Airbus A350 for the Americas

TAM Airlines of Brazil is to become the first airline in North or South America to operate the Airbus A350 XWB.  The lead aircraft is expected to arrive in Brazil in December with the first commercial flight scheduled for January 2016 from São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport to Manaus in the heart of the Amazon region.

In March 2016 TAM will commence international operations with the São Paulo – Madrid sector selected for the inaugural route.

“We chose São Paulo/Guarulhos to Manaus as the first route of the A350 XWB so the different areas of the company can get to know this new state-of-the-art long-range aircraft.  Additionally, it is important for us to have an airplane of this size operating on this route, even in a temporary way, because it is one of Brazil and TAM Cargo’s main air cargo routes,” says Ruy Amparo, Vice-President of Operations and Maintenance for TAM.

Future TAM A350 pilots will complete 60 days of in-flight and on the ground training to ensure that they are completely familiar with the aircraft.  These pilots currently operate the TAM A330 fleet of aircraft and have been chosen to operate the future A350 fleet due the commonality between Airbus products.  These similarities will create efficiencies and reduce costs across operations, training and maintenance.    www.tam.com.br

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