First Service
Avianca Argentina will start operating as a new carrier on 11Jul17 between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Reconquista (RCQ) in northern Santa Fe province using ATR-72-600's 1x/daily.
Next Destinations to Follow
The next city for scheduled service is planned to be Villa Maria (VMR) in Cordoba province followed by Villa Gesell (VLG), Mar del Plata (MDQ) and Necochea (NEC) along the coast of the Province of Buenos Aires and Tres Arroyos (OYO) and Olavarria (OVR), which are located more inland in the same province. The latter three airports will probably first see flights operated by the ex-Macair fleet of Jetstream 32's passing to ATR-72-600's once these routes have been developed.
Concordia (COC) in Entre Rios province and Puerto Madryn (PMY) along the Patagonian coastline are slated for new service too.
Cordoba (COR) Hub
Avianca Argentina is also now stating plans to establish a hub in Cordoba (COR), Argentina's second-largest city that is well-located for hub operations in the center of the country. Flights from COR to several cities are tentatively planned; Mendoza (MDZ), San Juan (UAQ), Rosario (ROS), Santa Fe (SFN), Santa Rosa (RSA), Resistencia (RES), Santiago del Estero (SDE), Río Hondo (RHD), Tucumán (TUC), Salta (SLA), Jujuy (JUJ) and Iguazú (IGR).
Tucuman (TUC) Hub
Avianca Argentina's previously announced plans to operate a hub in the northern city of Tucuman (TUC) are still on with the carrier planning to request routes from the airport at the next public route hearings in June / July. The airline has not prioritized service from TUC because the airport facilities are undergoing upgrades and renovations that will not be finished until September.
Start-Up Assets
The carrier expects to have five ATR-72-600's in service with 125,000 passengers flown by the end of 2017. It will start service with 50 pilots and 50 flight attendants and employ 500 people directly and 1700 indirectly.
Investment
Avianca Argentina is investing US$ 180 million to start operations consisting of six ATR-72-600's at US$ 25 million each and US$ 30-40 million in start-up costs, presumably including airport facilities, offices, training and employee salaries.
Future Plans
The next major step for the airline in the not-too-distant future is expected to be the solicitation of international routes to be flown with A320 and 787 aircraft.
Sources:
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/05/avianca-argentina-arranca-volar-julio/
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2026640-avianca-comienza-a-volar-el-11-de-julio
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