Delta Air Lines on Thursday began flights connecting its Detroit hub with South America for the first time, with new nonstop service to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The inaugural flight departed from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) at 7:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, arriving in Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) at 8 a.m. on Friday.
The flights will be operated with 216-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft that have 35 business class seats and 181 seats in economy class.
The new service will operate twice weekly through December 15, when it will increase to five days each week to coincide with the start of the Brazilian tourist season.
The launch marks Delta’s most recent international flight from Detroit. In recent months Delta has added new services from Detroit to Seoul-Incheon and Hong Kong and expanded flights to Shanghai. In 2011, Delta will begin nonstop service between Detroit and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, operating trans-Pacific flights for the first time in three decades.
To Brazil, Delta currently offers service between Atlanta and Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus and the capital city of Brasilia; and service between New York-JFK and Sao Paulo.
