TORONTO — Brazil’s TAM Airlines, part of LATAM Airlines Group, has launched a new service from Toronto to São Paulo, Brazil, via New York’s JFK airport.
The TAM flights from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport will depart at 4:35 p.m. and operate five times a week as an extension of existing TAM flights JJ8102 and JJ8103, which already link JFK with Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo.
Toronto is now the fifth gateway for LATAM in the U.S. and Canada. (LATAM Airlines is the new name given to LAN Airlines as a result of its association with TAM).
“Canadian passengers can now easily travel from Toronto via JFK to over 115 South American destinations in the LATAM Airlines Group network including Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” said Pablo Chiozza, Senior Vice President, LATAM Airlines Group, USA, Canada and Caribbean, during a launch celebration at Pearson airport yesterday.
After sampling Brazilian sweets while a three-piece band played Bossa Nova tunes, guests were invited on the aircraft – a Boeing 767-300ER with 191 Economy Class seats and another 30 in Premium Business, featuring seats that recline up to 180 degrees full flat. Premium Business class passengers can also enjoy an award-winning wine list with some of the best vintages from South America and Europe as well as an inflight menu designed by the region’s leading chefs incorporating the flavours of South America with international cuisine.
Economy Class offers passengers ergonomic, reclining seats and adjustable headrests, as well as on-demand entertainment, wine and spirits, headphones, eye mask, blankets, pillows and more.
TAM’s CEO Claudia Sender says the route expansion has the added benefit of further optimizing aircraft use, as it takes advantage of the time during which the aircraft used on the São Paulo-New York route are idle on the ground at JFK.
Meanwhile Chiozza predicts Brazil will be increasingly popular among Canadian travellers. “Next year we’re going to have the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro and you can connect from São Paulo or connect in New York to Rio.”
