Monday, July 2, 2012

ROUTE UPDATES: Bariloche (BRC) Sharp Increase in Flights for Winter Ski Season

Bariloche Profile

Bariloche is a city of 108,000 people located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi in the central western Patagonia region of Argentina near the Chilean border. It is a year-round tourist destination and the number one winter ski resort in Argentina in terms of number of skiiers taking advantage of the nearby Cerro Catedral mountain. Argentines and Brazilians are the main visitors but many Europeans and Americans visit Bariloche too.

Aerolineas Argentinas 737-700, LV-CBF, at AEP on 17Sep10

Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral  

Aerolineas Argentinas increased the number of flights it operated from Buenos Aires to Bariloche (BRC) in June to 35 weekly with 28 being from Aeroparque (AEP) and 7 from Ezeiza (EZE).  The carrier will further increase its flights between the two cities to 45 per week for the peak ski season of July and August.  Flights to Bariloche (BRC) will also be increased from Cordoba (COR), Argentina's second-largest city and Mendoza (MDZ) its fourth-largest metropolis.  Aerolineas will also operate thrice-weekly scheduled flights from Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU) to Bariloche (BRC).    

       LAN Argentina A320, LV-BHU. landing at AEP on 03Oct10 

LAN Argentina

Starting in July, LAN Argentina will fly up to five daily flights from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) ro Bariloche (BRC) and nine daily flights on weekends using the carrier's Airbus A320 aircraft. 


 
TAM A320, PR-MBB, preparing for takeoff at AEP on 11Feb12

GOL 737-800, PR-GGA, at AEP on 11Feb12

TAM & GOL

Reflecting the strong Brazilian interest in skiing at Bariloche, the two main Brazilian airlines, TAM and GOL have been authorized by the Argentine National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC by its Spanish initials) to operate 140 charters from Brazil to Bariloche (BRC) during July and August.  The originating airports will be Belo Horizonte (CNF), Porto Alegre (POA), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), and Sao Paulo (GRU) with the services being flown by GOL 737-700's and -800's plus TAM A320's (plus possibly TAM A330's as BRC's 2,348 meter / 7,703 ft. runway can probably handle them when they only carry enough fuel to fly to GIG, the furthest away of the aforementioned Brazilian airports). 

Sources:  Aviacion News 31May12, 07Jun12, 14Jun12
              http://www.airwaysim.com/forum/index.php?topic=6649.0
              Wikipedia

Photos: Phil Perry

No comments:

Post a Comment