ROUTE UPDATE: Avianca Argentina operating Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) - Reconquista (RCQ) eff 17Jul18

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) - Reconquista (RCQ)  - eff 17Jul18 - 4x/weekly

Avianca Argentina will start flying to Reconquista (RCQ) on 17Jul18, the fifth city on its route network, joining Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Mar del Plata (MDQ), Rosario (ROS), and Santa Fe (SFE) (flights to the latter starting on 06Jun18).

The airline's ATR-72-600 fleet, currently consisting of two aircraft with a third example expected to join the carrier soon, will operate on a Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) - Reconquista (RCQ) round-trip routing 4x/weekly. 

Avianca Argentina has been expecting more ATR-72-600's to join the two that it took delivery of in early 2017 for some time now with A320's supposed to have also joined the fleet in recent months for international flights, but the carrier, which started service on 21Nov17, has been growing much slower than anticipated. 
  
Source:

https://vuelosyspotters.com/2018/05/31/avianca-argentina-volara-entre-rosario-y-reconquista/

ROUTE UPDATES: Avianca & Avianca Argentina

* Cordoba (COR) - Lima (LIM) - eff 17Nov17 - APPROVAL REJECTED

Avianca had planned to start this service using E190's but approval of the flight was rejected, which came as a surprise given the current Argentine national government's apparent policy of approving almost all new proposed airline service.  LATAM Peru already flies this route so maybe the government considered that flights by both Avianca and LATAM Peru to their respective hubs in Lima (LIM) would be too much capacity on one route for a medium-sized city like Cordoba.  

* Mendoza (MDZ) - Lima (LIM) - eff 01Apr18 - 1x/Daily

Flights operated with A320's.  This is Avianca's third route from Argentina with the other two being Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to Bogota (BOG), operated 1x/daily with 787's, and Ezeiza to Lima (LIM), flown 2x/daily using A321's and A330's.  

* Cordoba (COR) - Rosario (ROS) - APPROVAL REJECTED

Avianca Argentina included this route linking Argentina's second and third-largest cities in its requests made at the route hearings in September 2017 but it was rejected.  Apparent reason given was insufficient traffic on past scheduled flights on the route, which made the request subject to a law prohibiting services on lightly-traveled routes.    

It should be noted that Avianca and Avianca Argentina are two separate entities owned by the same parent company, Synergy Group. 

Sources:

https://aviacionline.com/2018/01/avianca-volara-entre-mendoza-y-lima/
http://aeropuertocordoba.blogspot.com.ar/2017/09/novedades-aerocomerciales-en-cordoba_28.html
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2018/05/popurri-de-noticias-aeronauticas/

Aerolineas Argentinas: Feeder Carrier for Domestic Flights ? - Austral New Aircraft by end 2018 - Long-Haul Aircraft to Oceania - Intercon Routes to Stay

Aerolineas Argentinas President Mario Dell' Acqua spoke at the recent World Travel & Tourism Council conference held in Buenos Aires stating four particular points of interest:   

* FEEDER AIRLINE PARTNER ? 

With Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral steadily transitioning to larger aircraft, service to many of the Argentine domestic airports currently served by the group will no longer be commercially viable, not being able to produce enough passengers to operate larger aircraft profitably.  To remedy this situation, the Aerolineas group is looking to organize a network of feeder routes with "a serious and solvent" carrier operating smaller aircraft, presumably connecting smaller cities to Buenos Aires and AR's Cordoba (COR) hub. 

There has been speculation in at least one Argentine blog about which carrier this might be:

Flyest with its CRJ-200's is possible with its connection to the well-established Spanish commuter carrier Air Nostrum but Flyest is also a reincarnation of the now-defunct Sol Lineas Aereas that had a feeder agreement with Aerolineas' management under the previous Argentine presidency that was widely regarded as a sham.

LASA, the new Neuquen-based carrier that is scheduled to start service soon with EMB-145's is also possible. 

Avianca Argentina with its two ATR-72-600's, with more expected to be added to the fleet soon, would seem like a natural candidate to be a feeder carrier fro Aerolineas, both because it is "serious and solvent", having a major corporation as its backer, and operating an appropriate type of aircraft for feeder operations
possessing both a moderate number of seats and fuel-efficient propeller engines.       

