Sunday, November 20, 2016

PHOTO GALLERY: LATAM Brasil A320neo PT-TMN at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 17Nov16

LATAM Brasil A320-271N, PT-TMN (c/n 7126), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 17Nov16.  (Phil Perry Photo)

PT-TMN is one of only 32 A320neo's delivered worldwide as of 31Oct16 and only the third example delivered directly to airlines in the Americas so far, the other two carriers having received the A320 with new-generation engines being Frontier Airlines of the US and Viva Aerobus of Mexico.  

Both LATAM Brasil and Frontier have received examples with Pratt & Whitney PW1100 series engines and Viva Aerobus with CFM International LEAP-1A powerplants.  All three western hemisphere carriers had received only one A320neo each as of 31Oct16. 

Airbus currently holds orders for 58 A319neo's, 3,385 A320neo's and 1,375 A321neo's for a total of 5,171 orders for the A320neo family. 

Sources:

http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a320-7126.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Airbus_A320neo_family_orders_and_deliveries
http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release-detail/detail/frontier-airlines-takes-delivery-of-its-first-a320neo/
http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release-detail/detail/airbus-delivers-first-a320neo-to-mexicos-viva-aerobus/

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca officially names Argentine affiliate Avian Lineas Aereas, orders 12 ATR-72-600's


Synergy Aerospace, majority owner of Avianca, announced at the annual ALTA Leaders' Forum (Latin American airlines association) in Mexico City today, that its Argentine affiliate, announced earlier this year, will be officially named Avian Lineas Aereas. 

The group also announced, as previously intended, that it placed an order for 12 ATR-72-600's with options on six more directly from the manufacturer with the first delivery expected before the end of 2016 and all 12 in service by January 2018.  

The carrier plans to focus operations on Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Cordoba (COR), the latter serving Argentina's second largest city and with a central geographical location that is suitable for hub operations.   

The carrier's marketing strategy will be "linking under-served communities in Argentina", not so much competing directly with the established carriers, Aerolineas Argentinas and LATAM Argentina. 

Service is expected to start in the first quarter of 2017, which is a surprise to the editor of this blog, since the carrier has apparently not even applied for any route rights yet.  

Sources:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/synergy-buys-up-to-18-atr-72-600s-for-argentine-subs-431469/ 
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1956485-avianca-compro-12-aviones-para-empezar-a-operar-en-el-pais

Thursday, October 20, 2016

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Amaszonas Uruguay started CRJ-200 Service between Montevideo (MVD) and Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 05Oct16


Amaszonas Uruguay, the Uruguayan affiliate of Amaszonas Group of Bolivia, operated its inaugural flight as a company and also on the Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) route on 28Sep16, which was largely ceremonial in nature with 50 invited guests filling the 50 seats of the carrier's sole CRJ-200, including members of the press, travel agents, government officials, and the presidents of Amaszonas Group, Sergio de Urioste, and Amaszonas Uruguay, Carlos Pera.        

Regular commercial service started between MVD and AEP on 05Oct16 with 2x/daily flights operated by its CRJ-200 joining Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral and Alas Uruguay on the route. The carrier eventually plans to operate six CRJ-200's and up to 70 weekly flights between the two cities, also adding service from Montevideo (MVD) to Curitiba (CWB), Porto Alegre (POA), and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), all in Brazil, plus seasonal flights between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and the Uruguayan summer resort of Punta del Este (PDP).   

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160922/avn-160922.html
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/editorial/item/23441-amaszonas-uruguay-es-una-realidad-ya-llego-a-aeroparque

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

FLEET UPDATE: Alas Uruguay returns one 737-300, drops Asuncion (ASU), might return 2nd 737-300



Alas Uruguay continues to soldier on flying the Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) route 2x/daily on most days but recently returned 737-33R, CX-OAB (c/n 28869/2887) to lessor Aergo Group and it also stopped flying its only other route from Montevideo (MVD) to Asuncion (ASU).  

CX-OAB flew directly from Montevideo (MVD) to Santiago (SCL) on 24Aug16 where it has joined the fleet of Chilean carrier Latin American Wings. Additionally, Alas Uruguay was at one point without any operational aircraft for several days in late September while 737-36N, CX-OAA (c/n 28569/2996) was out of service pending some work and the only other plane in the carrier's fleet 737-36N, CX-OAC (c/n 28563/2921) had a defective wing part with no replacement available until a few days later when a spare arrived from the United States.

