ROUTE UPDATES: November 2021 - Part 1 - Aerolineas Argentinas, American Airlines, Boliviana

Route Updates - November 2021 - Part 1

The following airlines / flights are confirmed to have started or re-started on the indicated dates.  Most, maybe all, of the services are the resumption of flights that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Increases / decreases in flight frequency are not always verified.

Airline                      Origin                             Destination                 Eff Date      Type            Frequency   

American                 Dallas-Ft. Worth             Buenos Aires                01Nov21     787-9           1x/daily

Airlines                    (DFW)                             Ezeiza (EZE)

American                 Miami (MIA)                    Buenos Aires                01Nov21     777-300 /     2x/daily                Airlines                                                            Ezeiza (EZE)                                   787-8

American                 New York Kennedy         Buenos Aires                01Nov21     777-200      1x/daily

Airlines                    (JFK)                               Ezeiza (EZE)

Boliviana                 Santa Cruz (VVI)             Buenos Aires                01Nov21    737-800 /     1x/daily                                                                                           Ezeiza (EZE)                                   767-300                                         

Aerolineas               Buenos Aires                   Iguazu (IGR)                01Nov21    A330-200     5x/weekly

Argentinas               Ezeiza (EZE)

* Remarks:  A330 new on this route.  Increasing to 1x/daily January through March 2022 high season 

Sources:

www.aviacionline.com

www.sirchandler.com

www.aviacionnews.com

ROUTE UPDATES: July 2021 - Part 2 - Aerolineas Argentinas

 Route Updates - July 2021 - Part 2

The following airlines / flights are confirmed to have started or re-started on the indicated dates.  Most, maybe all, of the services are the resumption of flights that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Increases / decreases in flight frequency are not always verified.

Airline                  Origin                             Destination                Eff Date      Type             Frequency   

Aerolineas           Rosario (ROS)                San Martin de              09Jul21       E-190           2x/weekly

Argentinas                                                   los Andes (CPC) 

* Remarks: Seasonal winter ski until 31Aug21

Aerolineas           Cordoba (COR)               San Martin de             10Jul21       E-190            2x/weekly

Argentinas                                                   los Andes (CPC)                            737-700

* Remarks: Seasonal winter ski until  04Sep21

Aerolineas           Buenos Aires                   New York                    19Jul21       A330-200                          Argentinas           Ezeiza (EZE)                   Kennedy (JFK)

* Remarks

      

Sources:

www.aviacionline.com

www.sirchandler.com

www.aviacionnews.com

ROUTE UPDATES: June 2021 - American Airlines

Route Updates - June 2021

The following airlines / flights are confirmed to have started or re-started on the indicated dates.  Most, maybe all, of the services are the resumption of flights that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Increases / decreases in flight frequency are not always verified.

Airline                      Origin                             Destination                      Eff Date     Type           Frequency   

American                 Buenos Aires                  New York                          16Jun21     777-200      4x/weekly    Airlines                    Ezeiza (EZE)                  Kennedy (JFK)

* Remarks:  First regularly-scheduled service to JFK since March 2020

Sources:

www.aviacionline.com

www.sirchandler.com

www.aviacionnews.com

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/

Aerolineas Argentinas to make decision on replacement of A330 long-range fleet by end of 2018

Aerolineas Argentinas A330-200, LV-FVH (c/n 1605), Aerolineas' first factory-delivered and owned aircraft taxiing at a European airport.  (Phil Perry Collection)

Aerolineas Argentinas will reportedly make a decision on the replacement of its intercontinental jet fleet by the end of 2018.

Aerolineas Argentinas - Intercontinental Flights - First Decades

Aerolineas Argentinas has flown several types of long-range jet aircraft from  Argentina to Europe and North America since it first introduced the de Havilland Comet 4 into service in 1959.  Since then the Boeing 707, 747-200, 747SP, 747-400 and Airbus A310 have all flown long-range services for Aerolineas with even some smaller regional types, such as the 727-200 being pressed into service occasionally on multi-stop runs from Argentina to Miami, for example.