* AUSTRAL NEW AIRCRAFT TYPE BY END 2018

Similar to what Aerolineas Argentinas has been saying recently, the new aircraft type that will eventually replace all of Austral's 26-strong E190 fleet is planned to have 180 seats, which appears to eliminate the E195 E2 new-generation jet from Embraer that is replacing the corresponding first generation E170/175/190/195 series of aircraft.       

The first example of the new type will likely be flying for Austral before the end of 2018, which suggests that a contract to buy or lease the type will be agreed to soon.  How long it will take to replace all 26 E190's is still unknown but previously it was suggested that the process would conclude in about 2-3 years time.  

* NEW LONG-HAUL TYPE REQUIREMENT TO OPERATE PROFITABLY TO OCEANIA

Aerolineas is actively considering the new type that will replace its current long-haul fleet of 10 A330-200's and 2 A340-300's with a decision expected before the end of the year.  A newly-revealed requirement is that the new type must be able to operate profitably to Australia and New Zealand, which would suggest that the aircraft chosen will need to fly long distances nonstop with a full payload.

* INTERCONTINENTAL ROUTES TO STAY    

There has been much speculation in recent years that Aerolineas would dump its intercontinental routes due to their lack of profitability but the airline's flights from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to Miami (MIA), New York Kennedy (JFK), Madrid (MAD) and Rome Fiumicino (FCO) will apparently continue. 

Sources:

https://aviacionline.com/2018/04/aerolineas-argentinas-en-la-wttc-2018-tarifas-mas-bajas-y-comentarios-sobre-flota-long-haul-y-alianzas-en-cabotaje/
https://aviacionline.com/2018/04/aerolineas-argentinas-analiza-hacer-una-alianza-con-una-compania-de-cabotaje/
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2018/04/aerolineas-argentinas-hablo-de-una-premium-economy-para-los-vuelos-internacionales/

ROUTE UPDATE: Avianca Argentina adding Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN) eff 06Jun18

Avianca Argentina ATR-72-600, LV-GUH (c/n 1395), taxis in after landing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 29Mar18.  This aircraft is one of two ATR-72-600's that have joined the airline so far. (Phil Perry Photo)

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN) - eff 06Jun18 - 2x/daily

Operated with ATR-72-600's.  Santa Fe (SFN) will be the fourth airport in Avianca Argentina's network joining Aeroparque, Mar del Plata (MDQ) and Rosario (ROS).  The new flights are expected to connect at Aeroparque with those to Mar del Plata (MDQ) just as the Rosario (ROS) flights already do. 

Source:

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2018/04/avianca-argentina-confirma-vuelos-a-santa-fe-desde-junio/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina started regularly scheduled service between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Rosario service today 21Nov17

Avianca Argentina started regularly scheduled service this morning from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Rosario (ROS) becoming the first new Argentine airline to operate scheduled service in the country since Andes Lineas Aereas and Sol Lineas Aereas started flying in 2006 and the first new carrier to start up since the Argentine public route hearings that took place on 27Dec16. 

The carrier took delivery of two new ATR-72-600's, LV-GUG (c/n 1343) and LV-GUH (c/n 1395) on 13Jan17 and 11Mar17, respectively, which the airline had only used on charters until now, such as to the ski destination of Malargue (LGS) and numerous charters for sports teams. 

Flight A0 7100 took off today from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Rosario (ROS) at 08:06am, arriving back from that city at 10:47am.  The second daily rotation, flight A0 7108 took off from Aeroparque at 7:27pm.    

Video of the flight by the excellent blog Sir Chandler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2_UkCTKocA

The carrier is slated to start its second scheduled service, which will be between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Mar del Plata (MDQ), next week on 28Nov17.  

Sources:

www.aa2000.com.ar
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Avianca%20Argentina-active-atr.htm
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/11/historico-avianca-argentina-inicia-hoy-sus-vuelos-regulares/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina planning to receive 5 more ATR-72's by February plus 2 A320's in March

Avianca Argentina ATR-72-600, LV-GUH (c/n 1395), taking off from  Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 08Oct17, apparently on a press flight. (Phil Perry Photo) 

Avianca Argentina's start-up appears to be firmly on course with the airline selling tickets on its website for its first scheduled flights from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Rosario (ROS) and Mar del Plata (MDQ) on 21Nov17 and 28Nov17, respectively. 