As of August, the airline had a load factor of 53%, lower than the break-even number of 67%, but still above the level projected in the carrier's business plan at this stage in its history.  65% of Alas' passengers are Uruguayan but the number of Argentines traveling on the airline is expected to go up as it becomes better known in that country.       

In addition to stiff competition from Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral on the Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Montevideo (MVD) "Air Bridge", Alas Uruguay also has a new competitor on the route, Amaszonas Uruguay, the new Uruguayan affiliate of the Bolivian carrier Amaszonas, that is operating 2x/daily CRJ-200 service between the two cities.      

The latest rumors are that CX-OAA might be returned to GECAS soon since the one remaining aircraft would be enough to operate the "Air Bridge" 2x/daily flights, although that would leave no room to spare in case of a mechanical problem with the plane, in which case passengers would have to be redirected to the other two carriers on the route.

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160811/avn-160811.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/08/alas-u-devolvio-un-avion.html
http://portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/23387-ley-de-murphy-o-gualicho-el-unico-avion-operativo-de-alas-uruguay-fuera-de-servicio
http://portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/23388-alas-uruguay-se-acelera-despreservacion-del-cx-oaa-y-en-48-horas-volaria
http://portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/primera-plana/item/23397-alas-uruguay-sobre-el-fin-de-semana-reanudara-sus-servicios
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/sergio-antonio-herrera/item/23500-intensas-gestiones-por-alas-uruguay   

Saturday, October 15, 2016

FLEET UPDATE: Argentine Presidential Fleet being Retired + Current Status + Historical Photos

Republica Argentina 757-23A, T-01 (c/n 25487/470), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 01Oct10.  (Phil Perry Photo)

The Argentine government announced in January that nearly the entire fleet of presidential transport aircraft; the 757-200 (T-01) F.28-4000 (T-02) F.28-1000 (T-03) and 737-500 (T-04) would be retired from service in the following months, mainly due to the cost of maintaining the aging fleet, especially the F.28's since spare parts for these are increasingly difficult to find.  The only presidential aircraft being retained is Learjet 60, T-10 (c/n 60-140), a relatively young aircraft having been delivered in 1998.      

After the January announcement, T-01 was flown to El Palomar Air Force Base on the outskirts of the city of Buenos Aires for storage.  The aircraft was purchased by the Argentine government directly from Boeing in 1992 for $ 60 million and has only logged 11,000 hours but it is due for extensive maintenance, including a heavy C-Check on its airframe plus major work on its engines and landing gears and updating of avionics and other electronics.  Total cost of the work would come to $ 20 million, more than the value of the aircraft itself, so it is being put up for sale, probably for spare parts.

Republica Argentina F.28-4000M, T-02 (c/n 11203) taxis at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 10Jul10.  (Phil Perry Photo)

T-02 was first delivered to Argentina in 1999 and has flown faithfully until recent times when it has been largely inoperative, apparently due to budgetary reasons and sporadic spare parts availability.  For example, in 2012, T-02 was only operational for seven days the whole year.  More recently, the aircraft was returning from Cordoba (COR) on 02Aug16 with Argentine President Mauricio Macri and two cabinet members aboard, when the starboard engine experienced thrust problems forcing the crew to shut it down and operate the remaining part of the flight on one engine.

The aircraft is still operational but it is questionable for how long.

Republica Argentina F.28-1000M, T-03 (c/n 11028), takes off from Aeroparque's runway 31 on 03Oct10.  (Phil Perry Photo)

T-03 is parked at El Palomar and is no longer in service.  It was only operational for 107 days in 2012.  

Republica Argentina 737-500, T-04 (c/n 26456/2527), landing at Aeroparque on 11Oct15.  (Phil Perry Photo)

T-04 was originally delivered to Malaysian Airlines System in 1993 and flew for Air France and other operators before joining Aerolineas Argentinas on 11Oct04. 

Aerolineas was due to return the aircraft to the lessor in 2014 but the maintenance work required prior to its return was going to cost more than the value of the aircraft itself so the airline bought the plane and passed it on to the Argentine presidential fleet where it would see limited flying hours compared to airline service.  However, with the accumulation of deferred maintenance items, the plane has finally been taken out of service and also parked at El Palomar with its engines removed.    

