Q & A with Jose Sales, TAM Airlines Director for Europe

Q & A with Jose Sales, TAM Airlines Director for Europe

by Jose Carlos de Santiago

From its operation base in Madrid, TAM airline manages not only its interests and growth in the European market, but also in the Middle East and Asia, offering safe and almost direct connections with the South American market, a region the company knows very well due to its routes in the region. This statement is confirmed by Mr. Sales in this interview with Caribbean News Digital.

Why have you chosen Spain as your European HQs instead of Portugal, as it could have been expected from a Brazilian airline?
We have been in Europe for eleven years. We began with a flight from Paris, daily frequency, and we kept on increasing our presence. We presently have seven daily flights between Europe and Brazil: three to Paris, as well as London, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid. With that increase, recorded in less than four years, we needed an office so as to manage the operations. Besides, we were starting our incursions in Asia and the Middle East. We had to choose a site for our venue in Europe and we hired a consultancy company to decide it.

There were two important matters: cost and location, as well as TAM’s flights to that city. Finally, the best option happened to be Madrid, because we can easily fly from there to every city served by TAM in Europe and it’s simple to take on people with different backgrounds in terms of nationality, origin… We have a multinational office here: Czechs, Paraguayans who speak Spanish and Guarani; Brazilians, Frenchmen, British, Italians, Japanese… There are advantages in terms of costs and legislation, among other.

In Madrid, we not only have the attention center dedicated to the European market, Middle East and Asia, but we also have the training center for up to 20 people counting on modern instruments required for such task.

What markets have gained momentum since TAM entered Europe?
Speaking of offline market, we have a strong one in Switzerland and Scandinavia, but most of markets are growing up. We are starting our operations in Russia, though there is a language issue; we have attended some tourism shows where we always improve our knowledge: we realized our English material doesn’t work; it must be in Russian language.

The Russian market development will be slow. Nowadays, Switzerland and Scandinavia are the most dynamic markets. We are also present in Poland, and right now, for instance, we sign up a group of passengers from Croatia. We always have innovations. In order to reach the customers we need to know and speak their language, beyond the physic presence.

How many passengers does TAM transport from Europe to Brazil?
Nowadays, we have a 1.500 passenger average from Europe to Brazil, and 1.500 from Brazil to Europe. Average occupation from Europe has been 82% in the first half of 2010.

From Brazil, which is growing up as tourist outbound market, what destinations are chosen by those who travel with TAM to Europe?
Most frequent destinations are Paris and Spain.

Regarding to the projects related to the 2014 Soccer World Championship and the Olympic Games in 2016, what actions is TAM planning?
TAM was one of the sponsors for the Brazilian candidature to the Olympic Games. As for renovation and improvement of the fleet, we have planned it advance. We are not thinking on introducing charter flights. The Football World Championship and the Olympic Games are very important for Brazil, but they are just two events; what’s fundamental for us is planning the constant market. Nowadays, in Brazil, we are the leading company in the national market, with 43% of market share. We are not considering to having charter flights for the Olympics; we have a long term project and we will strengthen our service for the Football World Championship and the Olympic Games.

Are you planning to open new destinations?
We have started operating a flight from London to Rio de Janeiro and from Frankfurt to Rio de Janeiro. Besides, we are planning other openings, but I can’t give further details.

How much of a difference does TAM make in its services compared to other airlines, such as Lufthansa which flies from a hefty market like Germany?
As we all know, the equipment is the same, what’s different is the service. Regarding to big airlines, their flights include large routes networks all over the world, while we are specialists in South America, not only Brazil. We know the market and we count on assistance and attention in every destination we operate in the region. For instance, there was a UN event in Salvador de Bahia during the crisis caused by volcanic ash clouds in Europe, and TAM was the fastest company bringing its passengers back, some 180 passengers in Business from Vienna, Austria. On the other hand, we have employees who speak the languages of every passenger.

You were talking about the Russian market. How are you planning to enter it?
We started studying it last year and we are looking forward to work harder in 2011. We participate in every important show held in Russia, and we work with Embratur, the Brazilian Institute of Tourism, to promote not only TAM but Brazil. We also work with tourism officials from Latin American who are representatives from Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, putting theses destinations on the map. The Russian market is quite important for us and we know that the luxury Russian market might turn to be solid in Brazil.

Do you have codeshares to move your passengers from those hubs you have in Europe?
In Spain, we are dealing with Spanair… In Russia, we can work with Aeroflot. We can carry out flights shared with airlines who are members of our alliance, Star Alliance, or any other out of it; we have no restrictions.

Do you have a multi-destination product from Europe to Brazil? Does the passenger who travels to Brazil with TAM have a special fare in the company’s domestic flights?
Yes, we do have two products, one of them is exclusive for tourists and they can travel with lower fares to Brazilian destinations. We are now offering the option of three routes per one ticket, in domestic flights.  

Do you only have flights to Brazil from Madrid?
Yes, but we have nonstop connections to Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile… We have nine daily flights from Brazil to Buenos Aires. We also fly to Peru and other destinations in the region on a daily basis.