Fleet Plans

Further plans are for the airline to receive three more factory-new ATR-72-600's in December, all of which have reportedly been painted in Avianca colors with at least one having made its first flight at ATR's manufacturing facility in Toulouse way back in July.  The hold up in delivery of the aircraft has apparently been due to the carrier waiting for the start of service to be authorized before bringing the planes to Argentina. 

Two more ATR-72-600's are scheduled for delivery in January and February for a total of seven ATR's (two were delivered earlier this year).  Two each will be based at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Cordoba (COR) and Tucuman (TUC) with one more aircraft on reserve, probably in Cordoba (COR). 

The carrier will also take delivery of its first two A320's in March for flights to Brazil. 

Avianca originally ordered 12 ATR-72-600's for its Argentine affiliate but deliveries beyond the first seven ATR's and two A320's will depend largely on which routes develop well and how many of each aircraft are needed for its route system. 

Jetstreams Gone

Avianca Argentina no longer operates any of the Jetstreams that it acquired when it purchased the Air Operator Certificate of MacAir.  The editor of this blog has seen one or two of these Jetstreams at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) in recent months but they might have left Argentina by now or perhaps have joined the fleet of another Argentine company.

Aeroparque Hardstands

The north ramp area (adjacent to the north car parking lot) at Aeroparque has typically been used for parking up to a half-dozen aircraft at a time, such as business jets and MacAir Jetstreams, but will now also be used as hardstands for Avianca Argentina's ATR-72-600's.  

Labor Unions

Finally, one of the most important matters for all of the new Argentine carriers to resolve for their operations to be viable is reaching agreement with the labor unions.  Synergy Aerospace and Avianca Argentina President German Efromovich recently stated optimistically that "We are negotiating several labor contracts, we have preliminary agreements, and we are in the final stages of the negotiations."   

Sources:

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/10/avianca-argentina-planes-los-proximos-meses-conferencia-prensa-efromovich/comment-page-1/#comments               

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/10/los-aviones-tienen-venir-avianca-argentina/

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn171026/avn-171026.html

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina starting scheduled service on 21Nov17 from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Rosario (ROS)

After flying several charters for Argentina's two most important professional football/soccer teams, Boca Juniors and River Plate, in recent months, Avianca Argentina has started selling tickets on its website for its first scheduled flights:

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) eff 21Nov17

To be operated 12x/weekly with ATR-72-600's.

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Mar del Plata (MDQ) eff 28Nov17

To be operated 2x/daily with ATR-72-600's increasing to 4x/daily on weekdays and 3x/daily on weekends eff 25Dec17 for the summer season. 

Airfares start at AR$ 1156 (US$ 66) round-trip to Rosario (ROS) and AR$ 1496 (US$ 84) round-trip to Mar del Plata (MDQ).

Avianca Argentina earlier this year took delivery of the first two of 12 ATR-72-600's that it has on order, LV-GUG (c/n 1343) and LV-GUH (c/n 1395). 

Sources:

http://aeropuertomardelplata.blogspot.com.ar/2017/08/avianca-y-su-primer-vuelo-mdq.html

https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2017/09/avianca-superclasico.html

https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2017/09/river-vuela-por-avianca.html

http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/09/avianca-argentina-desembarca-en-rosario-desde-noviembre/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/10/avianca-argentina-habilito-la-comercializacion-de-sus-primeras-rutas/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina to request 38 more routes at 06Sep17 Route Hearings

Avianca Argentina is the only airline that participated in the 27Dec16 Argentine route hearings that will also be requesting route authorities at the second hearings scheduled for 06Sep17.

The airline was awarded 16 routes at the first hearing, mostly from Buenos Aires to smaller secondary cities in Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Santa Fe provinces that are within range of its ATR-72-600 fleet plus the much coveted and highly-profitable Buenos Aires - Montevideo "Air Bridge".   
For more details, see this previous posting:

http://argentina-airline-news.blogspot.com.ar/2017/03/new-airline-plans-anac-authorizes_18.html

The carrier will request 38 new scheduled routes on 06Sep17, both domestic and international, mostly from Buenos Aires (airport not designated), Cordoba (COR) and Tucuman (TUC) in northern Argentina from where it plans to start a regional hub.  Aircraft to be used are the previously announced ATR-72-600's plus A320's.

