BRASILIA - Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted on Tuesday to allow foreign-controlled airlines to operate domestic flights in Latin America’s largest economy, opening the door to more competition in an increasingly concentrated market.
However, debates continued into the night, with voting scheduled to tweak the final language of the bill that will be sent to the Senate. The upper chamber is expected to pass the measure, which would then go into effect immediately. Brazil’s No. 4 airline, Avianca Brasil, has lost market share in recent weeks as it gave up all but six of its planes during a court-run bankruptcy reorganization.
A foreign player could potentially bid on Avianca Brasil’s routes at an upcoming auction — which Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE has already called the best outcome.
aishath_nahula - good idea?