ROUTE UPDATES: LATAM Brazil & Peru adding more service to Argentine "Interior"

Contrary to LATAM Argentina's cutback in Argentine domestic service, the other LATAM Group carriers are increasing connections between Argentina and neighboring countries, especially from the Argentine "Interior".  

* Mendoza (MDZ) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - eff XXMar18 - 3x weekly

Operated by LATAM Brazil with A320's.

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Salvador de Bahia (SSA) - eff 25Mar18 - 1x weekly

Operated by LATAM Brazil with A320's.

* Tucuman (TUC) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - eff 02Jun18 - 3x/ weekly

Operated by LATAM Brazil with A320's.

* Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - Cordoba (COR) - Lima (LIM) - eff 04Jul18 - 2x/weekly

Operated by LATAM Brazil with A321's.

* Tucuman (TUC) - Lima (LIM) - eff 06Nov18 - increase to 1x/daily

Operated by LATAM Peru with A319's.  

* Salta (SLA) - Lima (LIM) - eff 09Nov18 - increase to 1x/daily

Operated by LATAM Peru with A320's.  

Sources:

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/11/mendoza-y-tucuman-tendran-vuelos-a-san-pablo-de-latam-brasil/
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn171214/avn-171214.html
https://aviacionline.com/2018/03/salta-y-tucuman-tendran-vuelos-diarios-a-lima-desde-noviembre/
http://aeropuertocordoba.blogspot.com.ar/2018/04/novedades-aerocomerciales-en-cordoba_13.html

ROUTE UPDATES: Amaszonas Uruguay, Sky Airline, Level and Azul

* Cordoba (COR) - Montevideo (MVD) - eff 24Aug17

To be operated 3x/weekly with CRJ-200's.  This will represent the return of non-stop service between the Argentine and Uruguayan cities for the first time since PLUNA closed down in July 2012.  

The planned addition of a third CRJ-200 to the Amaszonas Uruguay fleet, joining CX-SDU (c/n 7209) and CX-LVA (c/n 7561), will make possible both this new service and another daily frequency on the Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Montevideo (MVD) route for a total of 4x/daily weekday services on the "Air Bridge" between these two cities.

* Rosario (ROS) - Santiago (SCL) - eff 03Oct17

To be operated 3x/weekly with A319's.  Rosario will be the Chilean LCC's fourth destination in Argentina joining Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Cordoba (COR) and Mendoza (MDZ).  

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Barcelona (BCN) - Frequency Increase - eff 29Oct17

The recently started route by new Iberia low-cost (LCC) affiliate Level will increase from 3x/weekly to 5x/weekly flights using A330-200's on 29Oct17.

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Navegantes (NVT) - eff 11Dec17 

To be operated 1x/daily with E195's. 

* Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Cabo Frio (CFB) - eff 16Dec17 - 03Mar18 (seasonal) 

To be operated 1x/weekly with E195's.

Sources:

http://aeropuertocordoba.blogspot.com.ar/2017/07/desde-el-24-de-agosto-amaszonas-uruguay.html
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/07/amaszonas-uruguay-suma-una-cuarta-frecuencia-diaria-a-buenos-aires/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/07/sky-volara-a-rosario-desde-octubre/
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/273921/level-expands-argentina-service-in-nw17/ via Eric Trum
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/273961/azul-increases-buenos-aires-routes-from-dec-2017/  via Eric Trum

ROUTE UPDATES: Sky Airline to Montevideo (MVD) and Mendoza (MDZ)

* Santiago (SCL) - Montevideo (MVD) - eff 12Sep16

   Operated 1x/daily using A319's

* Santiago (SCL) - Mendoza (MDZ) - eff 06Jan17

   Operated 5x/weekly using A319's    

Sky Airline is a Chilean Low-Cost Carrier operating a fleet of 13 A319's and 2 A320's to 14 domestic destinations within Chile and five international destinations; Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Cordoba (COR), Lima (LIM), Mendoza (MDZ) and Montevideo MVD).