Soft-focus shot of Republica Argentina Learjet 60, T-10 (c/n 60-140) taking off from Aeroparque on 17Mar16.  (Phil Perry Photo)

This aircraft is frequently used by Argentine President Mauricio Macri for travel within Argentina.  
Photo of T-03 (c/n 11028) during one of the times that it was operated as T-01 between 1970 and 1975 and again between 1977 and 1992. (Phil Perry Collection)


Another photo of T-03 (c/n 11028) when it had already become T-03 but with a different color scheme than the current one.  (Phil Perry Collection)

Sources:

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2010/07/t-01-boeing-757-23a-cn-25487470.html
http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/t-02-fokker-f-28-fellowship-mk-4000m-cn_25.html
http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2010/06/t-04-fokker-f-28-fellowship-mk-1000m-cn.html
http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/search?q=t-04
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1863229-adios-a-los-tango-el-gobierno-dara-de-baja-a-toda-la-flota-presidencial
http://noticias.perfil.com/2016/02/19/el-ultimo-vuelo-del-tango-01/
http://www.clarin.com/politica/Ponen-Tango-comprar-nuevo-avion_0_1607239466.html
http://www.ambito.com/845740-gobierno-vende-tango-01-y-04-y-comprara-nuevo-avion-presidencial
https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2016/08/el-t-02-se-mantiene-vigente.html
http://www.clarin.com/politica/susto-Gobierno-acelera-compra-avion_0_1631236956.html
https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2016/08/de-vuelta-al-pago.html

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

ROUTE UPDATE & PHOTO: Austral started Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rio Cuarto (RCU) - Cordoba (COR) Service on 05Sep16

Austral E190, LV-CPJ (c/n 463), gets ready to depart Rio Cuarto (RCU) to Cordoba (COR) after its inaugural flight from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 05Sep16. (Phil Perry Photo)  

Austral Lineas Aereas started new service to Rio Cuarto (RCU), the second largest city in Argentina's Cordoba province with 150,000 people, this Monday, 05Sep16 on a Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rio Cuarto (RCU) - Cordoba (COR) 1x/daily roundtrip routing operated with Embraer 190's.  

The timing of the flights is ideal for residents of Rio Cuarto with the daily departure to Buenos Aires leaving at 08:00 and returning from Buenos Aires at 20:25 hours, making possible a same-day roundtrip to the Argentine capital. 

The first flight, AU2598, was scheduled to depart Aeroparque at 20:25 and arrive at Rio Cuarto (RCU) at 21:50 but the actual takeoff was at 20:41 and landing in Rio Cuarto (RCU) being at 21:43 on runway 5, the longer of the airport's two runways.  The aircraft used for the inaugural flight, LV-CPJ (c/n 463), carried nearly a full load of passengers to Rio Cuarto with 90 travelers disembarking from the 96-seat plane.  On board was the Argentine Minister of Transport Guillermo Dietrich. 
   
After much fanfare with local media coverage and curiosity seekers, including a press conference featuring Mr. Dietrich, Province of Cordoba Governor Juan Schiaretti and Rio Cuarto Mayor Juan Manuel Llamosas, LV-CPJ loaded some passengers for the leg to Cordoba (COR) and departed the hard stand at 22:40, taking off once again on RCU's runway 5 at 22:43. 

The only profitable routes operated by the Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral group are its domestic services with its regional South American and intercontinental US and European routes being money losers.  

Argentine President Mauricio Macri has let it be known that he would like to see Aerolineas double its domestic service during his 4-year presidency, which started on 10Dec15, with the twin goals of having a large successful national airline and dramatically increasing air connectivity in Argentina, which has lagged behind many of its Latin American neighbors in growth of air service, especially Brazil and Mexico.  

Source:  (regarding Aerolineas Argentinas growth)

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160901/avn-160901.html

Friday, September 2, 2016

ROUTE UPDATES: Gol added new service from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to several Brazilian beach destinations


Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes of Brazil added new service from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to several Brazilian beach destinations earlier this year.  

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Maceio (MCZ) - eff March 2016

This new service is actually an extension of Gol's existing Ezeiza to Salvador de Bahia (SSA) flights operating 1x/weekly on Saturdays using 737-800's.  

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Recife (REC) - eff 27Mar16

Operating 1x/weekly on Saturdays using 737-800's. 

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Porto Seguro (BPS) - eff March 2016

Operating 1x/weekly on Sundays using 737-800's. 

