Brazilian carrier TAM to acquire 22 A350 XWBs, four additional A330-200s

TAM currently operates a fleet of 86 Airbus aircraft, including 15 A319s, 61 A320s and 10 A330-200s on its international routes to New York, Miami, London and Paris, and is Airbus' largest customer in Latin America.

"We thoroughly reviewed the A350 XWB programme, and we are very confident that this aircraft will set new standards of passenger comfort, operating economics and low emissions in our growing long-haul markets" said Marco Bologna, president, TAM.

"The A330s in our fleet already provide us with an excellent level of economics combined with superior passenger appeal. The A350 XWB will further consolidate our successful growth into the future, and responds to our needs for our long-term development," Bologna added.

"We are very proud to have a successful, well respected airline like TAM confirm its choice for the A350 XWB", said John Leahy, chief operating officer (customers) at Airbus. He added, "We are very grateful for this strong endorsement of the A350 XWB programme, and with the additional four A330s we are also pleased to be playing a major role in TAM's continued expansion of its long-haul network. We are delighted with our long-standing partnership with TAM, and look forward to continuing this relationship into the future."

Airbus says with TAM's order, it has total firm orders and commitments for the A350 XWB 254 aircraft (154 firm orders and 100 commitments).

The manufacturer says the A350 XWB (extra wide-body) is Airbus' newest aircraft model and will be the world's most technically advanced aircraft when it enters service in 2013 as was designed to increase productivity and offer unparalleled levels of passenger comfort.