Template:Infobox Company

Transportes Aéreos Meridionais or TAM, is an airline based in Brazil.

Contents

History

TAM was founded on February 21, 1961. It was started by 5 former air-taxi pilots who came together to form their own company. At first, the company was named "Transportes Aéreos Marília" (Marília Air Transport) after the pilots' hometown of Marília, São Paulo. Over time, this acronym has evolved substantially.

Air Taxi

The company began its operations with 4 Cessna 180 and a single Cessna 170, ferrying cargo and passengers across Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso states. At the time, fast agricultural expansion in an area with little if any infrastructure ensured ample demand for TAM's services.

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

In 1966 the company incorporated its first 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, TAM's operations turned to the worse and Ometto found himself losing money. In his search for someone to turn TAM around, Ometto called Rolim Amaro, a former pilot of TAM who had left and eventually had formed his own air-taxi company. Amaro proposed to liquidate his own 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 personally travelled to Cessna's Wichita, Kansas facility and after two months of megotiations with the company, he returned to Brazil with 10 Cessna 402 aircraft. Within one year, Amaro managed to fulfill his promise and was accorded the 50% of TAM's capital as stated in his contract.

In 1974, TAM added two Lear Jets 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 substantially 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 priod 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 24th 1977, one of TAM's Lear Jets crashed on approach to Santos Dumont Regional Airport. Despite no injuries, the aircraft was a total loss.

On September 15, 1977, Amaro's birthday, with the cash from the Lear's insurance and the proceeds of the sale of a farm, Amaro concluded his purchase of TAM.

TAM Regional Airlines

In 1976, prior to Amaro's takeover, TAM had participated in a joint-venture with VASP (a state-owned airline) to create regional routes between São Paulo and Mato Grosso. The company, dubbed 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.

The Bandeirante would also prove to be a safety risk for the airline, following an incident on February 8, 1979, when a Bandeirante crashed near the town of Agudos killing all 18 people aboard. This would mark the first accident with loss of life for TAM.

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 come to own 10 F27s by 1983.

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

A second Bandeirante would crash near Macaé in 1984, killing all 17 people aboard, in a crash generally credited to poor weather on approach.

In August of 1986 the company, under financial stress, went public and began floating stock in the market.

In 1986, an important development shaped the airline when it 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 eventually 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 possesed 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 PanAm. Like the F27s before them, TAM did not actually purchase them, but utilized 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

In 1994 Amaro also established a small airline in Paraguay , named ARPA, whose fleet had mostly consisted of Cessna 208 Caravans formerly of TAM. On September 1st, 1996, Amaro purchased an 80% stake in Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas, the state-owned airline of Paraguay. Merged with ARPA, it was then turned into another TAM, Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur.

The airline operates in close partnership with TAM in Brazil, and currently operates 7 Fokker 100 aircraft.

Flying Abroad

TAM Airbus A330-200.
Enlarge
TAM Airbus A330-200.

In 1996, TAM bought another air company, Helisul, which soon started using the trade name of TAM too, and in 1997, TAM ordered its first big jets, 45 planes from Airbus: 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, another milestone was reached by the airline, when services to Europe were inaugurated, through a code share service with Air France to Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris.

Customer Service

The company is noted for its attention to customer service. One of TAM's characteristic is having the aircraft's captain and head purser stand next to the entrance of the aircraft while it is being boarded, greeting passengers. Prior to his death, Amaro often greeted passengers himself on early morning flights at Congonhas, before starting his workday.

Accidents

Fleet

As of June, 2005, TAM's fleet is composed of 34 A320 and 13 A319 aircraft, used in domestic and South American routes. The company also operates 6 A330-200 aircraft in its routes to Miami and Paris. Some Fokker 100s are still employed, though after a spate of accidents TAM announced its intention to retire these aircraft as the new Airbus models are delivered.

Missing image
TAM_A350.JPG
Proposed TAM Airbus A350.

On June 16, 2005, TAM announced the purchase of 20 additional A320 aircraft, plus an additional 20 options to buy aircraft of the same family. These are expected to be delivered between 2007 and 2010, adding to the already scheduled delivery of 10 A320s between August 2005 and 2008.

At the same time, the company signed a memo stating their intent to buy 8 of the new A350 (plus 7 options), to be delivered by 2012. These are expected to replace the A330 in the Paris and Miami routes as they become available.

Other

TAM currently also has made contracts with model airplane manufacturers like Schabak and Wooster, in an attempt to increase the company's visibility among international passengers.

External links

  • TAM (http://www.tam.com.br/) - Official Website

References

  • Guaracy, Thales (2003) . O Sonho Brasileiro. São Paulo : A Girafa.


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