TAM's Technological Center in Sao Carlos Performs Aircraft Maintenance for LAN Group

SAO PAULO, June 15  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM (NYSE: TAM; Bovespa: TAMM4) has signed a contract with LAN Group (LAN Chile S.A.) to perform regular maintenance on six aircraft from the Chilean company's fleet at TAM's Technological Center in Sao Carlos, located in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo.

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Altogether, four Airbus A319 and two A320 aircraft will undergo C and D checks. The work should be completed by June. According to the agreement, TAM will perform the C check, which involves general maintenance of the aircraft, on three of the A319 and on the two A320. The other A319 will undergo the D check, which involves the complete disassembly and inspection of the aircraft and its systems.

"Our Technological Center is fully equipped to provide maintenance services for large companies such as LAN. We have an excellent infrastructure in Sao Carlos and are certified to perform these services by aeronautics authorities in Brazil, Chile and Europe," says Ruy Amparo, TAM Vice President of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul).

"We are very pleased to have LAN as a customer. In addition to being a first-rate business, the company has ties with us that date back to the 90's, when the two companies, along with TACA, negotiated the large-scale purchase of A320 aircraft with Airbus," adds Amparo.

TAM's facilities in Sao Carlos have been certified by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to perform all major scheduled maintenance jobs (C and D checks) on Airbus A319/A320/A321 and A330 aircraft, as well as the Fokker-100.  The company is also certified to perform maintenance on Boeing aircraft components that are being added to its fleet. The ANAC 145 and EASA 145 certifications allow TAM to perform maintenance on its own fleet and also provide the service to third parties.

TAM is also in the process of attaining certification from U.S. authorities for the FAR 145, which will license the performance of maintenance services on any U.S.-registered aircraft. Its Technological Center will then be able to offer customers an even broader array of services.

Covering 4.6 million square meters, the TAM complex in Sao Carlos houses hangars for aircraft maintenance and workshops that can inspect more than 2 thousand aviation components, including landing gear navigation computers. 

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DATASOURCE: TAM



CONTACT:  Libano Miranda Barroso, TAM Investor Relations,

+011-55-11-5582-9715, fax, +011-55-11-5582-8149, 



Web site:  http://www.tam.com.br/ 

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