Air France is to introduce a new three times weekly link between its Paris Charles de Gaulle hub and Brasília International Airport in Brazil’s capital city. The service will launch on March 31, 2014 and will be operated by a Boeing 777-200 equipped with 309 seats, including 35 in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy and 250 in Economy.

The new route marks only the sixth international route to be operated to the Brazilian capital and only the second from Europe – TAP Portugal has been serving the city from its Lisbon hub on an up to daily basis since July 2007. It also marks the first major network success since private consortium Inframérica took over the management of the airport last December

The addition of the new European connection is a key factor in Brasília International Airport’s growth strategy. Since the Inframérica Consortium took over the entire operation of the airport it has confirmed an investment of more than R$2.8 billion in modernising and expanding the airport, with major improvements already underway and due to be delivered before the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The objective is to create the most modern airport in Brazil, promote the region, and create the best connection gateway to serve the wider Brazilian market.

The airport is adopting a hub strategy and believes the location of Brasília, in the centre of Brazil, is a better location for local passengers connecting to Europe and other Central & North America destinations with connecting journeys significantly reduced through Brasília versus alternative transit points further south in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. To develop this concept the airport is promising a streamlined transfer process with efficient infrastructure allowing a minimum connection time of 45 minutes between domestic and international services and no slot or congestion constraints impacting flight schedules.

This offering has played its part in securing the new Air France service as the European carrier will offer onward flight options from Brasília to over twenty destinations in Brazil, thanks to a codeshare agreement with local low-cost carrier Gol, with which Air France has been developing a strategic partnership since 2009.

Although the route was not officially confirmed until October 11, 2013, The HUB had the opportunity to speak to Daniel Ketchibachian, commercial director of Inframérica, at World Routes in Las Vegas ahead of the formal announcement.

"This new international route is an important step to transform Inframérica Brasília International Airport, one of Brazil’s main airport for foreign flights. As the largest domestic hub in Brazil, the airport has enormous potential to fulfill its function and all the investments we are making will make infrastructure more efficient and attractive to airlines" he said.

According to MIDT data, an estimated 5.21 million bi-directional O&D passengers flew between Europe and Brazil in 2012. Approximately 161,000 began or ended their journeys in Brasília with around 24,000 flying between the Brazilian capital and Paris. These passengers, who will now be able to take advantage of the new direct connection, previously had to connect via other locations, the largest flows with TAP Portugal via Lisbon or TAM Airlines via Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.

Ahead of next year’s Football World Cup, Inframérica will have invested R$ 900 million into the facility and increased the number of air bridges from 13 to 28. The renovation and expansion underway at the site will allow the capacity of the airport to grow from the current 16 million passengers per year to 41 million in the last phase of the concession. "Inframérica is proud that companies like Air France believe in our airport. We are also in very advanced talks with other airlines and we will have more news soon" said Ketchibachian.

"The airport is undergoing a significant upgrade and facelift at the moment and there are promising changes on the way. Passengers will certainly experience the benefits soon as the work is being delivered. We have already signed contracts with major brands that will be present at the airport and offer enhanced passenger and consumer choice," he added.

The new link to Paris has been secured through the support of Routes’ own consultancy, ASM (Airport Strategy & Marketing Ltd) which was hired by Inframérica six months ago as part of a larger initiative to increase flights and destinations from Brasília. The renowned route development consultants are providing strategic advice, business case development and hands-on network development support for the implementation of Brasília International Airport strategy.

"ASM is the world leading route development company. The company defined route development for airports 20 years ago and is now the largest, best-connected and most experienced consultancy in this field. We are working with them side by side so that Brasília has new air services to the major cities of the world," said Ketchibachian.

You can hear more from Daniel Ketchibachian, commercial director of Inframérica, on developments at the airport in our exclusive World Routes video, below.

The new link to Brasilia is just part of an improved product from Air France between Europe and Brazil in 2014, which will be further supported by developments at sister carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The French national carrier confirms it will debut its four-class, 516-seat Airbus A380 on its route between Paris and Sao Paulo, while from March 30, 2014 it will use a 777-300 on its night flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. The 381-seat aircraft (42 in Business, 24 in Premium Economy and 315 in Economy) will replace a 747 and will allow the airline to offer a Premium Economy cabin on all of its flights to and from Rio de Janeiro. Elsewhere, KLM will extend its fifth weekly flight between Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro, launched in April 2013, October 27, 2013 for the 2013-2014 winter season.

"Brazil is one of Air France-KLM’s priority markets. Not only because the country will host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016, but also for its regional and global reputation. This is why we are continuing to invest and support the country's economic development with our extensive flight offering and innovative services between Brazil and the rest of the world via our two connecting hubs", said Patrick Alexandre, executive vice president commercial, sales and marketing, Air France-KLM.