* "Triangle Routes"

Many of the routes will be flown on a "triangle" basis from Buenos Aires and Cordoba (COR) to two smaller cities that are usually close to each other and then back to the airport of origin.  Many of these small cities currently lack air service.  These flights would presumably be operated with ATR-72-600's. 

Examples include:

Buenos Aires-Originating

Buenos Aires - General Pico (GPO) - Santa Rosa (RSA) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - Bolivar - Olavarria (OVR) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - Necochea (NEC) - Tandil (TDL) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - San Luis (LUQ) - Villa Mercedes (VME) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - Saenz Pena - Reconquista (RCQ) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - Tandil (TDL) - Tres Arroyos (OYO) - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires - Marcos Juarez - Villa de Maria del Rio Seco - Buenos Aires  

Cordoba-Originating

Cordoba (COR) - Rio Hondo (RHD) - Santiago del Estero (SDE) - Cordoba (COR)
Cordoba (COR) - Mendoza (MDZ) - San Juan (UAQ) - Cordoba (COR)
Cordoba (COR) - Corrientes (CNQ) - Formosa (FMA) - Cordoba (COR) 
Cordoba (COR) - Posadas (PSS) - Iguazu Falls (IGR) - Cordoba (COR)
Cordoba (COR) - Villa Mercedes (VME) - San Luis (LUQ) - Cordoba (COR)

* Tucuman Hub Routes

Seven routes, both domestic and international, will be requested out of the planned hub from this city in northern Argentina.

Domestic

Tucuman (TUC) - Rosario (ROS)
Tucuman (TUC) - Buenos Aires
Tucuman (TUC) - Cordoba (COR)

International & Domestic / International Combinations

Most of these flights would probably be operated with Avianca Argentina's A320's fleet due to the long distances.

Tucuman (TUC) - Lima (LIM)
Tucuman (TUC) - Salta (SLA) - Santa Cruz (VVI) 
Tucuman (TUC) - Resistencia (RES) - Iguazu Falls (IGR) - Florianopolis (FLN) 
Tucuman (TUC) - Iguique (IQQ) - Lima (LIM) - Iquique (IQQ) - Tucuman (TUC) 

* Buenos Aires Point-to-Point Routes - Domestic & International

All of the routes below (with the exception of Cuzco) are already flown by Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral so it will be interesting to see if the ANAC will allow much competition.  Presumably all of these routes would be flown with A320's. 

Domestic:

Buenos Aires - Bariloche (BRC)
Buenos Aires - Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD)
Buenos Aires - Iguazu Falls (IGR) 
Buenos Aires - Tucuman (TUC)

International:

Buenos Aires - Bogota (BOG)

Buenos Aires - Cuzco (CUZ)

Buenos Aires - Florianopolis (FLN)

Buenos Aires - Lima (LIM)
Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro (GIG)
Buenos Aires - Santiago (SCL)
Buenos Aires - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

* Cordoba (COR) Point-to-Point Routes - Domestic & International

Domestic:

All of these are currently served by Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral but infrequently:

Cordoba (COR) - Mendoza (MDZ)
Cordoba (COR) - Rosario (ROS)
Cordoba (COR) - Salta (SLA)

International:

Both services below would connect with Avianca's hubs at these airports and will presumably be approved given the present Argentine government's record of approving almost every route request connecting the Argentine "Interior" directly with foreign destinations. 

Cordoba (COR) - Bogota (BOG)
Cordoba (COR) - Lima (LIM)

All of the above flights would presumably be flown with A320's.

Sources:

https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/#!DetalleNorma/169233/20170816
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/08/confirmada-la-audiciencia-publica-6-septiembre-muchas-rutas-pedidas/comment-page-2/#comments
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/08/ya-tiene-fecha-la-aeroaudiencia2017-y-se-viene-con-cada-cosa/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Nine Airlines to request Argentina Routes at 06Sep17 Route Hearings

The ANAC Argentine aviation authority announced that the second route hearing initiated by the current Argentine presidential administration will take place on 06Sep17 in Buenos Aires.

