ROUTE UPDATE: TAM added Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Brasilia (BSB) service on 03Jul15

TAM A320, PR-MAV (c/n 2393), taxis at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) on 15Aug14 (one year ago today!).  (Phil Perry Photo)

There has been a lot of new service added between Argentina and Brazil lately by both Gol and TAM, which added to flights by Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral add up to connectivity between the two countries many times over what existed just a few years ago.

One of the most recent new flights has been added by TAM from Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) to Brasilia (BSB) 4x/weekly using A320's, effective 03Jul15.  This new service connects through TAM's Brasilia hub to five points in northeast Brazil, including 4x/weekly flights to Fortaleza (FOR), 7 to Maceio (MCZ), 4 to Natal (NAT), 4 to Recife (REC) and 4 to Salvador (SSA). 

TAM's present schedule between Argentina and Brazil includes the following flights:

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG)

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Recife (REC)

Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) 

Cordoba (COR) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)   

Rosario (ROS) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)   

Sources:

http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/28/jj-bsbeze-jul15/ via Eric Trum

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150709/avn-150709.html

www.flightstats.com 

HISTORICAL PHOTO: Aerolineas Argentinas Convair 240, LV-ADP, at Montevideo (MVD) in the 1950's or early 60's

     Aerolineas Argentinas Convair 240-6, LV-ADP "Chacabuco" (c/n 72), at

     Montevideo (MVD) in the 1950's or early 1960's. (Ediciones Henry postcard) 

This aircraft has an interesting history in that it was originally built for Flota Aerea Mercante Argentina, one of Aerolineas Argentinas' predecessor airlines, in 1949 and was even painted in the carrier's colors, but was apparently never delivered to FAMA due to lack of payment. Reassigned to ZONDA, another one of the four airlines that eventually merged to form Aerolineas, it was never operated by that airline either due to the merging of FAMA, ZONDA, ALFA and Aeroposta Argentina to form Aerolineas Argentinas on 14May49.     

"Chacabuco" went on to fly for Aerolineas experiencing two incidents in Cordoba (COR) in 1952 and Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) in 1957.  The aircraft went on to the Fuerza Aerea Paraguaya and Lineas Aereas Paraguayas as T-47 and ZP-CDP, respectively, in March 1963.  On 26May67, while flying for these operators, its left wing became detached upon contact with the ground while landing at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) resulting in the aircraft flipping and turning on its back. Fortunately, there were no casualties despite the apparent seriousness of the accident.  

Some rare photos of the aircraft in FAMA colors and resting on its back after the accident at EZE:

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2010/03/lv-adp-convair-cv-240-6-cn72-chacabuco.html  

Source: 

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2010/03/lv-adp-convair-cv-240-6-cn72-chacabuco.html

ROUTE UPDATE: Amaszonas never started Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires (AEP) service, has increased flights to Asuncion (ASU)

Amaszonas bought the Uruguayan airline BQB Lineas Aereas in May 2015 but it is unclear what the Bolivian carrier actually obtained in the deal. 

At first, it appeared that BQB's Airline Operator Certificate (AOC) was part of the agreement but subsequent information appears to suggest that Amaszonas' purchase from BQB's parent company Los Cipreses S.A. only included the BQB brand name, limiting Amaszonas' ability to take over BQB's operations.       

The Uruguayan travel/aviation website, Portal de America, reports that one of the principal problems has been that BQB's AOC was issued with authorization for the carrier to operate ATR-72-500's but Amaszonas' operates a completely different type, CRJ-200 regional jets, which would require the Bolivian airline to go through an authorization process for this type with the Uruguayan DINACIA aviation authority before it could put them into service on former BQB routes, but that is assuming that Amaszonas did indeed purchase BQB's operating certificate and not just the BQB brand name ! 

The end result of whatever Amaszonas actually purchased is that the airline has yet to start service on BQB's most important and profitable former route; Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP).  Portal de America claimed in May that Amaszonas never even requested rights for this route from the Argentine aviation authorities but Aviacion News quotes the Uruguayan Tourism Minister Liliam Kechichian as saying that Argentina has denied Amaszonas permission to fly from Montevideo to Aeroparque as it has with so many other foreign airlines seeking to fly to Argentina. 

