Alas Mediterraneas was founded in Cordoba in 2008 with the intention of flying charters and even planned to acquire a 737-300 from Mexico but the restrictive air transportation policy of the previous Argentine presidential administration prevented the carrier from starting operations.
The infrastructure of what had been developed of Alas Mediterraneas to that point was sold to businessman Claudio Ortiz Belgoff and a group of investors in 2010 with no further plans being made until recently when the carrier announced plans to present itself at the next Argentine public route hearings, currently scheduled for late June or in July.
The airline would base operations at a Cordoba (COR) hub (much as Aerolineas Argentinas is developing and as Alas del Sur and Avianca Argentina have proposed) with flights to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Catamarca (CTC), Rio Cuarto (RCU), Rosario (ROS), San Luis (LUQ), and Santiago del Estero (SDE) using three Saab 340s.
Source:
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1996102-alas-mediterraneas-una-empresa-cordobesa-que-se-suma-a-los-pedidos-de-rutas-aereas
Showing posts with label Saab 340. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saab 340. Show all posts
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Friday, May 27, 2016
Sol Lineas Aereas - The Final Months - Part 3 of 3 - Sol's Fleet Today
Air Nostrum CRJ-200ER, EC-MJY (c/n 7915) ex-LV-GIH, in Sol colors but with small Air Nostrum titles on approach to Toulouse Blagnac (TLS) France on 24Mar16.
Photo by "Eurospot" used with photographer's permission:
Sol's Former Fleet Today
CRJ-200ER's
Two of Sol's CRJ-200's were reportedly parked at Rosario (ROS) soon after the carrier ceased operations with the third going to Asuncion (ASU). By 24Feb16, all three were spotted in Asuncion (ASU) with apparently two, (c/n 7915) and (c/n 7975) departing back to Air Nostrum in Spain in March.
LV-GIH (c/n 7915) was re-registered as EC-MJY.
LV-GII (c/n 7975) was re-registered as EC-MJZ.
In the meantime, the third CRJ-200, LV-GIJ (c/n 7466), which was supposed to be re-registered as EC-MJX, presumably returned to Spain although the author of this blog knows of no confirmed reports of this.
Interesting photos of two the CRJ-200's in Sol's blue colors but with small Air Nostrum titles and with their new Spanish registrations:
EC-MJY (c/n 7915): See top of posting
EC-MJZ (c/n 7975): http://www.planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=1424329
Sol's five Saab 340's are reportedly parked in Rosario (ROS), the airline's former base. They are in, order of when they joined the Sol fleet:
* Saab 340A, LV-BEX (c/n 14), is one of the first Saab 340's to have been built way back in 1985. Sol took delivery of the plane on 02Aug06 but stored the aircraft in February 2012.
* Saab 340A, LV-BEW (c/n 150), was delivered to Business Express in 1989 and joined the Sol fleet on 07Aug06.
* Saab 340A, LV-CEI (c/n 12), is also one of the first Saab 340's to have been manufactured with Comair (USA) taking delivery of the plane on 29Mar85.
Sol added the aircraft to its fleet on 30Jul10.
* Saab 340B, LV-CSK (c/n 168), was delivered in 1989 and flew for several European airlines before joining Sol on 14Nov11.
* Saab 340B, LV-CYC (c/n 310), was delivered in 1992 and flew for several carriers in Europe, the USA, and Australia before joining Sol on 28Jul12.
Sol also flew three more Saab 340's in its 10-year history::
* Saab 340A, LV-BMD (c/n 123), was originally delivered in 1988, flying for several airlines, all in the USA, prior to joining the Sol fleet on 01Oct07. On 02Jan13, the pilots lost directional control of the aircraft while taxiing for takeoff at Mendoza (MDZ) exiting the taxiway onto rough ground. Propeller blades from the #1 engine were damaged with shrapnel causing a 5 centimeter hole in the fuselage. Nobody was hurt but the aircraft was deemed to be beyond economical repair.
* Saab 340A, LV-BTP (c/n 131), joined Sol on 03Jan09 but left to Sky Bahamas on 23Aug14.