As of March 2016, Gol operated 76 weekly flights connecting the following airports in Argentina and Brazil: 

Argentina

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE)
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP)
Cordoba (COR)
Mendoza (MDZ) 
Rosario (ROS)

Brazil

Fortaleza (FOR)
Maceio (MCZ)
Natal (NAT)
Porto Seguro (BPS)
Recife (REC)
Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG)
Salvador de Bahia (SSA)
Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Sources:


Monday, August 29, 2016

Air Class of Uruguay is now LATAM Cargo Uruguay ? Two 727-200's up For Sale ?

Air Class Cargo 727-200F, CX-CLB (c/n 21996), at Montevideo (MVD) in October 2015. The airline took delivery of this aircraft on 24Oct15. (Photo: Amilcar Carriqui via Martin Blanco of Aeronaves CX) 

The Wikipedia entry for the Uruguayan cargo airline, Air Class, until recently had a logo referring to LATAM Cargo Uruguay, suggesting that the carrier had been bought by the giant Chilean airline enterprise.  The editor of this blog has not found any other references to LATAM Cargo Uruguay online and the logo is gone from the Wikipedia page.

Bandeirante Passenger Operations

Air Class started operations in 1997 as an air taxi operator but in 2001 it acquired its first turboprop aircraft, Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, CX-VIP (c/n 110-258), enabling it to start scheduled passenger service between Montevideo (MVD) and Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) which it flew for only a short while followed by the short 30-mile, 20-minute hop over the Rio de la Plata between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Colonia (CYR) Uruguay in 2003-2004 on behalf of AeroVIP Lineas Aereas.

CX-VIP left the Air Class fleet to Brazil where it belly-landed at the Cataratas Airport on 28Jul14 while flying as PT-TAW for Taxi Aero Weiss.

Metro Cargo Operations

Air Class went on to acquire four Fairchild SA227AC Metro III freighters.  

Two of these are still with the company:

* CX-CLS (c/n AC-755B) - Bought in December 2006
* CX-LSS (c/n AC-720) - Received November 2012

One of the others left to another carrier with the other having crashed in June 2012. 

* CX-CLA (c/n AC-736) - Leased from May 2004 to February 2013

* CX-LAS (c/n AC-482) - Received in October 2009.  Crashed in the Rio de la Plata on 06Jun12 with the loss of two crew near Isla de Flores while operating a cargo flight from Montevideo (MVD) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE).  The following links summarize the accident and ensuing search for the aircraft: 

https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20120606-0 http://argentina-airline-news.blogspot.com.ar/search/label/Air%20Class

727-200F Operations


The first of two 727-200F's, CX-CAR (c/n 21958/1533), was delivered to Air Class on 29Jun11. This aircraft had a long career flying in the United States prior to arriving in Uruguay having been originally delivered to PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines) in 1979 and going on to fly with Piedmont, US Air, American Trans Air and Astar Air Cargo.

Air Class' second 727-200F, CX-CLB (c/n 21996/1571), had a similar long career flying in the US, having been originally delivered to Braniff in 1980 and also flying for US Air, American Trans Air and Astar Air Cargo.  However, the aircraft also served in Venezuela from 2009-2015 with Vensecar International (DHL Express) before arriving in Uruguay in October 2015 ac CX-CLB.    

Both aircraft have reportedly been flying a weekly Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Asuncion (ASU) round-trip plus cargo charters.  Photos of CX-CAR at several South American airports have appeared on the Internet, including Santiago (SCL), 
Curitiba (CWB), Porto Alegre (POA), and Salvador de Bahia (SSA).

Interestingly, both 727-200F's have shown as being for sale on more than one website:

http://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/list/?Manu=BOEING&mdlgrp=727

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Class_L%C3%ADneas_A%C3%A9reas
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Class
http://www.airliners.net/search?airline=4603&sortBy=dateAccepted&sortOrder=desc&perPage=48&display=detail
http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2015/10/llega-en-estos-dias-el-2do-boeing-727.html
http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2015/10/llego-hoy-carrasco-el-cx-clb-boeing-727.html
http://www.airclasscargo.com/cargas.htm
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/cx-clb
http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?aircraft=-2&airline=Air+Class+Lineas+Aereas&country=-2&photog=-2&category=-2&year=-2&keywordrange=all&keywordlimiter=2&keywords=&sort=1&genre=1&size=-2&mainsearch=search&displaymode=1&display=15
http://rzjets.net/aircraft/index.php

Thursday, August 25, 2016

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Amaszonas Uruguay receives Air Operator Certificate, planning Montevideo (MVD) - Aeroparque (AEP) flights 05Oct16


Amaszonas Uruguay received its Air Operator Certificate from the DINACIA Uruguayan aviation authority on 10Aug16 and the carrier immediately announced plans to start service on the Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) "Air Bridge" on 05Oct16 using CRJ-200's 2x/daily. 