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160811/avn-160811.html
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/268894/sky-airline-schedules-mendoza-service-in-1q17/ via Eric Trum
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160915/avn-160915.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sky%20Airline.htm

Andes Lineas Aereas looking to acquire four A319's

Andes Lineas Aereas of Salta, Argentina is looking to replace its fleet of five active MD-80's with four A319's to enable it to operate Caribbean charters with the longer-range Airbus product (7,300km / 4,500 miles).

Andes flies a limited Argentine domestic network from its Salta (SLA) base in northwest Argentina and neighboring Jujuy (JUJ) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Puerto Madryn (PMY) on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia.   However, perhaps its most important business is charters on behalf of sports teams, for student travel agency Travelrock (it has a logojet with the agency's markings on it) and seasonal tourist flights to Brazil and other beach destinations.

Source:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160630/avn-160630.html     

PHOTO: LATAM Chile A319, CC-CPE, at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 21Jun16

LATAM Chile A319, CC-CPE (c/n 2321), taxis in the carrier's inaugural color scheme at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 21Jun16.  (Phil Perry Photo) 

ROUTE UPDATE: LAN Peru to introduce Montevideo (MVD) - Lima (LIM) service on 03Jan16

LAN Peru will start service from Montevideo (MVD) to Lima (LIM) on 03Jan16, five times weekly using A319's. The flights will allow connections through the LATAM group's Lima hub to domestic points in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Central and North America.  

This will be the LATAM group's fifth route from Uruguay, the other four being Montevideo (MVD) to Santiago (SCL), presently operated by LAN, plus Montevideo (MVD) to Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) and both Montevideo (MVD) and Punta de Este (PDP) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), all three flown by TAM.         

Sources:

http://airlineroute.net/2015/08/05/lp-mvd-jan16/ via Eric Trum

http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/21305-lan-per%C3%BA-anuncia-vuelos-directos-entre-montevideo-y-lima

PHOTO GALLERY: LAN Argentina A320 LV-FUX with special "Copa America - Chile 2015" Stickers

The Copa America - Chile 2015 football/soccer championships with national teams from all over the Americas participating was played in Chile in July and August and to celebrate the occasion, the Chilean airline LAN and some of its South American affiliates, including TAM, applied special "Copa America Chile 2015" stickers to select aircraft in their fleets.     

The excellent Argentine aviation blog, Gaceta Aeronautica, noted that at least 38 aircraft from the LAN fleet plus one TAM airplane had the stickers applied, including 3 A319's each of LAN and LAN Ecuador, 24 A320's of LAN, 4 A320's of LAN Argentina, 4 767-300's of LAN, and 1 TAM 777-300. 

The LAN Argentina A320's were LV-BET, LV-BRY, LV-BSJ and LV-FUX pictured below.

LAN Argentina A320, LV-FUX (c/n 4543), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 15Jul15 with special "Copa America Chile 2015" sticker.  (Phil Perry Photo)   

For the full list of 39 aircraft that wore the sticker, visit the following Gacena Aeronautica webpage and scroll about a third of the way down the page:

http://www.gacetaeronautica.com/gaceta/wp-101/?p=12371       

View the following YouTube video of the sticker being applied to a LAN 767-300:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrUYKj6XlFQ

BQB Lineas Aereas Never Operated its A319 and had several Emergency Landings in its Last Months

BQB Lineas Aereas never operated the A319, CX-SAN (c/n 1703) that it took delivery and had possession of for six months in 2014.  The Uruguayan aviation authority, DINACIA, never authorized its use, presumably due to a lengthy certification process, but possibly due to political conflicts between the Uruguayan government and Juan Carlos Lopez Mena, owner of BQB, stemming from his role in the failed 2012 auction of PLUNA's CRJ-900's.  