* Saab 340A, LV-CEJ (c/n 25), joined the fleet on 30Jul10, the same date as LV-CEI. It crashed on 18May11 in the province of Rio Negro, Argentina due to severe icing and subsequent loss of control with the loss of all 3 crew and 19 passengers.
Sources:
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas.htm
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/01/cese-operaciones-de-sol-lineas-aereas-ii.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/02/sol-lineas-aereas.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/02/se-fueron-los-dos-crj200-de-rosario.html
http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2016/03/vuelta-espana.html
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20130102-0
http://www.perfil.com/contenidos/2013/01/02/noticia_0020.html
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20110518-0
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Sol Lineas Aereas - The Final Months - Part 2 of 3 - The Airline Shuts Down & tries to Reorganize
Sol employees protest at the airline's former ticket counter at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 17Mar16. The signs say "No aviation worker fired" and "You are are richer (referring to the airline's owners) and 300 more families are without work". (Phil Perry Photo)
With the election of new Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who took office on 10Dec15, Aerolineas' senior management was changed so that the state-owned carrier would be run in line with President Macri's wishes. Isela Costantini, a high-ranking executive at Mercedes Benz Argentina, took over the reins at Aerolineas on Monday, 04Jan16 and upon examining the finances and operations of the loss-plagued carrier, promptly cancelled the agreement with Sol on 14Jan16, which she judged to be extremely disadvantageous to Aerolineas.
What were the terms of the Aerolineas / Sol agreement ? The information published in news media has been spotty and piecemeal making it difficult to determine with certainty what the terms were. Below is the editor's interpretation from several different sources.
Capacity Purchase Agreement
Aerolineas entered into a "Capacity Purchase Agreement" with Sol, similar to such arrangements between major carriers and regionals / commuters in the US and Europe, whereby the major purchases the entire seat inventory of the smaller carrier and sells it through the larger carrier's formidable marketing apparatus, keeping the revenue for itself.
Two Versions of Agreement
One version of the agreement is that Aerolineas reportedly agreed to cover all of Sol's company costs, including flying operations, administrative costs, etc. + 12% in guaranteed profit, with the latter expected to be approximately US$ 5.50 million per year.
Another version has Aerolineas agreeing to pay Sol for 210 monthly hours use of its four 34-seat Saab 340's at US$ 2,600 per block hour for a total of US$ 552,510 each plane. Similarly, the national carrier was to pay for 210 monthly hours x US$ 3,000 = US$ 630,000 per month for each CRJ-200. Some reports have also indicated that Aerolineas separately provided fuel for these operations.
Aerolineas' Projected Losses from Agreement
Aerolineas had already given Sol 125 million pesos (approx. US$ 8 million) before the change of government in December with the new management estimating that continuing the agreement would have resulted in a loss to Aerolineas of 1 million pesos (approx. US$ 65,000) per day.
Some said that Aerolineas was paying Sol 80% more for flying these routes than if it had just operated the routes itself with sister carrier Austral's E190's. It appears that this might be the case in the first version above where all of Sol's costs were covered by Aerolineas but in the second version it seems the opposite would be true because Austral's E190's would probably cost a lot more to operate than Sol's 34-seat Saab 340's and 50-seat CRJ-200's.
With the cancellation of the Aerolineas agreement, Air Nostrum cancelled its partnership with Sol leading the latter's management to declare the carrier's continuing operations to be unviable and suspend operations on 15Jan16.
Sol looks for new Business Partners to resume Operations
The sudden shutdown of Sol caused a lot of commotion for passengers who found themselves with cancelled flights, but mostly affected Sol's 220 employees who suddenly lost their jobs.
The Argentine government worked with Sol and other parties to get the airline operating again both to avoid the loss of connectivity and preserve jobs.
Via Bariloche + London Supply + American Jet
Initially three companies; the Via Bariloche bus operator and owner of small commuter airline SAPSA, London Supply, operator of El Calafate (FTE) and Ushuaia (USH) airports, and American Jet (an FBO and charter company with a fleet of business jets and an ATR-42 flying for the oil industry in Neuquen), all looked at making investments in Sol but did not get very far in the process before dropping out.