Amaszonas Uruguay is a division of parent Amaszonas Linea Aerea, which is based out of La Paz, Bolivia and also owns affiliate Amaszonas Paraguay.  

Amaszonas Linea Aerea (parent company)

Amaszonas started charter services with a small fleet of Cessna 208 Caravan and Fairchild Metro turboprop aircraft in 2000.  In 2012, the carrier acquired five 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets to start scheduled service with the first route being La Paz (LPB) to Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI).  By 2014, Amaszonas announced plans to lease nine CRJ-200's and expand its route network to include 40 airports by 2017.   

Amaszonas Paraguay 

Amaszonas' Paraguayan affiliate was founded in 2015 with one CRJ-200, ZP-CRN (c/n 7866), transferred from the parent company operating from its Asuncion (ASU) base to Ciudad del Este (AGT) and Montevideo (MVD).      

Destinations

As of today, Amaszonas Bolivia and Amaszonas Paraguay together operate eight CRJ-200's serving six airports in Bolivia; with La Paz (LPB) and Santa Cruz (VVI) being hub / focus cities, plus Cochabamba (CBB), Rurrenabaque (RBQ), Sucre (SRE), and Uyuni (UYU).  International destinations include Asuncion (ASU), Ciudad del Este (AGT), Cuzco (CUZ), Iquique (IQQ) and Montevideo (MVD).  

The group's two Uruguayan routes are Santa Cruz (VVI) - Asuncion (ASU) - Montevideo (MVD) operated 7x weekly and Asuncion (ASU) - Montevideo (MVD) which is flown 3x weekly and soon expected to also go to 7x/weekly.   

Amaszonas Uruguay 

This carrier had its beginnings in April 2015 when the Amaszonas parent company bought BQB Lineas Aereas from Los Cipreses S.A., owner of the Buquebus Ferry Lines, which operates a near monopoly ferry service over the Rio de la Plata between Argentina and Uruguay.  

Los Cipreses was in the process of shutting down BQB's ATR-72 operation after approx. five years' service out of Uruguay and it was Amaszonas' intent to use this entity as a platform for starting an instant airline operation that would have the status of a Uruguayan carrier with the route rights out of Montevideo (MVD) that would come with that.  However, Amaszonas ran into unexpected legal complications with the ownership structure of BQB with the need to "extract" the BQB entity from Los Cipreses and replace the latter with Amaszonas as the new owner.  This process took the better part of the last year to complete.

Additional to the need to formally acquire ownership of BQB, Amaszonas Uruguay had to undergo the same multi-step process that Alas Uruguay went through to get a Uruguayan air operator certificate which it recently completed having successfully concluded "demonstration" or route-proving flights with the Uruguayan DINACIA aviation authority.    

Interestingly though, the Amaszonas Uruguay website home page shows as BQB Lineas Aereas complete with the former carrier's color scheme and logo.  

Amaszonas Uruguay so far has one CRJ-200, CX-SDU (c/n 7209), transferred from the parent company but it is set to grow its fleet to six CRJ-200's in the next couple of years.    

Amaszonas Group Marketing Strategy  

Amaszonas currently has modest hubs in La Paz (LPB) and Asuncion (ASU), which it plans to expand with flights to more destinations plus the addition of Montevideo (MVD) and Santiago (SCL) for four hubs in all encompassing a regional network consisting of mostly secondary cities in South America's "southern cone".  

Amaszonas Uruguay's first service will be from Montevideo (MVD) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), which will likely be its most lucrative route, even competing with Austral's 5x/daily service with its Embraer 190's and Alas Uruguay's 2x/daily flights with its 737-300's.

Plans are for Amaszonas Uruguay to add its own services from Montevideo (MVD) to Asuncion (ASU) and Santa Cruz (VVI) that would complement those already operated by its two sister carriers.

Flights from Montevideo (MVD) to Cordoba (COR) and Rosario (ROS) are also planned, which would probably be approved by the new Argentine government since it has approved nearly all new service requests by foreign carriers.  

A good example of providing connectivity between secondary cities would be a possible Montevideo (MVD) - Cordoba (COR) - Santa Cruz (VVI) route, which would tap into the large Bolivian population in the Cordoba region. 

