Dubai: Emirates and Etihad Airways are unlikely to add extra services to Brazil in the lead up to the Fifa World Cup to be hosted from June 12 to July 14.
An Emirates spokesperson stated that there are no plans to add extra flights but added this could be reviewed if required. Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Baumgartner, ruled out any additional services in a statement to Gulf News.
Emirates flies daily to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Etihad flies daily to Sao Paulo. Both airlines have said they are seeing strong demand on these flights over the World Cup period.
But with the World Cup just ten weeks away the airlines do not look like they will increase services.
“We still have good availabilities between the end of the first week of the World Cup and the final,” stated Baumgartner. Etihad offers 3,360 seats a week between the two cities.
Earlier this year, Etihad announced it will expand its operations into Latin and South America through code-share agreements with Spain’s Air Europa and the US’ JetBlue. But neither of these codeshares will fly into Brazil during the World Cup, Baumgartner stated.
Emirates has signed up Brazilian football legend Pele and Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo as brand ambassadors in the lead up to the World Cup.
The Fifa World Cup, hosted across Brazil, is expected to attract more than 500,000 international visitors, according to previous statements by Fifa and the Brazilian Tourism Board.