After the 747-400 was retired from active Aerolineas service on 01Feb12, the airline remained with an exclusive Airbus fleet for its intercontinental scheduled flights.  Aerolineas has operated a total of 13 different A340 series aircraft, including three A340-200's and ten A340-300's, two of which remain in service plus 10 A330-200's, all of which are currently flying for the carrier.

Airbus A340-300

The two remaining A340-300's, LV-FPU (c/n 170) and LV-FPV (c/n 193), the latter painted in Skyteam colors, will soldier on until 2019 or even 2020, presumably flying mostly the Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Madrid (MAD) route as they do now.

Airbus A330-200

Aerolineas Argentinas started taking delivery of the backbone of its current intercontinental fleet, the A330-200, in 2013 with three examples joining the fleet that year, one in 2014, two in 2015, three in 2016 and the final A330-200 being acquired in early 2017 for a total of 10 of the type.     

Two of these aircraft, LV-FNI (c/n 290) and LV-FNJ (c/n 300), were delivered to SABENA with both going on to also fly for VG Airlines and Malaysia Airlines before joining Aerolineas. 

Another two A330-200's, LV-FNK (c/n 358) and LV-FNL (c/n 364), were delivered to Air Afrique and proceeded to serve an identical sequence of operators; Calliope, Eurofly, Atlas Jet, Saudi Arabian, and Atlas Jet again before going on to Aerolineas.

Yet another pair of A330-200's had identical service histories before joining Aerolineas, LV-GKO (c/n 587) and LV-GKP (c/n 634), which were delivered to EVA Airways prior to going to Argentina.

Finally, Aerolineas Argentinas bought four factory-new A330-200's directly from Airbus in February 2013, with the first example, LV-FVH (c/n 1605), being delivered on 28Feb15 followed by LV-FVI (c/n 1623) on 30Apr15, LV-GHQ (c/n 1737) on 05Aug16 and LV-GIF (c/n 1748) on 02Nov16.

Aerolineas deploys its A330-200 fleet on its intercontinental network radiating out from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to Miami (MIA), New York Kennedy (JFK), Cancun (CUN), Punta Cana (PUJ), Rome-Fiumicino (FCO), and Madrid (MAD) 2x/weekly with the other 5 days being operated by A340-300's.  The carrier  flew to Barcelona (BCN) until recently too.   

Recent European Route Changes

Aerolineas dropped Barcelona (BCN) because it was unprofitable, especially in the face of competition from Level, an LCC belonging to the IAG Group, but it plans to restart service to the Catalan city when it has more efficient lower-cost aircraft in its fleet that will make the airline more competitive on the route.  

The Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) route was also a money-loser but it apparently became a much more attractive product when Aerolineas added frequencies to make it a daily service because the route is now profitable. 
   
A330-200 Replacement

Aerolineas will reportedly start retiring its A330-200's after it has completed replacing Austral's E190 fleet, probably in 2021 or soon thereafter.  

The leading candidate aircraft include the 777, 787, and A350 with no further indication thus far of which models of each type might be under consideration. 

Sources:

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/135154/aerolineas-argentinas-phasing-out-boeing-747-service-from-feb-2012/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Aerolineas-Argentinas/Boeing-747-475/2069985
https://worldairlinenews.com/2015/03/03/aerolineas-argentinas-takes-delivery-of-the-first-direct-delivery-airbus-a330-200/
https://www.lanacion.com.ar/2088845-aerolineas-licitara-la-renovacion-de-su-flota-embraer-al-inicio-de-2018
https://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2017/12/adeus-embraer-adieux-airbusaures.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2018/avn180215/avn-180215.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Aerolineas%20Argentinas.htm

ROUTE UPDATE: Avianca started 787 service between Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) and Bogota (BOG) on 01Feb15

Avianca of Colombia took delivery of its first three of an eventual fifteen 787-8's on order in rapid succession in a two-week period in late December 2014.  

