NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina to start operations on 11Jul17 between Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) and Reconquista (RCQ)

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

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Avianca Argentina cleared to start service by Anti-Corruption Office

On 08May17, the Argentine Government Anti-Corruption Office found no conflict of interest between Avianca Argentina and the administration of Argentine president Marucio Macri.  Avianca Argentina established a foothold in the Argentine domestic airline scene when it purchased the Air Operator Certificate of Macair, an FBO that also flew limited Jetstream 32 domestic services, from members of the Macri family in 2016. 

Some suspected that the Macri family retained an ownership stake in Macair, maintained financial interests tied to its fortunes or traded future favors as part of the sale.  The doubts generated by these suspicions led to the suspension of route rights granted to the carrier by the Argentine ANAC aviation authority pending the outcome of the investigation of the anti-corruption office.  

With the latter finding no such links, the Ministry of Transport has formalized the 16 domestic and two international route rights granted to Avianca Argentina and the airline can now go ahead with the introduction of services with the 12 ATR-72-600's that it has on order, with two of them already having been delivered. 

The next posting will feature information on Avianca Argentina's first flights starting 11Jul17 and plans for the rest of the year. 

Sources:

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2021899-para-la-oa-y-la-sigen-no-hay-conflicto-de-interes-en-el-caso-de-la-aerolinea-avianca
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/05/luz-verde-para-avianca-argentina/
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/05/avianca-argentina-empezara-sus-operaciones-regulares-en-julio/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Macair Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Reconquista (RCQ) service operated under Avianca Argentina brand eff 03Apr17

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/

NEW AIRLINE PLANS: Norwegian Air Argentina announces Fleet and Operational Plans

Norwegian Air Argentina presented its business plan to the Argentine ANAC aviation authority on March 31 in solicitation of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to enable it to participate in the next round of Argentine public route hearings, currently scheduled for June or July.    

The new LCC plans to eventually invest US$ 3.4 billion (3,400 million) in its Argentine operation employing between 3,000-3,500 staff operating 70 aircraft (737-800's and 787's) on 146 domestic and international routes from crew/aircraft bases in Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Cordoba (COR), and Mendoza (MDZ).  

The deployment of aircraft would happen in stages:

* 6 737-800 in service at the start of operations in late 2017 / early 2018
* 11 737-800 + 4 787 - 12 months after the start of service           
* 25 737-800 + 10 787 - 30 months after start-up
* 50 737-800 + 20 787 - 5-8 years after start-up

The airline would fly the main Argentine domestic routes, such as Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Cordoba (COR), Mendoza (MDZ) and Salta (SLA), claiming that its services would be more complementary than competitive with Aerolineas Argentinas, Austral and LATAM Argentina with most of its traffic coming from new passengers stimulated to travel by fares much lower than those currently available in these markets. 

These domestic routes would also feed Norwegian Air Argentina's proposed international routes from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to London Gatwick (LGW) (projected to start in December 2017), Barcelona (BCN), and even Oslo (OSL), Stockholm (STO) and Copenhagen (CPH).         

Norwegian Air Argentina forecasts that it will carry approx. 18.2 million passengers on up to 146 routes to 90 destinations in 25 countries once it reaches its projected service levels by around 2025-2026.  It claims that 55,000-60,000 indirect jobs would be created in related travel services, such as hotels, restaurants, ground transportation, shopping, etc.    

Following up on its application to the ANAC, the carrier announced in early May that it was hiring administrative staff immediately with the recruitment of flight crews to start in September.  

The carrier is expected to easily qualify for its AOC due to the parent company's size and credibility.  The Norwegian Air Group had US$ 3.1 billion (3,100 million) revenue in 2016 with 24.7 million passengers carried and 126 aircraft in service. It is the third-largest LCC in Europe and sixth-largest in the world.  It has 250 aircraft on order with Boeing and is the only airline to have proposed new service in Argentina that has the capability to operate to both Europe and the United States as well as Argentine domestic service. 

