward airstair of a Fokker 100 separated from the aircraft just after the plane took off from Congonhas, hitting the roof of a supermarket in São Paulo. No one was injured in the accident, and the aircraft landed shortly after.

* On July 17 2007, Flight 3054, [pt icon [http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u312769.shtml TAM says damage assessment is still not possible] . Folha Online. Retrieved July 17, 2007.] an Airbus A320, registration: PR-MBK, on a flight from Porto Alegre with 186 passengers and crew [en icon [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6903837.stm 'Many dead' in Brazil plane crash] . BBC News. Retrieved July 17, 2007.] , overran the runway at Congonhas Airport, crossed a major thoroughfare and impacted against a TAM Express warehouse. [pt icon [http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u312758.shtml TAM Airplane loses control and hits warehouse] . Folha Online. Retrieved July 17, 2007.] 198 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, including passengers and others on the ground. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/07/17/brazil.plane.crash/index.html Fiery plane crash at São Paulo airport kills at least 200] ] This is considered to be the deadliest airplane accident in Latin America. [" [http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/reporterbbc/story/2007/07/070718_pioresacidentes.shtml Acidente com o Airbus da TAM é o pior da América Latina] ," "BBC Brasil"]

ervices

Many other destinations, such as Asunción, Chicago, Lisbon, Lima, Nagoya, Bordeaux, Zurich, and Geneva are serviced through code-share agreements with airlines such as TAM Mercosur, United Airlines, TAP Portugal, TACA, Japan Airlines and Air France.

In July 2007, TAM received authorization from ANAC to fly to Frankfurt, Germany and to Madrid, Spain both seven days a week.

TAM Cargo provides cargo services.

TAM Vacations [http://www.tamvacations.com/index.php] ("TAM Viagens") [http://www.tamviagens.com.br/] provides vacation package services.

TAM Jatos Executivos provides air services for business executives.

Fleet

The TAM Airlines passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft as of August 2008. [ [http://rzjets.net/operators/operator.php?opid=1246 Fleet Ref] ]

On June 16 2005, TAM announced the purchase of 20 additional Airbus A320 family aircraft (including all the models A319/A320/A321) plus an additional 20 options. These are expected to be delivered between late 2007 and 2010, adding to the already scheduled delivery of 6 A320s between 2006 and 2008. At the same time, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus stating its intent to buy 10 of the new Airbus A350-900 (plus 5 options), with deliveries due to commence at the end of 2012. These are expected to replace the A330 on the Paris and Miami routes as they become available.Fact|date=March 2008

TAM has signed a firm contract with Airbus to acquire 37 additional aircraft. The order comprises 12 A319s, 16 A320s, 3 A321s and 3 A330s and includes 12 unspecified extra options. This would bring TAMs fleet, acquired directly from Airbus to 115 aircraft [Airliner World January 2007] The commitments are separate from deals last year for 29 firm-ordered A320s and 20 options. The deliveries are to be concluded by 2010.

On October 31, 2006, TAM announced an order for 4 Boeing 777-300ER wide-body planes plus options for another 4 planes of the same type. Deliveries of the 370-seat 777s will commence in 2008. TAM will operate 3 leased McDonnell Douglas MD-11s as an interim solution while it awaits delivery of its 777s, which are scheduled to arrive in late 2007/early 2008. According to Libano Barroso, TAM’s Investor Relations Director, the MD-11s arrangement has Boeing's full support, allowing what are high-cost aircraft to have a final operational cost lower than the A330s [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a_57adKq_rVs Bloomberg] ] . On June 19, 2007, TAM exercised its options for the last 4 777s, bringing the total number of firm orders to 8 aircraft. [ [http://www.b2i.us/Profiles/Investor/Investor.asp?BzID=1214&from=du&ID=39182&myID=3252&L=e&Validate=3&I= TAM Press Release] ]

On November 13, 2006, TAM announced that will be reviewing their intention to buy the Airbus A350, due to changes in the specification of the aircraft. The company is waiting a response from Airbus about the new conditions of the project, such as delivery dates (originally scheduled to 2012) and prices, to make a decision between the A350 and the Boeing 787 aircraft. A new announcement was expected by the end of November, 2007.Fact|date=March 2008

TAM announced that on November 30, 2007, it would offer a new daily flight to Frankfurt, Germany after receiving its second Airbus A340-500. [http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/jsp/default.jhtml?adPagina=780&adArtigo=12876 TAM Press Release] ," "TAM Airlines"] [" [http://news.taume.com/World-Business/Business-Finance/TAM-Receives-its-First-Airbus-A340-500-3117 TAUME.COM Business News] ," "Taume.com - World Business"]

Fleet maintenance is partly conducted at the technology center at São Carlos Airport " [http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/jsp/default.jhtml?adPagina=519&adArtigo=6063 Centro Tecnológico de São Carlos] ," "TAM Airlines"]

Former fleet

TAM formerly operated the following types:
* Fokker F27" [http://web.archive.org/web/19961119120959/www.tam_airlines.com.br/aerof.htm Aeronaves] " as of November 19, 1996. "TAM Airlines"]
* Fokker 50
* Fokker 100

Gallery

ee also

* Cine TAM - a cinema in Sao Paulo owned by TAM's parent company

References

* [http://www.megamidiagroup.com.br/tammagazine/index2.html] (2007). TAM Magazine.
* [http://www.jetsite.com.br/2006/mostra_noticia.asp?noticia=8800] (2007). TAM confirms purchase of 02 Airbus A340-500". São Paulo.
* [http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales_Guaracy Thales Guaracy] (2003). "O Sonho Brasileiro". São Paulo : A Girafa.
* [http://www.b2i.us/External.asp?L=I&from=du&ID=15305&B=1214] (2005). TAM confirms purchase of 20 Airbus A319/A320/A321". São Paulo.
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003333328_webboeing77731.html] (2006) . Airbus customer turns to Boeing with billion-dollar 777 order. "The Seattle Times".

External links

* [http://www.tam.com.br/ Official site] (Brazil) pt icon
* [http://www.passiontoflyandserve.com.br/ Official site] (United States)
* [http://www.tamexpress.com.br TAM Express] pt icon
* [http://www.tamjatos.com.br/ TAM Táxi Aéreo Marília S.A.] pt icon
* [http://www.tamviagens.com.br/ TAM Viagens] pt icon
* [http://www.museuasasdeumsonho.com.br TAM Wings of a Dream Museum]