Services to Santiago (SCL) and Florianopolis (FLN) and Porto Alegre (POA) are also expected. The latter will not be an easy task as the routes from Montevideo (MVD) to Chile and Brazil are already well served by LATAM, Sky Airlines, Gol and Azul.

Sources:

Monday, August 22, 2016

FLEET UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas received its seventh A330-200 on 05Aug16 + Current Fleet Status


Aerolineas Argentinas received its seventh A330-200, LV-GHQ (c/n 1737), which is also its third new A330-202 direct from the Airbus factory, on 05Aug16.  The other four examples are used A330-223's that were originally delivered to SABENA and Air Afrique, two each in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Aerolineas' A330-200's are progressively replacing the carrier's seven-strong A340-300 fleet. One of the latter aircraft, LV-CEK (c/n 094), flew its last revenue flight with Aerolineas on 14Aug16 and will be returned to the lessor once it has been refurbished.  Of the other six A340's, LV-CSE (c/n 126), is expected to leave the fleet in mid-September with LV-CSX (c/n 373) scheduled to follow in March 2017.        

Replacement A330's include the newly-delivered LV-GHQ, plus LV-GKO (c/n 587) and LV-GIF (c/n 1748) due to join Aerolineas in late August and October 2016, respectively. 

Eventually, Aerolineas' entire A340 fleet might be replaced by A330's but a lot of that depends on whether the A330's will be able to operate some of Aerolineas' longest routes, such as Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Rome (FCO) nonstop, which is currently covered by the A340's. 

Sources:

Friday, August 19, 2016

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca puts plans for new Argentina affiliate on hold


Avianca, which planned to start a low-cost Argentine affiliate before the end of 2016, has put those plans on hold until at least 2017 and is reportedly reconsidering the projected airline altogether.      

Avianca seemed to be well on its way to establishing an Argentine operation with the purchase of the small Argentine carrier Macair Jet, interviews with prospective staff and plans to initially place six ATR-72's in service, but the airline has encountered an operating environment in Argentina that it apparently doubts will allow it to successfully establish a low-cost carrier there.

Factors that Avianca perceives as roadblocks include:

* High airport taxes and excessive aeronautical infrastructure fees compared to other countries.

* The mandatory use of Intercargo, the state-owned airport ground handling operator, with its monopolistic fees and practices.

* An Argentine airline labor market characterized by high employee wage scales and low-productivity work rules as benchmarked by Aerolineas Argentinas, the market leader, which would likely lead to substantial resistance to the lower-wage, higher productivity work rules prevalent at low-cost carriers that Avianca would probably want to implement.

* Likely opposition from Aerolineas Argentinas' management and labor to a low-cost carrier in the Argentine domestic market, the only market where Aerolineas makes money (its regional South American flights are marginally profitable at best and its long-haul intercontinental routes are big losers).

* Likely resistance by the Argentine government to a free pricing environment where low-cost carriers typically drop fares to very low levels to stimulate travel and make money on a high-volume, thin-margin passenger traffic profile.  Such a pricing policy, without the  minimum airfare "bands" that exist now, would lead to even larger losses at Aerolineas Argentinas than the already massive deficits of recent years, which the government (and taxpayers) are no longer willing to tolerate.         
           
Avianca has not cancelled plans to start a low-cost carrier in Argentina and might still go ahead with the operation.  The coming months should give a better idea of what to expect.    

Sources:

Thursday, August 18, 2016

FLEET UPDATE: LATAM Argentina received its 14th A320 on 19Jun16


LATAM Argentina's 14th A320, LV-GLP (c/n 1355), flew from Santiago (SCL) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 19Jun16 and entered service with the carrier three days later on 22Jun16.  

The aircraft was originally delivered to LAN Chile on 11Dec00 where it carried the registration CC-COF until its recent transfer from the parent carrier to its Argentine affiliate.  

LATAM Argentina (formerly LAN Argentina) started service on 08Jun05 with three 737-200's that were joined by two more 200's later that year.  These were replaced between 2006-2008, starting with four A320's in 2006, one in 2007, and five in 2008, but the fleet did not grow beyond these ten aircraft for several years because the carrier was not allowed to bring in any more planes by the ANAC Argentine aviation authority.

Finally, in 2011, two more A320's came over from Chile with one additional aircraft each year in 2014 and 2016 to get to LATAM Argentina's 14-strong A320 fleet today.  The carrier also operates two 767-300's on the Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Miami (MIA) route. 