Sources:

http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/04/norwegian-anuncio-oficialmente-pidio-los-permisos-volar-buenos-aires/
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170406/avn-170406.html
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2006111-norwegian-lanzo-su-plan-de-inversion-en-el-pais-por-us-4300-millones
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/2022145-norweigan-aprobo-los-planes-para-volar-en-el-pais-y-empieza-a-contratar-empleados

FLEET UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas received its 28th 737-800, LV-GUC, on 20Apr17

Aerolineas Argentinas 737-8SH, LV-GUC (c/n 41358/6362), arrived at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 20Apr17.  It is the carrier's 28th 737-800 and along with the 14 737-700's still in its fleet (most of them are being returned as they come off lease), the airline currently has 42 737NG's.

Aerolineas still has a number of 737-800's on order with several orders being converted to the new 737 MAX 8 model, the first of which is due to be delivered later in 2017.   

Sources:

http://linea-ala.blogspot.com.ar/2017/04/otro-nuevo-b737.html

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Aerolineas%20Argentinas-active-b737ng.htm

FLEET UPDATE: Amaszonas Uruguay received its second CRJ-200, CX-LVA, in Montevideo (MVD) on 29Mar17

                                           (Amaszonas Uruguay Twitter account Photos)

Amaszonas Uruguay received its second CRJ-200, CX-LVA (c/n 7561), in Montevideo (MVD) on 29Mar17.  The aircraft came from Canada with a stop in Cochabamba (CBB) for painting in the carrier's colors before proceeding to Uruguay.  

Amaszonas Uruguay is expected to receive two more CRJ-200's before the end of the year for a fleet of four aircraft, which it plans to use to start service from Montevideo (MVD) to Cordoba (COR) and Santa Cruz (VVI) and for additional flights to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP).

The Amaszonas Group of airlines currently has a total fleet of eleven CRJ-200's with Amaszonas Linea Aerea (Bolivia) operating seven aircraft and Amaszonas Paraguay and Amaszonas Uruguay each having two CRJ-200's. 

Sources:

http://www.skyliner-aviation.de
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170406/avn-170406.html
http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Amaszonas-active-crj.htm

FIRST PHOTO: Amaszonas Paraguay CRJ-200 first flight from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Asuncion (ASU)

Amaszonas Paraguay CRJ-200, ZP-CRN (c/n 7866), takes off from Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) to Asuncion (ASU) on 20Apr17 operating the airline's first scheduled flight from Buenos Aires to Paraguay.  (Phil Perry Photo)  

ROUTE UPDATE: Amaszonas Paraguay started Asuncion (ASU) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) flights today, 20Apr17

Amaszonas Paraguay introduced new service from Asuncion (ASU) to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 20Apr17 with flights being operated 2x/daily using CRJ-200's.  

The carrier will join Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral E190's that currently service this route 1x/daily and LATAM Paraguay A320's that link Asuncion (ASU) with Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), also 1x/daily.

Source:

http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/04/amaszonas-paraguay-volara-entre-buenos-airesaeroparque-y-asuncion-desde-el-20-de-abril/

ROUTE UPDATE: Rosario (ROS) to be Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral "Focus City" with more flights

Aerolineas Argentinas will soon operate more flights from Rosario (ROS), which serves Argentina's third-largest city, turning it into a "focus city". 

New services will be introduced and frequencies on existing routes will be increased to such destinations as Bariloche (BRC), Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Cordoba (COR), El Calafate (FTE), Mendoza (MDZ) and Salta (SLA). 

