Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport

Etihad and Ethiopian plan services to Sao Paulo as Latin America-Asia market prepares to grow

Etihad Airways and Ethiopian Airlines intend to launch services to Sao Paulo, the economic heart of the rapidly growing Latin American market. While Sao Paulo is seeing increased capacity from a number of carriers, services from Etihad and Ethiopian are notable for the considerable transfer traffic they will have, including from Asia. Linking the high-growth economies of Asia with their Latin American counterparts has been alluring for many carriers, but distances and aircraft range limitations necessitate all services be one-stop.

Asia-Latin America's traditional, if small time, transfer hubs in North America and Europe have increasingly seen competition from the Middle East. That will be complemented in the next few years with hubs from Africa, first from East Africa and potentially later from West Africa.

Rapidly expanding Kenya Airways charts growth with plan to serve every inhabited continent by 2017

Kenya Airways plans to launch its first services to North America, South America and Australia by 2017, making it one of the few carriers to serve every inhabited continent. While these three continents will give Africa's currently fifth-largest airline by seats a global presence, its future is pegged on Asia, with the carrier over the next 10 years planning to launch seven new routes into China, six in the Indian Subcontinent and three across North and Southeast Asia as well as having a growing presence in Europe and the Middle East. It is poised to become Africa's largest carrier.

Growth will be fuelled by Africa's status as a burgeoning market, as well as reliance on partners: Kenya Airways will open routes to SkyTeam member hubs in Xiamen (Xiamen Airlines), Hanoi (Vietnam Airlines), Seoul (Korean Air), Moscow (Aeroflot) and Prague (Czech Airlines). The intercontinental focus follows Kenya's strong emphasis on regional Africa, with the carrier aiming to serve every African nation by the end of 2013. 

TAM plans US expansion in 2012 with B777-300ERs while Brazil domestic growth slows

Brazil’s TAM is planning further capacity expansion on US routes in 2012 as growth in the Brazilian domestic market shows signs of cooling down. The US expansion will be driven by the doubling of TAM’s B777-300ER fleet next year from four to eight aircraft. The B777-300ER, which is by far the largest aircraft type in TAM’s fleet, is now only used on European routes but will start to be deployed in the US during 2012.