Brazilian airline TAM appoints CFO Barroso as CEO

SAO PAULO Dec 28 (Reuters) - TAM (TAMM4.SA)(TAM.N), Brazil's largest airline, on Monday appointed Libano Barroso as chief executive, more than two months after his predecessor quit over disagreements with controlling shareholders, the company said in a statement.

Barroso was made acting CEO and kept the chief financial officer post since early October, when David Barioni Neto unexpectedly stepped down. Local media reported Barioni's decision was due to disagreements with members of the Amaro family over cost-cutting strategies.

The company did not say who will replace Barroso at the finance post.

The appointment comes a week after TAM announced the takeover of smaller rival Pantanal for a total of 83 million reais ($48 million), including assumed debt. By buying Pantanal, TAM seeks to expand its footprint in the fast-growing regional aviation market and win more slots in one of the country's busiest airports in Sao Paulo.

Analysts expect one of the first actions that Barroso will undertake early next year is an increase in fares. On several occasions, Barroso has told analysts and reporters that travel demand is rapidly improving in Brazil, opening room for a possible increase in airfares of around 10 percent.

TAM shares rose 0.1 percent to 38.12 reais. They have more than doubled since the start of the year. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Cesar Bianconi, editing by Dave Zimmerman)