Amaszonas Interest
This was followed by the promising interest shown by Amaszonas of Bolivia, which was and is expanding in the region with affiliates Amaszonas Paraguay and now Amaszonas Uruguay, and also operates the same CRJ-200 type of aircraft that Sol flew. Expanding into Argentina with both domestic flights and international connectivity to its other affiliates seemed like a natural fit for the airline's expansion plans. However, when the Avianca Group of Colombia bought Macair as a base for establishing a domestic operation in Argentina, Amaszonas dropped out of pursuing Sol, saying that it could not compete with a large and powerful company like Avianca, although some thought that it was a convenient excuse for Amaszonas to back out.
With no agreement with any other carriers or investors in sight, Sol Lineas Aereas shut down completely on 31Mar16 after nearly 10 years of flight operations.
Sources:
http://www.ieco.clarin.com/aerolineas-estado-auditoria_0_1504050066.html
http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/economico-Aerolineas-Sol-cancelo-vuelos_0_1504649666.html
http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Recalde-Sol-Aerolineas-recaudaba-millon_0_1504649753.html
http://www.clarin.com/politica/Sol-gremial-connivencia-empresarios-Recalde_0_1505249673.html
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/22110-gobierno-argentino-presiona-para-evitar-cierre-de-sol
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160128/avn-160128.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160331/avn-160331.html
Avion Revue, Latin American Edition, April 2015, Issue #194, "Sol deja de Operar", p.30-34
Friday, August 21, 2015
Sol Lineas Aereas to Expand Codeshare with Aerolineas Argentinas and acquire Six CRJ-200's from Air Nostrum
The agreement is due to take effect on September 1 and will apparently see the carrier abandon its current short-range regional route network flown by Saab 340's in favor of becoming a pure codeshare operation. Sol's current fleet of four 34-seat turboprop Saab 340's, two "A" and two "B" models, are designed for short to medium range flights of up to about 400 miles / 650 km and are not suitable to operate on the longer-distance legs flown by the longer-range and greater capacity jets flown by AR /AU so Sol will reportedly replace its Saabs with six 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets from Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum with the first airframe due to arrive in early October, the second in November, two more in January, and the last two in March 2016. Air Nostrum currently has a fleet of 44 aircraft; 5 ATR-72-600's, 3 CRJ-100's, 15 CRJ-200's (seven of which are in storage), 11 CRJ-900's and 10 CRJ-1000's and is looking to dispose of its CRJ-200's in favor of more CRJ-900's.
The agreement between Sol and Air Nostrum is reportedly a lease with an option to buy and includes technical support from the Spanish carrier. Sol flight crews are said to be already undergoing simulator training with flight dispatchers to start training soon too.
Sources:
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
ROUTE UPDATE: Sol Lineas Aereas Seasonal Routes this Past Summer
Sol Lineas Aereas Saab 340A, LV-CEI (c/n 12), taxis at Buenos Aires Aeroparque on 15Aug14. Note the www.transatlanticatravel.com.ar titles. (Phil Perry Photo)
Sol Lineas Aereas Seasonal Summer Routes from the Summer just concluded:
6x/weekly, Sunday - Friday effective 02Jan15
Rosario (ROS) - Punta del Este (PDP) (Uruguay)
6x/weekly, Sunday - Friday, effective 02Jan15
Sol has a fleet of four Saab 340's, two 340A's and two 340B's covering 11 destinations in Argentina and one in Uruguay.
Sources:
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150108/avn-150108.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas-active-sf3.htm
http://www.sol.com.ar/site/new/index.php/home.php
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
SOL Lineas Aereas Cuts Back Service & Disposes of One Saab 340A
SOL Lineas Aereas Saab 340A, LV-BTP (c/n 131), left the fleet in August 2014 to Sky Bahamas. Here it is seen at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 20Sep10. (Phil Perry Photo)
SOL Lineas Aereas has cut back service significantly in 2014, including the elimination of flights to cities in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina, such as Bariloche (BRC), Esquel (EQS), and Ushuaia (USH) in May and the "Corredor Petrolero" (Oil Route) linking Cordoba (COR), Mendoza (MDZ) and Neuquen (NQN) in July. Some of these airports had been served by SOL since 2010 but increased competition from Aerolineas Argentinas and sister carrier Austral that have introduced their own "circle" routes connecting "interior" points of Argentina using the Embraer 190 have had their impact on SOL.