Sources:

http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a320-1355.htm
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/LATAM%20Argentina-active-a320.htm
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/LAN%20Argentina-history-b737.htm

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

FLEET UPDATE: Austral received its 26th Embraer 190 on 26Jul16

Austral received its 26th (and last currently on order) Embraer 190, LV-GIQ (c/n 716), direct from the factory in Brazil on 26Jul16.  

Like the carrier's 25th Embraer 190, the Skyteam logo that normally appears near the cockpit windows on Austral's other 190's is missing and the Argentine flag is placed to the back of and below the cockpit windows instead of directly below them.  

LV-GIQ entered service with Austral on 07Aug16 operating a Buenos Aires   Aeroparque (AEP) - Puerto Iguazú (IGR) - Rosario (ROS) - Mendoza (MDZ) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) circular route. 

Sources:

http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/07/llego-el-lv-giq.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/07/el-giq-en-aeroparque.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/08/austral-lineas-aereas-comenzo-volar.html

Monday, August 15, 2016

FLEET UPDATE & PHOTOS: Austral's 24th and 25th E190's, LV-GBK and LV-GIK

Austral Lineas Aereas' 24th Embraer E190, LV-GBK (c/n 291), lands at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 07Aug16.  This aircraft was originally delivered to Republic Airways on 23Sep09 and joined Austral on 02Jun16 on lease from Nordic Aviation Capital.  (Phil Perry Photo) 

Austral's 25th E190, LV-GIK (c/n 715), taxis at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 06Aug16.  It was delivered factory-new to the carrier on 26Jun16.  Note that compared to Austral's other E190's, the Skyteam logo near the cockpit windows is missing and the Argentine flag is placed to the back of the cockpit windows instead of below them. (Phil Perry Photo)   

Sources:

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Austral-active-e190.htm

Friday, August 12, 2016

PHOTOS: All Three LATAM Argentina A320's that are in new colors - LV-BRY, LV-BSJ, LV-BRA

Three LATAM Argentina A320's have been painted in the carrier's new colors so far; LV-BRY, LV-BSJ and LV-BRA, in that order.  All three of them were photographed by the editor of this blog, Phil Perry, at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on the weekend of August 6-7, 2016 as presented below:

LATAM Argentina A320, LV-BRY (c/n 1351), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 06Aug16.  (Phil Perry Photo)  

This was the first LATAM Argentina aircraft painted in the new colors where it was spotted soon after it came out of the paint shop in San Jose (SJO) Costa Rica on 02May16, three days before the official unveiling of the carrier's new image on 05May16.  It was also photographed at Aeroparque on 08May16.     

LATAM Argentina A320, LV-BSJ (c/n 1332), rolls down Aeroparque's runway 13 on its takeoff run on 06Aug16.  (Phil Perry Photo)    

This plane arrived at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) from the San Jose, Costa Rica paint shop on 29Jun16.

LATAM Argentina A320, LV-BRA (c/n 1304), lands at Aeroparque on 07Aug16.  (Phil Perry Photo)

LV-BRA arrived at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 04Jul16 from the Coopesa facility in San Jose, Costa Rica in the carrier's new colors but only recently entered service again.  

Special thanks to my friend Carlos Abella, editor of Rollout Spotting, 
https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/ for the information he provided for this posting. 

Sources:

http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/05/aqui-estan-estos-son.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/05/se-lanzo-latam.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/06/noticias.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/06/latam-argentina-cuenta-con-otro-a320.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/07/otro-a320-de-latam-argentina-con-su.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/LATAM%20Argentina-active-a320.htm

Sunday, July 31, 2016

ROUTE UPDATES: Odds & Ends - Air Canada, American, Avianca, British, Conviasa, Emirates

* Air Canada 

Replaced the usual 767-300 aircraft on its Toronto (YYZ) - Santiago (SCL) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Toronto (YYZ) "triangle" route with the 777-300ER for the southern hemisphere "summer" period from October 2015 to March 2016, which resulted in a 65% increase in seating capacity with a total of 349 seats on each flight. 

The Canadian airline will once again operate the 777-300ER on the route from 30Oct16 to 24Mar17.

* American Airlines

Operated the 787-8 between Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) and Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) for only five months (June - November 2015) and then went back to the 777-200, which it is still flying on the route today. 

* Avianca 

Started operating the 787-8 on the Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Bogota (BOG) route on 01Feb15 but apparently replaced it with the A330-200, with the exception of the 787-8 again for a month from 16Aug15 to 17Sep15.  Avianca is currently operating the A330-200 between Argentina and Colombia on a daily basis.   