Nine airlines that currently exist or plan/hope to start up in the coming year will participate; Argenjet Aviacion, Avianca Argentina, Buenos Aires International Airlines, Grupo LASA, Just Flight (Royal Class), Norwegian Air Argentina, Polar Lineas Aereas, Servicios Aereos Patagonicos (SAPSA), and Servicios y Emprendimientos Aeronauticos (SEA). The only one of these companies that participated in the first hearing on 27Dec16 is Avianca Argentina. 

Four airlines were caught by surprise by the announcement and were left out of the next hearing; LATAM, Baires Fly, Flyest, and Andes, the latter which was present at the first hearing. The ANAC was reportedly pressured by Norwegian Air Argentina to schedule the hearing after it had been delayed several times since March, threatening to move their operation to Chile if the haring did not go ahead soon.    

The nine airlines that are scheduled to appear have varying levels of seriousness and chances of becoming established in a significant way with Norwegian Air Argentina and Avianca Argentina leading the way.  

SAPSA is a modest operation that has been flying for several years in Patagonia and is now looking to expand ambitiously both domestically in Argentina and with the addition of international flights.  

Buenos Aires International Airlines is the comeback attempt of Juan Maggio of Southern Winds, which operated with varying levels of success in the late 1990's and early 2000's, succumbing to problems related to 60kg of cocaine discovered on one of its aircraft in Madrid in September 2004. PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20

Two airlines, Argenjet Aviacion PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20 and Servicios y Emprendimientos Aeronauticos (SEA) PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20 did not request any specific routes, only permission to fly 727-200F's in cargo service and passenger ERJ-135's, respectively. 

Grupo LASA would like to fly ATR-42-300's in the southern Patagonia region and Just Flight (Royal Class) PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20 is a long-established jet charter operation that plans to fly Fairchild Metros from Buenos Aires to smaller cities, mostly in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Santa Fe.   

Polar Lineas Aereas is looking to fly both passenger and cargo services from the three main cities of San Luis province; San Luis (LUQ), Villa Mercedes (VME) and Merlo (RLO) plus Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Cordoba (COR), and La Plata (LPG) on both domestic and international routes. PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20

The next posts in the coming days will further detail the plans of most of these airlines.

Sources:

https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/#!DetalleNorma/169233/20170816
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/08/confirmada-la-audiciencia-publica-6-septiembre-muchas-rutas-pedidas/comment-page-2/#comments
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/08/ya-tiene-fecha-la-aeroaudiencia2017-y-se-viene-con-cada-cosa/
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170817/avn-170817.html

NEW AIRLINE PLANS & ROUTE UPDATES - Update on Five Carriers that participated in Argentine Route Hearings on 27Dec16

Five proposed or existing carriers participated in the route hearings held on 27Dec16, the first in Argentina in over ten years; Alas del Sur, American Jet, Andes Lineas Aereas, Avianca Argentina, and Flybondi.  Here is an update on the status of the service plans of these five airlines:

* Alas del Sur - PROPOSED - NEVER STARTED - AS OF 30May20

      
Not too many details ever surfaced regarding this carrier that was proposed to start with Argentine and Chinese investors flying domestically in Argentina but also with ambitious international routes, such as Cordoba (COR) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Los Angeles (LAX) - Shanghai Pudong (PVG).  As of this writing, this carrier appears to be on hold.

* American Jet

This company is over 30 years old with its headquarters at San Fernando (FDO) north of Buenos Aires, known as Argentina's primary "biz jet" airport, but with its main operational bases in Mendoza (MDZ) and Neuquen (NQN) serving the oil industry with charter and support aircraft and helicopters, including one ATR-42, several Fairchild Metros and one Dornier 228.

The carrier was approved for several routes emanating from Neuquen (NQN) to other parts of Argentina and even extending into Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay but not many specific plans have emerged with the only information coming from the Sir Chandler blog that American Jet has scaled back its plans to only fly the following routes with a single CRJ-200:   

Malargüe (LGS) – Neuquén (NQN) – Mendoza (MDZ)
Neuquén (NQN) – Temuco, Chile (ZCO)

Neuquén (NQN) – Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD)

* Andes Lineas Aereas

Andes is the only carrier to add new service so far as a result of the 27Dec16 route hearings.  