On May 15, the airline cut the last two points of its "Atlantic Coast" route extending from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Mar del Plata (MDQ), Bahia Blanca (BHI), Trelew (REL), Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD), Rio Gallegos (RGL) and Rio Grande (RGA), the latter point located in the southernmost region of Argentina, Tierra del Fuego. Trelew and Comodoro Rivadavia, both located in the province of Chubut, were set to be cut on November 1 too, but the governor of Chubut agreed to extend the fuel subsidy to SOL that was set to expire on that date.
SOL's primary routes linking Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Rosario (ROS), Santa Fe (SFN) and Mar del Plata (MDQ) are being retained with seasonal service to Villa Gesell (VLG) and from Rosario (ROS) to Punta del Este (PDP) also planned.
Contrary to the service reductions, SOL reintroduced service to San Luis (LUQ) on November 1, 6x/weekly with flights to Villa Mercedes (VME) and Villa de Merlo also likely. All three airports are in the province of San Luis in central Argentina.
The service cutbacks have led to the layoffs of 19 pilots and the disposal of one of its Saab 340A's, LV-BTP (c/n 131), which left the fleet to Sky Bahamas in August 2014. SOL currently has the following Saab 340's in its fleet:
LV-CEI (c/n 12) 340A
LV-BEW (c/n 150) 340A
LV-CSK (c/n 168) 340B
LV-CYC (c/n 310) 340B
Sources:
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn141023/avn-141023.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn141030/avn-141030.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn141030/avn-141030.html
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sol Lineas Aereas looking to receive ex-Air Nostrum CRJ-200's
Sol Lineas Aereas of Rosario, Argentina is reportedly about to lease 3-6 CRJ-200's of the Spanish commuter airline Air Nostrum. These aircraft have become available because Air Nostrum's feeder contract with Iberia has been cancelled due to Iberia parent company IAG's strategic plans changing.
Sol will use the aircraft on longer sectors of its existing route network, most of which are to the Patagonia region of southern Argentina where the airline serves 10 different airports. Some of these sectors are quite long for the carrier's existing fleet of four Saab 340A's and two Saab 340B's. The faster jet-powered CRJ's will reduce flying time on some legs by as much as an hour.
While some reports indicate that the CRJ-200's will complement the Saabs, others claim that they will gradually replace Sol's older and less-efficient A models. The Air Nostrum CRJ's that Sol will acquire are on average 12 years old vs. 24 years for the Sol Saabs.
If the lease goes through, Sol will become the third Argentine airline to operate aircraft of the Canadair CR family with Southern Winds having operated 10 different CRJ-200's in the late 1990's / early 2000's and Andes Lineas Aereas having flown two CRJ-900's in 2010-2011.
Sources: Aviacion News 18Jul13
http://www.sol.com.ar/site/new/index.php/home.php
http://todalaaviacion.blogspot.com.ar/2013/07/novedades-de-sol-
lineas-aereas.html
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2013/07/sol-traeria-aviones-
bombardier-para-su-flota/
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas-active-
sf3.htm
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Southern%20Winds.htm
Sol will use the aircraft on longer sectors of its existing route network, most of which are to the Patagonia region of southern Argentina where the airline serves 10 different airports. Some of these sectors are quite long for the carrier's existing fleet of four Saab 340A's and two Saab 340B's. The faster jet-powered CRJ's will reduce flying time on some legs by as much as an hour.
While some reports indicate that the CRJ-200's will complement the Saabs, others claim that they will gradually replace Sol's older and less-efficient A models. The Air Nostrum CRJ's that Sol will acquire are on average 12 years old vs. 24 years for the Sol Saabs.
If the lease goes through, Sol will become the third Argentine airline to operate aircraft of the Canadair CR family with Southern Winds having operated 10 different CRJ-200's in the late 1990's / early 2000's and Andes Lineas Aereas having flown two CRJ-900's in 2010-2011.
