LATAM Airlines Group has resumed the connectivity to all of its European destinations after a hiatus of more than two years on some due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, LATAM restarted the commercial service between São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) and Rome Fiumicino International Airport (FCO). Let’s investigate further.

Back to business

It has been a long wait, but the route between São Paulo and Rome operated by LATAM is finally back. This route was suspended in October 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, right around the same time it scrapped its service to Munich, Germany.

The company justified the decision to suspend the flights to Rome by saying it had identified an excessive offer of flights between Brazil and Europe. Nonetheless, it seems demand is back, and LATAM has decided to resume this route.

As Aline Mafra, LATAM Brazil’s Director of Sales and Marketing, pointed out,

“Flying to Rome again during high season reinforces our efforts to reconnect Brazil with the world and to meet our clients’ demand for more destination options at a time when the entire tourism chain is resuming, in addition to offering a better product to shorten distances and, consequently, travel time.”

The schedule

LATAM will offer its flights to Rome on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The flights will be operated with its Boeing 777-300 fleet, which can carry up to 410 passengers (38 in Premium Business, 50 in Economy+, and 322 in Economy).

This is the second destination LATAM is operating to in Italy after Milan, served with four weekly flights from São Paulo Guarulhos. The direct Guarulhos-Rome flight reduces travel time of customers by an average of 6 hours compared to using connections.

ITA Airways has also opened this route

Similarly, the new Italian flag carrier ITA Airways launched its flights from Rome to São Paulo this month, according to the airline’s network website. In July, ITA Airways opened three international routes, flying from Fiumicino to Buenos Aires (Argentina), São Paulo (Brazil), and Los Angeles (United States).

By adding this route to Brazil, ITA Airways is resuming the route previously operated by Alitalia. It is uncertain if ITA Airways will resume Alitalia’s second route to Brazil, serving Rio de Janeiro. Currently, the connectivity between Brazil and Italy is composed of 12 weekly flights and over 3,900 seats available. Compared to July 2019, the market has 62.5% fewer flights and 52.4% fewer seats.

 

Article available on SimpleFlying.com