American wins approval for LAX – Sao Paulo route

Terry Maxon of the Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Department of Transportion has approved American’s application to fly between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.   The D.O.T. also ruled that US Airways will be able to continue flying between Charlotte and Sao Paulo after the merger.

From the D.O.T.’s explanation as to why they picked American:

“Los Angeles is the largest U.S.-Sao Paulo local O&D [origin and destination] arket that currently lacks U.S. carrier nonstop service. American has a strong presence at Los Angeles, where American and American Eagle together provide service to 43 cities. We tentatively find that American’s strength at Los Angeles, combined with its ability to provide convenient connections at Los Angeles, offer a firm basis to expect that it would provide meaningful public benefits in a major market currently devoid of U.S.-flag service.

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