El Al expects 50,000 passengers per year on its new Sao Paulo Brazil flight

Israel's leadingairline and flag carrier will launch direct flights to Brazil on May 2, its first new destination in 10 years
 
El Al Israel Airlines chief executive officer, Haim Romano, said last week that El Al Israel Airlines expects 50,000 passengers a year to fly on its new direct flight to Sao Paulo.
 
It is anticipated that some 25,000 passengers will travel on its planned direct flights by the end of the year. The company expects to double this figure next year.
 
Israel's leadingairline and flag carrier will launch direct flights to Brazil on May 2, its first new destination in 10 years. It will operate three nonstop flights a week to Brazil using Boeing 777 aircraft for the 14 hour and 45 minute flight. (Flying time is about 15 hours to Sao Paulo and 14 hours back to Tel Aviv). The aircraft holds 281 passengers and has an advanced entertainment system.
 
Connecting flights are available to other South American cities, such as Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. A flight to Buenos Aires is about two hours.
 
El Al had signed cooperation agreements with Brazil's TAM and Aerolineas Argentinas which will be upgraded to code-sharing agreements soon. In a statement, Mr. Romano said: "The launching of the route is in line with the company's vision for 2010 which emphasizes expanding and growing through long-distance flights, while meeting the demands of the business and tourism sectors”.