The airline, which at the beginning of 2017 was operating four MD-83's, has since added a fifth to its fleet plus the first two of several 737-800's that are eventually planned to replace all of its MD-80's.    

The Salta (SLA) based carrier had a modest scheduled route network that consisted of only four cities prior to 2017; Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Jujuy (JUJ), Puerto Madryn (PMY) and Salta (SLA) but has since expanded at a brisk rate adding seven more; Bariloche (BRC), Cordoba (COR), Iguazu (IGR), Mar del Plata (MDQ) (seasonal), Mendoza (MDZ), Rio Hondo (RHD) (to be replaced by Tucuman (TUC) when it reopens) and Samana (AZS) in the Dominican Republic. 

In addition to its scheduled business, Andes has an extensive operation flying student and sports team charters.

* Avianca Argentina

This affiliate of the well-known Colombian airline plans to fly to smaller cities using ATR-72-600 aircraft with many of its proposed routes connecting Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) with two smaller cities flying a "triangle" pattern.

Avianca Argentina has already taken delivery of two ATR-72-600's with a third and fourth expected soon.  The carrier has flown sub-services for Andes Lineas Aereas, which experienced a capacity shortage in July, plus several charters to Malargue, serving the ski resort of Las Lenas, and the occasional ad hoc charter too.     

Flybondi's planned dedicated terminal at El Palomar (EPA) (via aviacionline.com)

* Flybondi

The founders of this carrier have strong airline credentials having worked extensively in the industry in Europe, with solid experience in the Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) sector too.  

Julian Cook, ex-CEO of Swiss carrier FlyBaboo; Michael Cawley, ex-COO of Ryanair; and Michael Powell, ex-CFO of WizzAir have put together a business plan based primarily on flying out of alternative airport El Palomar (EPA) located fifteen miles west of the city of Buenos Aires to several domestic points and some regional international South American destinations too.    

Flybondi reportedly recently closed an important funding round of US$ 75 million with investments from Cartesian Capital Group and Yamasa Limited.  

It plans to build its own facilities at El Palomar (EPA), including a terminal with a typically simple LCC design featuring no jetways plus a new ramp and taxiways, with the entire project budgeted at US$ 30 million.  

The carrier planned to start operations with six 737-800's in late 2017 / early 2018, eventually growing to a fleet of 25 aircraft, but has only signed a lease on a single 737-800 so far. 

Flybondi also recently signed an agreement with Cordoba (COR) to base a hub operation there. The airline would start by overnighting its first two 737-800's in Cordoba (COR), operating 21 weekly flights from the "Mediterranean City", as it is known, in 2017, increasing to 35 weekly flights in 2018, 61 in 2019, 68 in 2020 and 71 in 2021.

Joining Aerolineas Argentinas, Avianca Argentina, and Norwegian Air Argentina in establishing hubs in Cordoba (COR), the four carriers would collectively grow service out of the central Argentina airport several times over if all of their plans come to fruition. 

Sources:

http://americanjet.com.ar/en/
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jet
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/07/american-jet-busca-incorporar-algun-crj-nuevos-vuelos/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/07/asi-sera-la-terminal-de-flybondi-en-el-palomar/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/07/flybondi-firmo-convenio-con-cordoba-para-establecer-alli-su-primer-hub/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/08/flybondi-cerro-una-nueva-ronda-de-inversion-de-us-75-millones/

ROUTE UPDATES: Avianca Argentina starts flying subservices and charters, not regularly scheduled flights

Avianca Argentina flew its first commercial services on 12Jul17 operating subservices for Andes Lineas Aereas that has been experiencing severely delayed flights, apparently due to delays in the addition of more aircraft to its fleet.   

Avianca Argentina's two ATR-72-600's, LV-GUG (c/n 1343) and LV-GUH (c/n 1395), flew from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Jujuy (JUJ) and Salta (SLA) respectively, in the early evening of Wednesday, 12Jul17 somewhat unexpectedly and with no prior announcement.  The aircraft operated services that would normally be operated by Andes' MD-80's or its single 737-800.

