TAM Receives First Boeing 777-300ER

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM (Bovespa: TAM4 and NYSE: TAM) has just received, directly from the manufacturing plant in Seattle, USA, the first of eight 777-300ER aircraft acquired from Boeing. The aircraft is slated for use in the company's daily flights between Sao Paulo and Frankfurt, Germany and Sao Paulo and London. Initially, the new aircraft will be used on the Sao Paulo - Santiago, Chile route in South America.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/SPTH002LOGO )

With a more spacious cabin, three seat classes and capacity for 365 passengers, the B777-300ER also has greater energy efficiency. This means that in addition to reducing operating costs due to less fuel consumption, it emits less harmful gasses into the environment. With the incorporation of the new Boeing 777-300 ER, TAM now has an operational fleet of 116 aircraft, including 110 Airbus (models 17 A319, 76 A320, 3 A321, 12 A330 and 2 A340), 1 B777-300 ER, 2 B767-300 and 3 MD-11. By the end of this year, the company will receive three more units of this Boeing model, which will replace the MD-11 aircraft that are currently being used in long distance flight routes and which will be returned by the end of 2008. To support the expansion of the international flight network, TAM will receive two Airbus A330 during this year.

"These acquisitions reinforce our policy of operating a young fleet, guaranteeing more passenger comfort in our quest for Service Excellence -- one of the three pillars upon which the company bases its performance, along with Technical-Operational Excellence and Excellence in Management", says Captain David Barioni Neto, president of TAM. The company has a consistent and flexible long-term fleet plan to sustain the expansion of international and domestic markets, and anticipates having 123 aircraft by the end of 2008. The forecast for the end of 2012 is to have 147 airplanes in operation.

About TAM:

TAM (www.tam.com.br) has been the domestic market leader since July of 2003, and closed July 2008 with 51.1% of market share. The company flies to 42 destinations in Brazil. Through business agreements signed with regional companies, it reaches 79 different destinations in Brazil. TAM's market share among Brazilian companies that operate international flights stood at 72.5% in July. Operations abroad include TAM flights to 16 destinations in the United States, Europe and South America: New York and Miami (USA), Paris (France), London (England), Milan (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Madrid (Spain), Buenos Aires and Bariloche (Argentina), Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), Santiago (Chile), Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Montevideo (Uruguay), and Caracas (Venezuela). It has code-share agreements that make possible the sharing of seats on flights with international airlines, enabling passengers to travel to 64 other destinations in the U.S., Europe and South America.