All eyes are on Brazil this week, host country to the 32 nations competing for gold and glory during the FIFA World Cup. The opening match took place in Sao Paulo on June 12, with the closing game being held in the famous Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on July 13. We’ve heard a lot about the ups and downs of preparation for this epic soccer event—expected to draw close to one million international visitors (estimates vary widely).
Many of us have wondered (maybe worried) how Brazilian airlines were going to handle the transport of this invasion of visitors, to say nothing of moving the competing teams among the 12 different city venues. TAM Airlines let’s us know some of the special preparation it has made for the World Cup event:
- Rearranged its air network and created over 750 new domestic flights and over 300 new international flights. During the World Cup soccer tournament, TAM will operate approximately 22,000 flights within Brazil.
- Put six designated aircraft on call during the entire event for operational contingencies, while additional aircraft maintenance teams will be on stand-by at TAM’s 42 domestic destinations to provide onsite support in addressing any unscheduled repairs.
- Invested approximately one-half million US dollars to ensure the efficiencies of all IT and operational control systems.
- Visitor-friendly enhancements range from flight attendants sporting green and yellow scarves and special green carpets welcoming passengers at aircraft doors in host cities, to airport agents wearing graphic icons on their nametags to identify which languages they speak.
- Now being distributed in host cities (and online tam.com.br) is TAM’s new World Cup Guide, full of information to assist travelers with check-in procedures, transportation options, currency exchange points, and other services.
Let the games begin!