The Uruguayan website, Portal de America, claims that BQB's ATR-72-500's had several emergency landings in the last few months that the airline was in service and that this prompted the DINACIA to withhold certification of the A319.  The Spanish aviation magazine, Avion Revue, also claimed in its June 2015 issue that BQB's ATR-72-500's had numerous emergency landings but this might simply have been a repetition of the Portal de America claim.

Sources:

http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/alejandro-spera/item/20981-el-complejo-proceso-de-certificaci%C3%B3n-de-una-aerol%C3%ADnea

http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/editorial/item/21327-%C2%BFqu%C3%A9-le-vendi%C3%B3-l%C3%B3pez-mena-a-amaszonas?                

FLEET UPDATE: BQB Lineas Aereas A319, CX-SAN, returned to lessor in Toulouse

Buquebus Lineas Aereas A319, CX-SAN (c/n 1703), departed Montevideo (MVD) on return to lessor Air Lease International in Toulouse, France (TLS) via Recife, Brazil (REC) on 13Dec14.  

The aircraft, which was intended for regional routes from Montevideo (MVD) to points in Brazil and Chile, such as Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG), Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) and Santiago (SCL), saw little regular service with the Uruguayan airline.  It was the first and so far only Airbus aircraft to be on the Uruguayan register.

Sources:

http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2014/12/partio-toulouse-el-airbus-319-cx-san-de.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn141225/avn-141225.html

BQB Lineas Aereas Cutting Back Services, Laying Off Workers & Reducing Fleet

BQB Lineas Aereas, which as recently as the first half of 2014 was planning to increase service, has cancelled expansion plans and sharply reduced existing services.

The airline, based in Montevideo (MVD), was flying a leased A320 followed by a leased A319 to Santiago (SCL), Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) earlier this year but now has canceled these routes and apparently returned the A319 to the lessor.  In addition, BQB has sold two of its four ATR-72-212A's though the editor of this blog has not been able to confirm which ones. 55 staff have been laid off (made redundant) and all Brazilian routes canceled including Porto Alegre (POA) and Curitiba (CWB). 

The airline is currently only flying the services that it started out with, such as its most important route, Montevideo (MVD) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) plus Montevideo (MVD) to Asuncion (ASU) and domestic flights to Rivera (RVY) and Salto (STY).  

BQB claims that the reductions are not as a result of financial difficulties but are necessary measures to adjust to changes in the marketplace.  However, IATA (International Air Transport Association) suspended the airline for a time in August from its ticket clearinghouse whereby funds collected by airlines on behalf of other carriers on common tickets are redistributed to the operating carrier.  This would suggest that BQB was retaining funds that it should have forwarded to IATA.  This situation appears to have since been resolved but the editor of this blog has no confirmation of that. 

Separately, the Uruguayan Civil Aviation Direcorate (DINACIA) is investigating a tail-strike incident involving a BQB ATR-72-212A in Salto (STY) on 09Dec11 that went unreported. 

Sources:

http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/bqb-no-hara-rutas-brasil.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn140904/avn-140904.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn141009/avn-141009.html

       

BQB Lineas Aereas Cutting Routes, Reducing Some Staff & possibly Canceling A319 Lease

It all started on Wednesday, July 23 when the Uruguayan football / soccer club Defensor Sporting's return flight from Asuncion (ASU) to Montevideo (MVD) after a match was supposedly delayed for weather reasons.  But when the delay became indefinite, concerns started to mount that something more than the weather was at play.  The BQB aircraft did finally arrive the following day to fly the team home but the delay set off a chain of events revealing changes and possibly problems at the airline.

While BQB has announced the arrival of three A319's and the introduction of many new services from Montevideo (MVD) the last few months, only one such aircraft has arrived and only a handful of the destinations are currently served; Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Asuncion (ASU), Curitiba (CWB), and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU).  Destinations that have seen service suspended include Porto Alegre (POA), Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) and Santiago (SCL).  Furthermore, it appears that Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Curitiba (CWB), and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) will be dropped, though Porto Alegre (POA) will apparently be added back on.  

