The first phase of the codeshare agreement includes the Brasilia to Atlanta route and will be in operation by late May. The second phase will include Goiania, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Porto. The codeshare will eventually include routes from Sao Paulo to Atlanta, New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Detroit; Rio de Janeiro to Atlanta; and connecting destinations in the U.S.

Delta hopes to continue its Latin America expansion with new flights in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and air travel markets, the airline announced Tuesday in a release.

Delta has filed for approval to begin a second daily flight between Sao Paulo and New York-JFK and Atlanta,which would begin later this year. The new flights would add to Delta’s 35 weekly flights between Brazil and the U.S., which currently include service from Atlanta, Detroit and New York-JFK to Sao Paulo as well as service from Atlanta to both Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

Customers can also access 24 destinations within Brazil thanks to Delta’s strategic alliance with GOL Linhas aéreas inteligentes.

It’s the first time in more than a decade that the U.S. Department of Transportation has the opportunity to allocate new Sao Paulo frequencies. These opportunities arise as direct result of the U.S. government’s success in negotiating a new air service agreement with Brazil, which is expected to result in a full Open Skies agreement by 2015.