ROUTE UPDATES: Aerolineas Argentinas transferred domestic E-190 flights from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - 16-21Mar21 - Part 4

Aerolineas Argentinas

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Asuncion (ASU) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Catamarca (CTC) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Corrientes (CNQ) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Iguazu (IGR) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Mendoza (MDZ) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rio Hondo (RHD) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - San Rafael (AFA) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN) - eff 18Mar21 - E-190

Sources:

www.aviacionline.com

www.sirchandler.com

www.aa2000.com.ar

www.flightstats.com

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: Flyest taking over Sol Lineas Aereas AOC and Route Authorities

New details have emerged about Flyest, the new regional airline that was recently announced to start up in early April of this year, which came as a surprise since no previous information about the carrier was disclosed in any publication.  

Ownership

The airline is presently owned by three individuals; Gustavo Cebreiro, Juan Nyffenegger and Horacio Darréformer, all of whom had minority stakes in Sol Lineas Aereas, the Rosario-based regional carrier which shut down in early 2016.  The Angeli family, which had a majority stake in Sol, will reportedly not have any ownership in Flyest.  The current owners will apparently soon sell 49% of the airline to Inversora Líneas Aéreas Internacionales (ILAI), the Argentine affiliate of Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum, which was involved in a joint venture with Sol at the time of its shutdown last year.  

Sol Lineas Aereas AOC & Routes

Flyest is reportedly in the process of acquiring Sol's operating certificate and route rights from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Mar del Plata (MDQ), Rosario (ROS), Rafaela (RAF), Santa Fe (SFN) and Montevideo (MVD) with the intention of starting service to Uruguay very soon on 07Apr17.

Normally, if an Argentine carrier does not fly for six months it loses its route rights but plans for Flyest were apparently already underway at that point and the carrier's management asked for an extension of this deadline and received it.  

First Aircraft

Flyest's first aircraft is one of the former Sol / Air Nostrum CRJ-200's, LV-GIJ (c/n 7466), which was parked in Asuncion (ASU) since early 2016 until it was recently flown to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP).  The aircraft sported Sol's last Austral-style color scheme without titles while it was parked in Paraguay but was quickly painted with Flyest titles before its flight to Argentina with no changes being made to the basic scheme.  Four other CRJ-200's and 120 staff, many of them former Sol employees, are expected to join the carrier by year's end.

Editor's Note

Flyest's start up date seems way too ambitious since transferring the Air Operator Certificate from one entity to another normally still requires many of the procedures involved in acquiring an original AOC, such as demonstrating the financial and operating fitness to operate an air carrier.      

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170309/avn-170309.html
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1992896-flyest-con-los-aviones-pintados-de-apuro-ya-tiene-todo-listo-para-empezar-a-volar-en-la-argentina

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Photo of Flyest CRJ-200 at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 07Mar17

Photo of Flyest CRJ-200 at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) at 11:30am on the morning of 07Mar17.  The aircraft reportedly arrived at the city airport only an hour earlier at 10:20am from Asuncion (ASU) where it had been parked for over a year.  (Phil Perry Photo)

This plane is presumably LV-GIJ (c/n 7466), which flew with Sol Lineas Aereas in a joint venture with Air Nostrum of Spain that also involved a code-sharing marketing agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral Lineas Aereas that resulted in the aircraft being painted in Austral colors although with Sol titles. 

The venture only lasted from late 2015 into early 2016 when the change of presidency in Argentina and resulting new management that took over at Aerolineas / Austral quickly put an end to the agreement on January 15, 2016.

Three CRJ-200's had been delivered by Air Nostrum to Argentina by the time of the closure with two being returned to Europe soon after the shutdown but with LV-GIJ being parked in Asuncion (ASU) ever since then. 

Flyest has seemingly "come out of nowhere" while five other carriers participated in the much-publicized late December 2016 public route hearings. 

According to La Nacion newspaper, Flyest will put four CRJ-200's into service between Buenos Aires (Aeroparque?) and Mar del Plata (MDQ), Rosario (ROS), Santa Fe (SFN) and Montevideo (MVD) with flights starting during the next month !  The carrier will reportedly be backed by US$ 45 million from Spanish investors (Air Nostrum, according to the blog Linea Ala) and employ 120 pilots, crew members and other staff. 

Sources:

http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2017/02/air-nostrum-en-argentina.html
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1990886-llego-el-primer-avion-de-flyest-la-nueva-linea-aerea-que-volara-a-santa-fe-mar-del-plata-y-rosario

ROUTE UPDATES: Aerolineas Argentinas New Domestic Routes & Increased Frequencies

In an effort to stimulate Argentine domestic air travel to help meet Argentine President Mauricio Macri's goal of doubling the number of passengers traveling domestically by air in the next four years, Aerolineas Argentinas has introduced new routes and increased frequency on some existing services:

NEW ROUTES      

* La Rioja (IRJ) - Catamarca (CTC) - eff September 2016

Operated 4x/weekly using Austral E190's. 

* El Calafate (FTE) - Bariloche (BRC) - eff September 2016

Operated 1x/daily using 737-800's.

INCREASED FREQUENCIES

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Corrientes (CNQ) - eff 01Sep16

Increased service from 7x/weekly to 13x/weekly using Austral E190's 

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Catamarca (CTC) - eff October 2016

Increased service to 6x/weekly using Austral E190's

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - La Rioja (IRJ) - eff October 2016

Increased service to 9x/weekly using Austral E190's

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Parana (PRA) - eff October 2016

Increased service from 5x/weekly to 6x/weekly using Austral E190's

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN) - eff October 2016

Increased service from 6x/weekly to 11/weekly using Austral E190's

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Rosa (RSA) - eff October 2016

Increased service from 5x/weekly to 6x/weekly using Austral E190's

* Cordoba (COR) - Iguazu (IGR) - eff October 2016

Increased service to 5x/weekly using Austral E190's

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160901/avn-160901.html

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2016/avn160922/avn-160922.html

ROUTE UPDATE: SOL Lineas Aereas Adds/Drops Routes to adapt to Competitive Market Changes

SOL Saab 340A, LV-BMD, (c/n 123) at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 01Oct10.  (Phil Perry Photo)   

SOL Lineas Aereas has made adjustments to its route structure to adapt to changes in the competitive marketplace, mostly by Aerolineas Argentinas and sister company Austral.

SOL dropped its "Oil Route", Cordoba (COR) - Mendoza (MDZ) - Neuquen (NQN) on 01Jul14 and with Austral adding the Rosario (ROS) - Cordoba (COR) sector, which was SOL's "bread and butter" route, SOL decided to drop Cordoba (COR) altogether, shifting equipment to reinforce Rosario (ROS) - Santa Fe (SFN).

The carrier also discontinued flights to Bariloche (BRC) and Esquel (EQS) in Patagonia and Ushuaia (USH) in southern Argentina on 20May14.

SOL's route system looked like this as of late July:

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Rosario (ROS), 15x/week

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Santa Fe (SFN), 11x/week

* Rosario (ROS) - Santa Fe (SFN)

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) multiple-stop route southward along the eastern seaboard of Argentina to Mar del Plata (MDQ), Bahia Blanca (BHI), Trelew (REL), Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD), Rio Gallegos (RGL), and Rio Grande (RGA) operated 5x/week.  

* Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Villa Gesell (VLG) seasonal service (summer)

All flights are operated with SOL's fleet of five Saab 340's.

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2014/avn140626/avn-140626.html  
http://www.sol.com.ar/site/new/
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Sol%20Lineas%20Aereas.htm