* British Airways 

After having reduced the frequency on its London Heathrow (LHR) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) route from daily to 5x/weekly on 31Mar15, the carrier returned to daily service operated by 777-200's in November 2015, which it is still flying to this day.   

* Conviasa

Leased a 747-446, EC-LNA (c/n 26346/897), that it started flying from Caracas (CCS) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) 2x/weekly on 01Nov15.  It is still flying to Argentina on the same basis.  

Emirates 

Upgauged from the 777-200 to the 777-300ER on its daily Dubai (DXB) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) service on 01Sep15, which it still maintains today.  

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn151029/avn-151029.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150924/avn-150924.html
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/250247/avianca-adds-boeing-787-buenos-aires-sao-paulo-service-in-augsep-2015/ via Eric Trum
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/251801/conviasa-adds-leased-boeing-747-operation-from-nov-2015/ via Eric Trum

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Alas Uruguay - Financial Results, Talks with Azul and Boliviana & Returning One 737-300




Alas Uruguay continues to establish itself on the Montevideo (MVD) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Asuncion (ASU) routes (also Aeroparque to Punta del Este (PDP) in the summertime) but has fallen well short of revenue projections made in it business plan. 

Passengers Flown

The carrier had flown 27,000 passengers between its 22Jan16 inaugural flight and mid-May, broken down into 800 in January, 2,000 in February, 7,500 in March, and 8,500 in April with a forecast of 8,800 travelers in May.  

Market Share

Alas' market share on the all-important Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) route was approx. 20% with 13 weekly flights vs. Aerolineas Argentinas' 80% with 32 weekly services as of mid-May but it is gaining ground by about 4-5 percentage points per month, which is not surprising because even being a relatively unknown carrier, the passengers flying this route overwhelmingly originate in the Argentine and Uruguayan capitals with many of them being frequent flyers so it is natural for them to learn about Alas Uruguay without the carrier investing a lot in advertising.  Both carriers charge an average of US$ 195 round-trip on the route.  

Alas flies its other route, Montevideo (MVD) - Asuncion (ASU), 3x/weekly in competition with Amaszonas Paraguay's 10x/weekly flights using CRJ-200's.  

Financial Results

The carrier had US$ 1.3 million in revenue in April and a similar amount in May but this is putting it on track to reach only 25% of its business plan projection of US$ 66 million for its first year of operations.  With monthly expenses in the US$1.6 million range, the airline is losing money.  Alas had projected a 60% load factor but was averaging only about 30%-40% full as of mid-May. 

Alas' employees are reportedly collecting only 50% of their salaries, directing the other 50% to capitalizing the company.  Even so, the airline has fallen behind in paying the reduced amounts.  

By July, the airline's outlook appeared to improve a little bit as it paid back much of the backwages owed and its Aeroparque flights were reportedly completely full due to the Uruguayan and Argentine winter vacation periods.  

Talks with Azul and Boliviana

Alas is also continuing some of the talks that it has already had with other carriers in the past about possible cooperation, mergers or takeovers with one of the latest discussions reportedly being with Azul Linhas Aereas about an investment that the latter wants to make in the Uruguayan airline but only if Alas reduces the number of employees on its payroll, returns all of its 737-300's and replaces them with ATR aircraft (which Azul already operates) and allows Azul to manage the airline, with Alas' management only accepting the proposed change of aircraft so far.  

Boliviana de Aviacion, the state-owned Bolivian 737-300 operator, offered to invest US$ 5 million with co-management of Alas Uruguay at first likely passing on to Boliviana control in a few months with a deadline of 22Jul16 for Alas to make a decision but there has been no news so far.     
Returning one 737-300

Most recently, it became evident that the carrier was going to have to cut back on fixed costs and it announced that it will seek to return one of its three 737-300's, CX-OAB (c/n 28869/2887), to the lessor.   Alas is paying US$ 80,000 per month leases on the 737-300's and it apparently only needs two aircraft for the current level of scheduled service.   

Sources:

http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/sergio-antonio-herrera/item/23019-alas-uruguay-acevedo-y-de-los-santos-contra-todos
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/entrevistas-y-reportajes/item/22770-entre-el-cielo-y-la-tierra-las-alas-de-la-discordia
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/sergio-antonio-herrera/item/22729-alas-uruguay-es-preferible-el-silencio