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2% to Africa and Asia. (Source: INFRAERO). There

is still an insufficient number of non-stop flights out
of Brazil to international destinations, due to the
financial difficulties that have affected Brazilian
carriers (particularly Varig) in recent years, while the
spectacular growth of air traffic in Brazil in the last
few years, especially in its south-east region, has put
severe pressure on airport infrastructure.
2.6.2

Airports

The main international gateways are Aeroporto

Internacional de Guarulhos, located in So Paulo, and
Aeroporto Internacional do Galeo in Rio de Janeiro,
which together handled 43.3% of all passenger
movements in 2005. In addition to these two, limited
numbers of both international scheduled and charter
flights use Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza, Natal,
Manaus, Belm, Brasilia, Cargonhas, Curibita,
Florianpolis, and Porta Alegre airports. Nearly all
commercial airports are operated by INFRAERO, a
government agency.

So Paulo gateway
account for most
outbound passengers

So Paulos Guarulhos currently connects Brazil to

28 countries. A third terminal, which will boost the
airport capacity to 29 million passengers, is currently
under construction. Galeo provides connections to
over 18 countries worldwide, and handles around 15
million passengers at its two terminals each year.
2.6.3

Airlines

The main Brazilian international carriers are Varig,

TAM Linhas Areas and GOL Transportes Areos
(Brazils only low-cost airline).
Formerly Brazils flag carrier, Varig effectively
became bankrupt in January 2005, in response to
mounting costs and insurmountable financial
pressures, and was eventually sold to the investment
group Volo. In August 2005, Varig had 49 weekly
flights to Europe. At the end of 2006, this was
reduced to just three: Buenos Aires, Caracas and
Frankfurt. Following its acquisition by GOL in March
2008, Varig expects to serve more than ten
international destinations in Europe (Frankfurt,
London, Madrid, Milan and Paris), North America
(Miami, New York and Mexico City), and South
America (Buenos Aires, Santiago, Bogot and
Caracas).
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Both TAM and GOL have profited considerably from

Varigs problems. TAM is now the leading domestic
and international airline in Brazil, with a 61% share of
the international market, and currently flies to seven
international destinations outside South America
(Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris, plus
Miami and New York). GOLs international services
are confined to South American destinations
(Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and
Uruguay).
Airlines operating direct flights between Brazil and
the United States include American Airlines (Dallas,
Miami, New York); Continental Airlines (Newark,
Houston); United Airlines (Boston, Chicago, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Washington); Delta (Atlanta,
New York); and TAM (New York), and between
Brazil and Europe TAP Air Portugal (Lisbon, Porto);
Air France (Paris); Iberia (Barcelona, Madrid); TAM
(London, Paris); British Airways (London); Lufthansa
(Frankfurt, Munich); KLM (Amsterdam); Alitalia
(Milan); Varig (Frankfurt); Air Madrid (Madrid);
Swiss (Zurich); and Air Europa (Madrid). Emirates
introduced the first non-stop flight between Brazil and
the Middle East in October 2007 and now operates
daily non-stop flights between Dubai and So Paulo.
The addition of new flights by TAM to Europe,
Central and South America, and the US, could help
alleviate some of the present capacity shortages.

2.7

Future Trends

The Brazilian outbound travel market is anticipated to

remain relatively buoyant in the short to medium
term.

Buoyant outlook for

outbound travel

Assuming that the real remains strong and the

Brazilian economy continues to expand at a moderate
pace, TII predicts that the number of outbound trips
will increase to around 6.5 million by 2011, and to
grow by 4.5% on average, year to year, to over 8
million by 2020, a rise of about two thirds on 2006.
Both Argentina and the United States are likely to
remain the top destinations for Brazilian outbound
travel, boosted in the one case by the continuing
weakness of the peso, and in the other by the
appreciation of the real against the US Dollar. Trips
to other destinations, such as Chile, Uruguay and
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