Rio Games provide boost for American Airlines amid Brazil woes

Typically, major international events like the Olympics or the World Cup are a little-loved speed bump for US airlines, as a glut of leisure passengers displaces higher-paying business customers for several weeks or a month. But for American Airlines long the dominant US presence in South America and other US carriers, the Rio de Janeiro Games are actually poised to be a rare bright spot in an otherwise struggling market for international travel to Brazil. "Usually the Olympics, World Cups, conventions are a negative for revenues because business travelers just stay away because they can't get hotels, because they're worried about the crowds," said American's president, Scott Kirby. "In this case, Brazil is so bad that there is no business traffic or close to no business traffic. And so, this year, I think it will be a positive just because Brazil has fallen so much before." The company added a daily flight from New York's JFK airport to Rio for several days in the beginning of August to coincide with the start of the Olympics and will add a daily flight on that same route for the final weekend of the Games. But it won't make up for the long-term decline that has seen American cut five Brazilian cities from its network and scale back its service to the country over the last year from 90 weekly flights to a current total of, at most, 74 per week. The decline of US-to-Brazil traffic has played out over the last two years, as political instability and a plunge in oil prices have fueled economic turmoil and a drop in the value of the Brazilian real in South America's largest air travel market.<br/>