The aircraft were planned to be deployed from the Colombian capital Bogota (BOG) to the following destinations:

16Jan15 - New York Kennedy (JFK)

01Feb15 - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE)

10Feb15 - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

13Feb15 - Santiago (SCL)

17Feb15 - Mexico City (MEX)

Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN) and London Heathrow (LHR) are due to follow in June. 

Sources:

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

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150101/avn-150101.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150115/avn-150115.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150205/avn-150205.html

ROUTE UPDATES: Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral Announce Many New Routes & Service Changes for late 2013 / early 2014

Aerolineas Argentinas and sister carrier Austral Lineas Aereas have announced the addition of many new routes and changes to service as the combined carriers continue to take delivery of many aircraft to their fleets:

From Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE):

Ushuaia (USH):
Aerolineas Argentinas started operating its first A330-223, LV-FNI, to this city located in the southern province of Tierra del Fuego in late October despite a disagreement with its pilots over pay scales for the new type in the airline's fleet.

New York Kennedy (JFK):
Aerolineas Argentinas resuming service after five years' absence with daily A330-200's, effective 15Dec13 

Punta Cana (PUJ):
Aerolineas Argentinas 2x weekly (Tuesday & Saturday) summer charters with A340-300, effective 04Jan14-08Mar14

Miami (MIA):
Aerolineas Argentinas replacing A340-300's with A330-200's daily effective 01Mar14 going to 2x/daily, effective 01Apr14

Sydney (SYD):
Aerolineas Argentinas cancelling 3x/weekly A340-300 service, effective 02Apr14

Barcelona (BCN):
Aerolineas Argentinas increasing from 5x/weekly to daily with A340-300, effective 01Jul14

Rome (FCO):
Aerolineas Argentinas increasing from 4x/weekly to daily with A340-300, effective 01Jul14  

Lima (LIM):
Aerolineas Argentinas increasing from daily to 2x/daily with 737-800, effective 01Aug14

From Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP):

Curitiba, Brazil (CWB):
Austral daily with Embraer 190, effective 01Mar14

Formosa, Argentina (FMA):
Austral 2x/daily with Embraer 190, effective March 2014

Santa Cruz, Bolivia (VVI):
Aerolineas Argentinas daily with 737-700, effective 01Apr14

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2013/avn131226/avn-131226.html
http://airlineroute.net/2013/12/19/ar-mia-mar14update2/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/12/12/ar-vvi-s14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/12/05/ar-lim-aug14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/12/04/ar-europe-s14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/11/28/ar-mia-mar14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/11/11/ar-syd-s14cxld/ via Eric Trum
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2013/avn131031/avn-131031.html
http://airlineroute.net/2013/09/27/ar-mia-jan14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/09/27/ar-cwb-mar14/ via Eric Trum
http://airlineroute.net/2013/09/24/ar-puj-jan14/ via Eric Trum

ROUTE UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas returning to New York after 5-Year Absence

Aerolineas Argentinas announced that it will resume flights to New York-JFK on 15Dec13 more than five years after they cancelled service on the route. 

Flights will be operated non-stop daily between Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) and JFK using the carrier's soon-to-be-delivered A330-200's.

Aerolineas has flown to New York off-and-on since at least 1968 when they flew Boeing 707's on the route, sometimes stopping in Rio de Janeiro (GIG). More recently, AR flew 747-200's between EZE and JFK stopping in Miami (MIA) on certain days of the week.  The last such service was in April 2008.

Aerolineas new service comes shortly on the heels of the announcement by United Airlines that they will drop Newark (EWR) - Ezeiza service effective 29Sep13.  

Source: http://airlineroute.net/2013/07/24/ar-jfk-w13/ via Eric Trum