South Florida Business Journal
Date: Monday, April 25, 2011, 2:35pm EDT
American Airlines has filed an application to add 10 flights from Miami to Brazil.
American's application with the U.S. Department of Transportation proposes to launch service to Manaus and increase the frequency to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte.
"If we are granted the use of these frequencies, we could begin flying as early as this coming December," said Will Ris, American's senior VP for government affairs, in a news release.
The expansion could be a good overall boost to South Florida businesses because many Brazilians use their nation's strong currency to go shopping when they are in South Florida.
Brazil's president reportedly wants to raise fees on overseas credit card purchases from 2.4 percent to 6.4 percent, as spending by Brazilians abroad jumped 38.5 percent in the first two months of the year.
Brazilians have been among the heaviest buyers of luxury condos in the region.
In an article in the April 22 edition of the South Florida Business Journal, Peter Zalewski, managing partner of Condo Vultures Realty, said Brazilians and Canadians were among the foreigners buying homes out of confidence created by the strength of their respective economies.
American wants to boost service from Miami to Brasilia, the nation's capital, from four times a week to daily, using 182-seat Boeing 757 ...