Three days later on Saturday, 15Jul17, the airline's two ATR-72-600's again flew commercial services in the form of three charter flights from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to the small airport of Malargue (LGS) that serves the well-known Argentine ski resort of Las Lenas.  The airline reportedly has a contract to operate several more such charters through mid-August. 

It was originally announced that Avianca Argentina would start regularly scheduled services on 11Jul17 from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Resistencia (RES) replacing the flights operated by the ex-Macair Jetstreams that it acquired when it bought the small carrier in 2016 but scheduled flights have apparently been delayed until approximately October 2017.

Sources:

https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2017/07/avianca-de-la-mano-de-andes.html

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/07/avianca-argentina-arranca-hoy-charters-las-lenas/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina to start operations on 11Jul17 between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Reconquista (RCQ)

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

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina cleared to start service by Anti-Corruption Office

On 08May17, the Argentine Government Anti-Corruption Office found no conflict of interest between Avianca Argentina and the administration of Argentine president Marucio Macri.  Avianca Argentina established a foothold in the Argentine domestic airline scene when it purchased the Air Operator Certificate of Macair, an FBO that also flew limited Jetstream 32 domestic services, from members of the Macri family in 2016. 

Some suspected that the Macri family retained an ownership stake in Macair, maintained financial interests tied to its fortunes or traded future favors as part of the sale.  The doubts generated by these suspicions led to the suspension of route rights granted to the carrier by the Argentine ANAC aviation authority pending the outcome of the investigation of the anti-corruption office.  

With the latter finding no such links, the Ministry of Transport has formalized the 16 domestic and two international route rights granted to Avianca Argentina and the airline can now go ahead with the introduction of services with the 12 ATR-72-600's that it has on order, with two of them already having been delivered. 

The next posting will feature information on Avianca Argentina's first flights starting 11Jul17 and plans for the rest of the year. 

Sources:

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2021899-para-la-oa-y-la-sigen-no-hay-conflicto-de-interes-en-el-caso-de-la-aerolinea-avianca
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/05/luz-verde-para-avianca-argentina/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/05/avianca-argentina-empezara-sus-operaciones-regulares-en-julio/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Macair Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Reconquista (RCQ) service operated under Avianca Argentina brand eff 03Apr17

The service flown by Macair, the airline that was previously owned by members of Argentine President Mauricio Macri's family which was bought by Avianca, between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Reconquista (RCQ) in northern Santa Fe Province has been operating under the Avianca Argentina brand since 03Apr17.  The flights have been operated with 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft for several years under the Macair brand along with a few other regional services to smaller cities in the provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fe, such as Villa Maria (VMR) and Sunchales (NCJ). 

The change in airline name being used for the Reconquista (RCQ) flights was a little surprising because the new services to be operated by Avianca Argentina with its new ATR-72-600 fleet had not received the go-ahead yet in early April and the airline was technically not authorized to operate in Argentina yet. However, with the Macair service having operated for several years and with Avianca owning the carrier, there was apparently enough of a "grey area" for Avianca to apply the Avianca Argentina brand to the Macair flights.   

The local chamber of commerce in northern Argentina has been promoting the service in social media and even has a website featuring the Avianca Argentina brand and logo:       

http://www.grupoaeronorte.com.ar/

Macair's Jetstream 32 fleet apparently still consists of at least three aircraft with two of the examples flying in the carrier's colors and titles with one painted with simple wavy lines and sporting a small Macair logo as seen below:  

Macair Jetstream 32, LV-ZST (c/n 941), taxiing at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 17Nov16.  (Phil Perry Photo) 

Sources:

http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/04/se-inauguraron-los-vuelos-non-stop-entre-reconquista-y-buenos-aires-operados-con-aeronaves-de-avianca-argentina/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS & FLEET UPDATE: Avianca Argentina took delivery of 2nd ATR-72-600 on 11Mar17

Avianca Argentina's second ATR-72-600, LV-GUH (c/n 1395), arrived at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 11Mar17.  The third aircraft of twelve on order, LV-GUY, is expected in Argentina in late March or early April.    

Source:

http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2017/03/esta-llegando-el-segundo-atr-de-avianca.html

President Macri announces Argentina National Air Transportation Policy

Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced the country's National Air Transportation Policy at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires on March 6. 

