British Airways Increases Flights to Rio de Janeiro

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May 05, 2011, 07:35 ET

CRAWLEY, England, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- British Airways is increasing its services to Brazil by doubling its weekly frequency to Rio de Janeiro from three to six flights.

Flights to Rio de Janeiro will now depart Heathrow for Rio every day, except Mondays. The departure time remains at 12.15pm, landing in Rio at 9.55pm local time. The flight will continue to be served by a three class B777, enabling customers to choose from World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premier economy) and the airline's fully flat beds in Club World (business class).

Neil Cottrell, British Airways' head of network planning, said: "We are experiencing a real increase in demand for Rio and by doubling the number of frequencies, we are able to offer our customers more choice and greater availability. Brazil is also experiencing strong economic growth and this capacity increase is a great opportunity for British Airways to be part of that growth."

Holidays in Rio de Janeiro offer visitors white sandy beaches, rainforest clad mountains and cultural must-sees including the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. British Airways offers a choice of hotels including the 3* Center for a comfortable stay or the 5* InterContinental Rio next to the Gvea Golf Club and the Fashion Mall shopping centre. The 5* Porto Bay Rio Internacional has a rooftop swimming pool and views of the beach while the 5* Copacabana Palace offers luxurious accommodation opposite the famous Copacabana Beach.

British Airways commitment to Latin America has been further strengthened by the introduction of direct flights to Buenos Aires in March. The daily flight now operates direct to Argentina's capital instead of stopping off in Sao Paolo. Holidays in Buenos Aires are popular for gourmet dining, vibrant nightlife and culture with plenty of museums and art galleries.

In April, British Airways and Iberia announced the immediate start of codesharing on a new tranche of one another's flights. This included BA putting its code on Iberia flights from Madrid to San Jose (Costa Rica) and Panama City while Iberia added its code to BA's Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat services. Iberia's flights to Havana started carrying the BA code from April 15. Iberia has also added its code onto British Airways' services to Cape Town and both airlines are now sharing their Johannesburg flights. British Airways offers a range of quality hotels in Cape Town close to museums, galleries, theatres and fine restaurants.

About British Airways:

British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations - holidays, hotels, flights, car rental and experiences. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed customers' expectations, both in terms of the value for money and quality of the service provided.

For further British Airways plc / BA Holidays ltd media information please contact:

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SOURCE British Airways