Tuesday, March 20, 2018

ROUTE UPDATES: Aerolineas Argentinas Route Changes - Pursuit of Profitability & Direct Domestic Connections - Part 2


Cordoba (COR) - Bahia Blanca (BHI) - eff 03Apr18 - 5x/weekly

Flights to be operated by Austral E190's.  Bahia Blanca (BHI) is scheduled to be the 16th destination operated year-round by the Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral group from its Cordaba (COR) hub, and the 17th when counting Mar del Plata (MDQ), which is served on a seasonal summer basis. 

Cordoba (COR) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) - eff XXApr18 - Route Cancelled

Suspended due to end of summer season. 

Cordoba (COR) - Porto Seguro (BPS) - eff XXApr18 - Route Cancelled

Suspended due to the end of the summer season despite having continued 1x/weekly after the summer in 2017.

Cordoba (COR) - Salvador (SSA) - eff XXApr18 - Route Cancelled

Suspended due to the end of the summer season despite having continued 1x/weekly after the summer in 2017.

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Punta Cana (PUJ) - eff 01May18 - increase from 4x/weekly to 1x/daily

This route is currently operated 4x/weekly with A330's but will pass to 1x/daily service using Aerolineas' new 737 MAX 8's.  The long range of the MAX series allows for routes like EZE-PUJ to be served by smaller aircraft more frequently and will make routes that are too "thin" on passenger traffic to support  traditional long-range aircraft, economically viable (see Cordoba (COR) to Punta Cana (PUJ) below).

Long-range aircraft are generally large so that they can carry a lot of fuel but their size makes them burn a lot of fuel too, which means that they have to carry a large payload of passengers, cargo, or combination of both to be profitable.  But the new generation of 737 MAX aircraft burn a lot less fuel than their predecessors, the 737 NG series, so they can fly farther on the same amount of gas while only needing to fill 150-180 seats.

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Madrid (MAD) - eff XXJun18 - increase from 7x to 10x/weekly

This route is currently served mainly with A340-300's but the new flights will be operated by A330-200's. 

Cordoba (COR) - Punta Cana (PUJ) - eff XXJul18 - 1x/weekly

This route, which is relatively "thin" on passenger traffic, is now economically viable using the long-range smaller 737 MAX 8 instead of a larger aircraft like the A330, which was previously necessary for a route of this length.   

Cordoba (COR) - San Martin de los Andes (CPC) - eff July to September
  
This is a seasonal flight for the winter ski season.  

Sources:

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