Double the Number Of Argentine Domestic Passengers

The goal of the policy is to double the number of passengers traveling by air domestically within Argentina by the end of his presidential term in December 2019 from the current 10 million per year to 22 million annually.  This increase in passenger traffic is expected to generate 25,000 jobs in direct and indirect employment in the airlines and related travel and tourism businesses.

One of the reasons motivating this goal is that the air traffic of some of Argentina's neighbors has increased dramatically since 2000 while Argentina's has grown minimally.  For example, as of 2000, approximately 18% of Argentines, Peruvians and Chileans had flown at least once in their lifetime. As of today, 21% of Argentines have flown while 30% of Peruvians and 56% of Chileans have, demonstrating that there is considerable room for growth in the Argentine domestic air travel market.  

Three-Pronged Strategy

The doubling of passengers would be accomplished through: 

1) Increase the number of travelers carried domestically by Aerolineas Argentinas by 4 million per year (a 48% increase) through the addition of more aircraft currently on order that would be deployed on an increasing number of routes and with greater frequency.

2) Another 8 million annual passengers would be carried by other carriers, including existing airlines, such as Andes Lineas Aereas, American Jet and proposed new carriers, such as Flybondi, Avianca Argentina, Alas del Sur, Flyest and possibly even Norwegian and Irelandia Aviation (realeted to Ryanair). 

3) A 22 thousand million (22 billion in the US) peso investment (approx. US$ 15 billion) in improving the infrastructure at 19 airports, including upgrades to navigation systems to facilitate operations in inclement weather. 

Sources:

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1990546-mauricio-macri-presento-el-plan-aerocomercial-y-aseguro-que-las-inversiones-van-a-generar-25-mil-puestos-de-trabajo
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170309/avn-170309.html  http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1997445-como-es-el-plan-revolucion-de-aviones-que-presento-el-gobierno-y-que-busca-abaratar-los-costos-de-los-vuelos

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Flybondi and Avianca Argentina Route Approvals put on hold by Argentine Ministry of Transportation

The Argentine ANAC aviation authority route approvals stemming from the December 27 route hearings were confirmed by the Ministry of Transportation for Andes Lineas Aereas, American Jet and Alas del Sur but not for Flybondi or Avianca Argentina.

Flybondi

Flybondi's approvals are on hold until the airline comes up with more concrete plans regarding the type of aircraft that it will fly and establishes its technical competence to operate.  At the time of this posting the carrier announced that it plans to start service with the 737-800.  No specific order or lease plans were announced but the company has apparently come to a customer support agreement with Boeing and plans to negotiate the acquisition of aircraft for the start of service in the second half of 2017.  

Julian Cook, Flybondi's CEO, further commented that the carrier will soon start negotiations for the acquisition of 50 Boeing 737 MAX 200's, which is a new variant of the 737 MAX series launched for Ryanair that can hold up to 200 seats.  

Avianca Argentina

Avianca Argentina's plans are suspended because the carrier established itself in Argentina through the purchase in 2016 of the air operator certificate of Macair, a small charter and contract carrier, owned by Argentine President Mauricio Macri's family.  There are suspicions on the part of some parties, generally those of the political opposition, that the president's family has retained a financial stake in the new carrier, which would be a potential conflict of interest since the president is the key figure in determining Argentine national air policy and could inappropriately favor Avianca Argentina.  An investigation is underway. 

Avianca CEO German Efromovich has questioned the delay and has reportedly threatened to sue the Argentine government if the delay goes on for an indefinite amount of time.  In any case, the airline plans to start flying charters immediately with its two recently delivered ATR-72-600's.  

La Nacion newspaper recently revealed that Avianca bought Macair (in early 2016) for US$ 10 million to be paid in installments by 2018, with the purchase including the transfer of Macair's Air Operator Certificate, the company's hangar at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and five aircraft (presumably its fleet of five Jetstream 32's).       

Sources:

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1990552-el-gobierno-postego-el-ingreso-de-avianca-al-mercado-low-cost-hasta-que-se-resuelva-el-conflicto-judicial
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170309/avn-170309.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170316/avn-170316.html