ROUTE UPDATES: SAPSA to request 41 routes at 06Sep17 Route Hearings

SAPSA Lineas Aereas Fairchild Metro 23, LV-ZXA (c/n DC-901B), taxis out for departure at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 01Oct10. (Phil Perry Photo)

SAPSA Lineas Aereas is an air charter operator based in Viedma, Province of Rio Negro, in the Patagonia region of Argentina.  Founded in 1998, the carrier is part of the Via Bariloche transportation group, highlighted by an important Argentine long-distance bus company of the same name.  

SAPSA flies its single Learjet X45R and single Metro on executive charters, medical evacuation flights, and for groups, such as sports teams, musical bands, and corporate contingents.  

The airline is scheduled to participate in the 06Sep17 Argentine route hearings where it will request 41 routes for which it plans to acquire a CRJ-200 to operate.  

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) 

Many of its route requests will consist of Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) originating flights operating to two cities, usually relatively small in size, before returning to Aeroparque.  Examples include:     

Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) - Resistencia (RES) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Resistencia (RES) - Tucuman (TUC) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Resistencia (RES) - Formosa (FMA) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Cordaba (COR) - Catamarca (CTC) round-trip 
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Cordoba (COR) - San Juan (UAQ) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Neuquen (NQN) - Bariloche (BRC) round-trip 
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Resistencia (RES) - Jujuy (JUJ) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Resistencia (RES) - Posadas (PSS) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Bahia Blanca (BHI) - Viedma (VDM) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - El Calafate (FTE) - Ushuaia (USH) round-trip 
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN) - Cordoba (COR) round-trip
Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Viedma (VDM) - Bariloche (BRC)

Several such routes are planned from Rosario (ROS) too.

South America, Europe & the United States

Buenos Aires to several South American points will also be requested:   

Bolivia:  Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI)
Brazil:  Brasilia (BSB), Belo Horizonte (CNF), Porto Alegre (POA), Recife (REC), Rio de Janeiro, Viracopos (VCP) 
Chile:  Santiago (SCL)
Paraguay:  Asuncion (ASU)
Uruguay:  Montevideo (MVD), Punta del Este (PDP)

Some of these would be flown with intermediate stops, such as Montevideo (MVD), which would be operated on a Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS) - Montevideo (MVD) round-trip routing.   

SAPSA will also ask for route authority on intercontinental routes to Europe and the United States though they would need a different type of aircraft than the CRJ-200 to fly that far !

Europe:  Frankfurt (FRA), Lisbon (LIS), Paris 
  
United States:  Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO)   

Sources:

www.sapsa.com.ar
https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/#!DetalleNorma/169233/20170816
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

SAPSA Solicited to fly Metros within Rio Negro Province

SAPSA Fairchild Metro SA-227DC Metro 23, LV-ZXA, (c/n DC-901B) at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 01Oct10. This aircraft was delivered new from the manufacturer's San Antonio, Texas factory to Argentina in October 2000 and was reportedly the next-to-last Metro built. 

The Minister of Tourism of the Patagonian province of Rio Negro, Angel Rovira Bosch, is recruiting SAPSA (Servicios Aereos Patagonicos Sociedad Anonima) to operate scheduled flights linking several cities in the province that spans from the foothills of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean in south central Argentina.   

SAPSA operates charters carrying passengers, cargo, and mail using two Fairchild Metros from its Viedma (VDM) base near the Atlantic Ocean.  It is 90% owned by the Via Bariloche bus company but it was founded by the Province of Rio Negro in 1998 as a state-owned company. The airline is also known to have operated subservices for Sol Lineas Aereas out of Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP).

Mr. Bosch is looking for SAPSA to operate a circle route, Viedma (VDM) - Roca (GNR) - Bariloche (BRC) - Jacobacci (IGB) - Viedma (VDM), within the province three times per week starting in early 2013. 

Sources: Aviacion News
             http://www.sapsa.com.ar/
             http://todalaaviacion.blogspot.com.ar/2008/05/cambio-de-imagen-
             en-el-lv-zxa.html