Sources: Aviacion News 18Jul13
http://www.sol.com.ar/site/new/index.php/home.php
http://todalaaviacion.blogspot.com.ar/2013/07/novedades-de-sol-
lineas-aereas.html
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2013/07/sol-traeria-aviones-
bombardier-para-su-flota/
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas-active-
sf3.htm
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Southern%20Winds.htm
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
FLEET UPDATE: SOL Lineas Aereas to Add Two Saab 340's for New Routes & Increased Frequencies
SOL Lineas Aereas Saab 340A, LV-BEX, c/n 14, presently stored, is pictured at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 20Sep10. (Phil Perry photo)
SOL is planning to add two Saab 340's to its existing fleet of four 340A's and two 340B's in the second half of this year. The airline lost a 340 in an accident in 2011 and has another one, LV-BEX, in storage per airfleets.net
The Rosario-based regional airline reports 20% growth recently, presumably partly due to its codeshare agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas on certain key routes. SOL flies to Buenos Aires Aeropaqrue (AEP) plus several secondary routes in Argentina, including non-stop flights between cities that would otherwise require flying east to Buenos Aires to make a connection.
Among the carrier's route plans are strengthening its presence in Patagonia through mini-hubs in Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD) and Neuquen (NQN), restarting its Rosario (ROS) - Cordoba (COR) - Tucuman (TUC) and Rosario (ROS) - Montevideo (MVD) routes (3x/weekly) plus adding a frequency between Cordoba (COR) and Montevideo (MVD).
Sources:
Aviacion News 20Jun13:
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2013/aviacion062013/aviacion062013.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas.htm
Saturday, January 5, 2013
ROUTE UPDATES: BQB, MacAir & Sol New Service
BQB Lineas Aereas, Macair and Sol Lineas Aereas recently announced new services as follows:
Airline Routing Eff Equip
BQB Asuncion (ASU) - Punta del Este (PDP) 27Dec12 ATR-72-212A 2x/week
Sol Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Villa Gesell (VLG) 01Jan13 Saab 340 6x/week
Macair Resistencia (RES) - Asuncion (ASU) 15Jan13 Jetstream 3x/week
The BQB flights will serve the tourist market traveling from Paraguay to the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este on an experimental basis until 17Feb13.
The Sol flights will also be a summer service to the beaches of Villa Gesell and neighboring Pinamar.
The Macair flights are part of a planned expansion into Paraguay that will likely also include domestic flights within the country.
Sources:
Aviacion News 20Dec12 & 27Dec12
http://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/nuevo-destino-para-macair.html
Airline Routing Eff Equip
BQB Asuncion (ASU) - Punta del Este (PDP) 27Dec12 ATR-72-212A 2x/week
Sol Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Villa Gesell (VLG) 01Jan13 Saab 340 6x/week
Macair Resistencia (RES) - Asuncion (ASU) 15Jan13 Jetstream 3x/week
The BQB flights will serve the tourist market traveling from Paraguay to the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este on an experimental basis until 17Feb13.
The Sol flights will also be a summer service to the beaches of Villa Gesell and neighboring Pinamar.
The Macair flights are part of a planned expansion into Paraguay that will likely also include domestic flights within the country.
Sources:
Aviacion News 20Dec12 & 27Dec12
http://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/nuevo-destino-para-macair.html
Friday, July 6, 2012
PLUNA Update: BQB and SOL to offer 35 and 15 Weekly Frequencies respectively on MVD-AEP "Air Bridge"
BQB Lineas Aereas ATR-72-212A CX-JCL
one of two operated by the airline
SOL Lineas Aereas Saab 340A LV-CEI
one of seven operated by the carrier
Late breaking news is that BQB Lineas Aereas and SOL Lineas Aereas have been authorized by the Uruguayan and Argentine aviation authorities to operate 35 and 15 weekly frequencies, respectively, on the "Air Bridge" between Montevideo (MVD) and Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to cover for the loss of seats on the route caused by the shutdown of PLUNA which was operating several daily flights between the two capital cities with 90-seat CRJ-900's. BQB operates two 72-seat ATR-72's and SOL operates seven 30-seat Saab 340's.
Travel on these flights will be available for new ticket purchases only. Passengers holding tickets on PLUNA will need to contact that carrier.
Source: El Pais Uruguay 06Jul12
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