Today is the day to one of the most remarkable moments in the history of TAM: the day when two A330s were delivered at Congonhas Airport (CGH) in November 1998.
At the time, the fact gained a lot of notoriety in the local and international press, which featured a large event at Congonhas airport to receive the first two units: the PT-MVA and the PT-MVB.
In addition to the landing of the two giants in Congonhas, the aircraft performed a low age, at a time when other giant planes operated at the busy airport in the heart of São Paulo, such as the Boeing 767-200 from Transbrasil, the Airbus A300 from Cruzeiro and VASP , as well as the Douglas DC-8.
If the operation of a widebody is currently unthinkable, mainly due to the operation on a 1.940-meter runway, the daring plan by Airbus and Rolim Amaro at the delivery event of the 1st Brazilian A330 had the operation without engers and with reduced fuel.
Prior to the delivery event to TAM, an Airbus demonstration A330-200 that participated in FIDAE visited Congonhas, resulting in es with touches and go-arounds also in 1998.
Check out the historic moment below:
The second video contains more details of the event and curiosities about TAM's Airbus A330-200
A brief history of the Airbus A330-200 at TAM
The arrival of the A330-200 represented the entry of TAM as a major Brazilian player in the Brazilian aviation industry, led by Varig at the time.
With the new, state-of-the-art model, TAM began operating at important European airports with highly sought-after slots, such as: Milan, Paris, London-Heathrow, Madrid-Barajas, Frankfurt and Zurich. The A330 was also very present in the United States, mainly at Miami and Orlando airports.
Interestingly, both PT-MVA and PT-MVB operated with the three visual identities of TAM's 'modern era', remaining with the company for almost two decades until mid-2016, when the company opted to withdraw the A330 from the fleet.
TAM, which was known for being a major Airbus customer in Brazil, bet on the A350 precisely because of the success of the A330, however, plans changed after the merger with LAN Chile.
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