GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA (“GOL” or “Company”), (B3: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL), Brazil’s largest domestic airline, today confirmed the choice of Fortaleza as a new joint hub with Air France-KLM . From May 2018, GOL will increase its seat offer in Fortaleza by 35% with a new international hub, with 51 daily flights to 10 destinations from the capital of Ceará.
Currently, GOL already offers the best options in the market to connect clients from the northern bases (Manaus and Belém) to the northeast (Fortaleza, Natal, Recife and Salvador), where the Company is already a leader in participation and supply. The hub in Fortaleza has been thinking about GOL and its strategic partner, Air France-KLM, to meet the demand of customers who travel both work and leisure. The new flights will be structured in two periods of connections, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, at times convenient for customers.
“We are going to improve our network in Fortaleza to provide fast and efficient connections with Air France and KLM flights. We will adjust the schedules and increase the offer for Recife, Salvador, Belém and Manaus, as well as a new route to Natal. we will offer clients traveling from north-northeast to Europe, or for those who come to Brazil, to experience a variety of benefits at each stage of the trip, “commented Paulo Kakinoff, president of GOL. “This is another important step we have taken in our strategic partnership, which has been in effect for three years,” Kakinoff concluded. GOL currently has a fleet of 120 Boeing 737 aircraft.
The new hub in Fortaleza will also enable Air France-KLM to operationalize its development strategy in Brazil and will connect, from May 2018, Fortaleza to its two main hubs in Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. These new routes will be operated respectively by KLM with three weekly flights and by Air France with two weekly flights. GOL and Air France-KLM customers will benefit from easier connections, unified services and a wider choice of medium- and long-haul destinations. With this new mesh, customers will also benefit from a unique travel check-in and a guaranteed luggage tracking service.
“By launching flights to Fortaleza, operated by two of the group’s airlines, we again confirm our position as a leader in the European market. This new transatlantic offer, a meeting point between South America and Europe, makes Fortaleza a will facilitate our customers’ travel and increase their connection opportunities in the region, “said Jean-Marc Janaillac, President and CEO of Air France-KLM. “This project was made possible thanks to the strength of our partnership with GOL,” said Jean-Marc. “Our network will provide our customers with a wider choice of destinations to and from north-northeast Brazil.”
Photo: Reproduction