GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., the parent company of Brazilian airlines GOL Transportes Aéreos S.A. (“GTA”, Brazil’s low-cost, low-fare airline) and VRG Linhas Aéreas S.A. (“VRG”, Brazil’s premium service airline), announces that VRG began daily operations to its tenth international route: São Paulo-Madrid.
Daily flights will depart from Guarulhos International Airport at 12:10 am (local time), arriving in the Spanish capital at 1:30 pm (local time). On the return, flights will depart from Barajas airport at 2:55 pm (local time) and land in São Paulo at 10:55 pm (local time).
“The Madrid route is an important step in our international expansion plan, and will provide VRG’s customers with an additional hub for service throughout Europe,” says Lincoln Amano, VRG’s Commercial Director. The Company currently flies to Bogotá, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Caracas, Venezuela; Santiago, Chile; Frankfurt, Germany; London, England; Mexico City, México; Paris, France, and Rome, Italy.
VRG’s decision to launch daily flights to Spain is based on the continued expansion in commercial and tourism relations between the two countries. In 2006, Spain imported 6.94% more goods and services from Brazil than the previous year, totaling approximately US$ 2.3 billion. Brazil imported approximately US$ 1.4 billion in goods and services from Spain in 2006, up 7.39% from 2005. Tourism between the two countries has also increased steadily over the past several years.
According to 2006 data from the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the Tourism Ministry, Spain is the sixth most popular destination for Brazilians traveling internationally. Last year, nearly 300,000 Brazilians visited the European country, up 2% from 2005. Additionally, statistics from the WTO data show that Spain is among the top 10 countries providing tourists to Brazil. In 2006, approximately 200,000 Spanish travelers passed through Brazilian customs, a 22% increase over the previous year.
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