TAM Gets Loan to Bankroll Pre-Delivery Payments for 30 Jetliners

Brazil’s TAM signed a loan agreement with the BNP Paribas bank to finance up to $117.1 million in pre-delivery payment (PDP) operations for 30 Airbus aircraft contracted with the French company, with confirmed purchase orders and deliveries scheduled for the period 2008 to 2010.

TAM’s fleet plan forecasts that it will close 2008 with 123 aircraft in operation –four Boeing B777-300ER aircraft and 119 Airbus aircraft. The company estimates that it will close 2010 with 136 aircraft, already taking in to account the units that will be returned in this period because the respective contracts will come to an end, the policy of standardization and maintenance of a young fleet and a low average age.

TAM has been domestic market leader since July 2003, closing the month of November 2007 with a 49.9 percent market share. The company flies to 47 destinations in Brazil.