Additionally, 12 pilots have been laid off / made redundant, at least on a temporary basis.  There have been rumors that the A319 lease has been cancelled but that is uncertain.  The Uruguayan newspaper El Pais quotes sources at the airline as saying that the carrier is not having financial problems but is merely adapting to "changed circumstances".  Both claims appear to be plausible as BQB is part of the Buquebus group that operates very successful ferry services between Argentina and Uruguay plus certain destinations out of BQB's Montevideo base are becoming more competitive, such as Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) where TAM is adding substantial new service.

Sources:

http://www.subrayado.com.uy/Site/noticia/35538/defensor-varado-en-asuncion-no-saben-cuando-vuelven
http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/bqb-reformula-plan-negocios-recorta.html
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/zonas-del-portal/editorial/item/18600-bqb-reduce-destinos-de-su-malla-compartimos-bqb-%C2%BFcapricho-de-l%C3%B3pez-mena?
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/zonas-del-portal/primera-plana/item/18603-bqb-est%C3%A1-intentando-cambiar

FLEET UPDATE: BQB Lineas Aereas recieved its first A319, CX-SAN, on 09May14

This is a photo of Vueling A320, EC-JTQ, (c/n 2794) apparently photoshopped with the BQB colors since it is not the one that the airline leased from Vueling earlier this year.  (Photo: BQB)  

BQB's first A319-132, CX-SAN, (c/n 1703) arrived in Montevideo (MVD) on 11May14 on delivery from Bordeaux. France (BOD), via Espargos, Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde (SID) and Recife, Brazil (REC).  
The aircraft, which is on lease from Air Lease Corporation, was first delivered to TAM on 31May02 as PR-MAI with which it flew until December 2013 when it was stored until recently.

BQB was expecting to make good use of the new aircraft, especially with its 144 all-economy class seating for charters to the Uruguayan soccer team games at the World Cup in Brazil.   

Photo of CX-SAN at Ilha do Sal (SID) on 09May14:

http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/search?updated-max=2014-05-11T10:22:00-07:00

Sources:

http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/search?updated-max=2014-05-11T10:22:00-07:00
http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2014/05/llegada-del-cx-san-carrasco-hoy-1148-am.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn140515/avn-140515.html
http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a319-1703.htm

FLEET UPDATE: BQB to receive three A319's between March & May 2014 for Santiago (SCL) & Brazilian Routes

BQB A319 Artist's Image 

(BQB via Ricardo J. Delpiano - En Vivo Desde SCL - www.desdescl.com)

BQB Lineas Aereas will receive three A319's between March and May 2014 when the Uruguayan carrier is due to return its sole A320 leased from Vueling to the Spanish carrier. 

The aircraft will be used on routes from Montevideo (MVD) to Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG), Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) and Santiago (SCL), sectors that are uncomfortably long for flying in BQB's existing ATR-72-500's, which will be dedicated to flying the "air bridge" between Montevideo (MVD) and Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), domestic Uruguayan routes, plus shorter trans-border flights, such as to Asuncion (ASU).   

Source:

http://envivodesdescl.blogspot.com.ar/2014/01/bqb-lineas-aereas-obtiene-certificado.html

BQB Lineas Aereas Authorized to fly Chilean Domestic & International Flights

The Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil de Chile (DGAC) recently granted BQB Lineas Aereas an Air Operator's Certificate authorizing the Uruguayan carrier to fly Chilean domestic flights (as the now-defunct PLUNA briefly did) and from Chile to international destinations.  

This authority will be put to use in June when BQB operates charters using newly-delivered A319's from Santiago (SCL) to Cuiaba (CGB) and Sao Paulo Viracopos (VCP) for Chilean World Cup games in Brazil.

Source:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn140123/avn-140123.html