Brazilian carrier GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes is to launch flights to Tobago in the Caribbean from the end of this month as it continues to develop its international activities. The airline will introduce the weekly link between Sao Paulo and Tobago from January 31, 2015 as an extension of its existing flight to Barbados. It will be flown by a Boeing 737-800.

The flight to Tobago’s Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson International Airport will open up the market between Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly.

You can learn more about the plans of GOL at this year's Routes Americas in Denver, USA between February 1-3, 2015. The airline's Barry Biffle, president, will be on a panel session entitled 'How will new routes be successful across different airline models?' during the Routes Americas Strategy Summit.

Speaking at a press conference on the Caribbean island last week confirming the airline’s route plans, administrator in the Division of Transport, Oscar Braithwaite said: “Brazil is the gateway to South America and a leader in this region and we are delighted to have this partnership.”

“This flight will allow Brazilians to travel, without visas, between Tobago and Sao Paulo in half the time it currently takes and is part of the strategy of the Division of Tourism and Transportation to have greater access to the Latin American market,” he added.

GOL is the largest low-cost airline in Latin America and offers around 910 daily flights to 69 destinations, 15 international, across South America, the Caribbean and the United States, using a modern fleet of Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 Next Generation aircraft.

The carrier recently entered into a codeshare agreement with Copa Airlines that will strengthen its position in international markets. The deal remains subject to approval from Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) and Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE).

The scope of the partnership will include codeshare cooperation on all flights between Copa’s Tocumen International Airport ‘Hub of the Americas’ in Panama City to and from Brazil, as well as select flights beyond Panama and select flights beyond Copa’s gateways in Brazil to more than 54 domestic cities and flights operated domestically by GOL in Brazil.

“For GOL, this partnership with Copa Airlines complements our business in international markets and creates more benefits to our customers. Clients travelling for tourism or business will have more options and convenience to fly”, said Ciro Camargo, head of alliances, GOL.

After a successful recent cost-cutting strategy and capacity reduction, GOL is strongly positioned in the Brazilian airline industry and the ongoing decline on oil prices will positively contribute to the company's profitability and returns. It is currently working to improve its capitalisation capacity and has submitted a corporate restructuring plan to shareholders for approval.

This arrangement will expand its capacity to raise equity capital by increasing its ability to issue more preferred shares without needing to issue common shares simultaneously, as the transfer and ownership of common shares are subject to restrictions under Brazilian airline industry laws and regulations.