Brazil-based airline startup Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos (ITA) has recently announced its first routes and will begin operations in June. Brazil has now officially added a new airline to its domestic market after months of preparation and a relatively quick certification process. ITA received approval from the Board of Directors of Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency to explore passenger services that will eventually begin ticket sales.
It is to note that the airlines were board approved less than two weeks after receiving its Certificate of Air Operator from the agency. ITA launched its official web page and loaded its first operations into the system. It revealed its initial network and future destinations as new aircraft arrive throughout the year. The airline will initially serve trunk routes that directly clash with three significant airline markets: Azul Brazilian Airlines, GOL Airlines and LATAM Brasil.
On July 2nd 2021, the first routes will connect ITA’s initial hub in São Paulo to seven cities. Tehy are Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Porto Seguro, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Currently, the airline owns a single Airbus A320 in Brazil, registered PS-SPJ but is expecting more aircraft in the future. ITA’s first hub will be at the Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo. By August, the company intends to build another connection centre at the Galeao Airport in Rio de Janeiro.
As per the current loaded flight schedule, the airline startup will be expanding aggressively. According to the charted timeline, by August Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Maceió, Natal and Recife will join the route map and in September, Aracaju, Goiânia, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Luís and Vitoria will be added. ITA has plans to begin services to Belém in October and add Manaus and Santarem in November.