* 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/
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
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/