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170209/avn-170209.html
http://www.lavoz.com.ar/negocios/ahora-si-aerolineas-pone-en-marcha-un-centro-distribuidor-de-vuelos-desde-cordoba

ROUTE UPDATE: Alitalia to introduce 777-300ER on Rome Fiumicino (FCO) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) route on 04Sep17

Alitalia will start taking delivery of 777-300ER's in the third quarter of this year with the first route to see service with the new type being Rome Fiumicino (FCO) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) starting on 04Sep17.  The 777-300ER will replace the 777-200 3x/weekly with the other 4x/weekly flights still being operated with the shorter 777 variant.   

However, it should be noted that the carrier is experiencing serious financial difficulties and might not be a going concern much longer. 

Source:

http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/271794/alitalia-outlines-777-300er-operations-from-3q17/ via Eric Trum

ROUTE UPDATES: LATAM Brasil & LATAM Chile - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - Bariloche (BRC), Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Bogota (BOG), Rosario (ROS) - Santiago (SCL)

* Rosario (ROS) - Santiago (SCL) - eff 01Jul17

Operated by LATAM Chile A320's 4x/weekly.  

* Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - Bariloche (BRC) - eff 01Jul17 - 30Jul17

Operated by LATAM Brasil A320's 2x/weekly on Saturdays and Sundays for the Bariloche ski season.  LATAM Brasil had only flown this route on a charter basis in the past; this is the first year that it is operating it on a scheduled basis. 

* Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Bogota (BOG) - eff July 2017
    
Two additional weekly frequencies will be added to this route making it a daily service operated by LATAM Brasil 767-300ER's.  

According to Aviacion News, the reason for the EZE-BOG segment being operated by LATAM Brasil is that the air service agreement between Argentina and Brazil allows for "Fifth Freedom" rights, which enables carriers from each country to pick up passengers in the other country and transport them to a third country.  LATAM Brasil does this picking up passengers in Argentina and taking them to Colombia. 

It would normally have been easier for LATAM Argentina to operate between EZE and BOG instead of LATAM Brasil but the Argentina - Colombia bilateral air service agreement only allows for four flights per week by each nation's carriers and Aerolineas Argentinas already operates the Argentine quota. 

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170316/avn-170316.html
http://www.sirchandler.com.ar/2017/02/latam-brasil-volara-directo-bariloche-la-temporada/

ROUTE UPDATES: Aerolineas Argentinas to establish Cordoba (COR) hub effective 03Apr17

Map of Argentine cities to be connected through Aerolineas Argentinas / Austral Cordoba (COR) hub.  (Aerolineas Argentinas (?) via aviacionline.com) 

Aerolineas Argentinas announced that it will establish a hub in Cordoba (COR), which is Argentina's second-largest city and is ideally located in the country's center, on 03Apr17.  

The airline plans to have two banks of flights, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, with flights from six northern Argentine points connecting in Cordoba (COR) to seven southern points.  The flights would be timed for convenient connections in both directions.  

Passengers traveling between the cities that would be connected by the hubs are currently connecting on Aerolineas and Austral through Buenos Aires, mostly Aeroparque (AEP), which adds travel time, but the main reasons for having a second major hub in the country are to avoid saturating Aeroparque (AEP) which has only one runway and limited space to expand, plus to help development and spur growth of employment in Argentina's "Interior". 

The cities to be connected include, as illustrated above, (plus El Calafate (FTE) and Trelew (REL)):

NORTH

Iguazu (IGR)
Jujuy (JUJ)
Resistencia (RES)
Rosario (ROS)
Salta (SLA) 
Tucuman (TUC)
                
SOUTH

Bariloche (BRC)
Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD) 
El Calafate (FTE)
Mendoza (MDZ)
Neuquen (NQN) 
Trelew (REL)
Ushuaia (USH)

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170202/avn-170202.html
http://www.lavoz.com.ar/negocios/ahora-si-aerolineas-pone-en-marcha-un-centro-distribuidor-de-vuelos-desde-cordoba
http://www.aviacionline.com/2017/02/aerolineas-argentinas-empezo-a-promocionar-su-hub-cordobes-en-el-interior/
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2017/avn170316/avn-170316.html