Aerolineas' President Mariano Recalde said two years ago that the carrier would break even in 2012 and he projected profits in the following years but that appears very unlikely now. 2011 was viewed as an exceptional year because of the ashes from the Chilean volcano that interrupted operations off and on over several months provoking losses but there were no such extraordinary circumstances in 2012, though the Argentine economy was not as strong this past year as in 2011.
According to Aviacion News, subsidies to Aerolineas totaled almost as much as the airline's revenue from tickets and cargo operations in 2012, which, if true, means that the carrier's revenue only covers half of its expenses, a highly unprofitable situation !
The airline carried a record number of passengers in 2012, with traveler number 7 million for the year arriving at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 27Dec12 to a festive greeting by Recalde and a group of company representatives. However, according to La Nacion, Aerolineas' losses grew even faster than the growth in passenger numbers with a 16.3% increase in passengers between the two years but the per passenger subsidy growing from 482 pesos in 2011 to 682 pesos in 2012, a 42% increase. Some of that could be explained by the Argentine peso losing value against the US dollar during the past year, but that only amounted to about 10% at the official exchange rate.
Sources: Aviacion News 20Dec12
La Nacion 27Dec12
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