However, Amaszonas, which has flown the Santa Cruz (VVI) - Asuncion (ASU) - Montevideo (MVD) route since prior to the purchase of BQB, has now also added pure Montevideo (MVD) - Asuncion (ASU) round-trips on a "special permission" basis, so there appear to have been some benefits to the Bolivian carrier beyond simply buying the BQB brand name.        

Sources:

http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/alejandro-spera/item/20981-el-complejo-proceso-de-certificaci%C3%B3n-de-una-aerol%C3%ADnea
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/20991-amaszonas-a%C3%BAn-no-hizo-tr%C3%A1mite-alguno-en-buens-aires
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/20992-aerol%C3%ADneas-latinoamericanas-abren-nuevas-rutas-y-ampl%C3%ADan-capacidad
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/pda/otras-noticias/item/21026-silencio-de-turbinas-y-sin-bandera-uruguaya-en-cielo-rioplatense
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150702/avn-150702.html

Alas Uruguay Update: Certification is Delayed, 2nd 737-300 is delivered, Planned Routes Announced

Alas Uruguay continues the process of obtaining its airline operating certificate, which it began in July 2014 and was originally expected to take six months but has now surpassed a year.  One of the problems encountered by the planned start-up carrier was missing documentation for one of the engines of its first 737-300, CX-OAA (c/n 28569/2996).  This engine, in turn, was due to be replaced with another one in early August.  Certification of the airline is expected in the next month or two but certification has been imminent for several months now. 

In the meantime, the airline took delivery of its second 737-300, CX-OAB (c/n 28869/2887) on 02Jul15.  Like CX-OAA, CX-OAB is leased from Irish lessor Aergo Capital and previously flew for Air Ukraine.  Alas Uruguay's third 737-300, leased from Cara Capital of Deerfield Beach, Florida and expected to be registered CX-OAC, is currently being painted in the Uruguayan airline's colors in Tucson, Arizona with its tentative arrival in Montevideo (MVD) scheduled for mid-August. 

Alas Uruguay recently announced the routes that it plans to fly initially, without giving specific start dates, as follows:

Montevideo (MVD) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), 5x/daily 

Montevideo (MVD) - Asuncion (ASU), 1x/daily

Montevideo (MVD) - Santiago (SCL), 1x/daily

Montevideo (MVD) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), 2xdaily

Punta del Este (PDP) - Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), 1x/daily 

While the airline hopes to start these services soon after certification, Portal de America reports that route permissions from the Paraguayan authorities should take approx. 30 days, the Chileans 45 days and Brazilians 90-120 days.  And the Argentine aviation agency has approved few new route requests at all during the last few years (although more have been approved lately, especially from Brazilian airlines). 

The best photo that the editor of this blog has seen yet of Alas Uruguay 737-300, CX-OAA is the following from World Airline News:

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-CSAmerica-1/Airlines-Latin-America1-AF/Alas-Uruguay/i-X7hJpDd/A

Sources:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150416/avn-150416.html
http://aerospotter.blogspot.com.ar/2015/06/segundo-avion-para-alas-uruguay.html
http://airlineroute.net/2015/06/19/yz-s15proposal/ via Eric Trum
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150702/avn-150702.html
http://www.portaldeamerica.com/index.php/columnistas/sergio-antonio-herrera/item/21260-mala-noticia-para-muchos-alas-uruguay-certificar%C3%A1-en-agosto
http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2015/07/3er-boeing-737-300-de-alas-uruguay.html
http://aeronavescx.blogspot.com.ar/2015/07/3er-boeing-de-alas-u-en-proceso-de.html

ROUTE UPDATE: Gol added Four New Routes between Argentina and Brazil in early July

Gol added four new routes between Argentina and Brazil in early July bringing its total weekly flights linking the two countries to 76. 

In addition to the new Rosario (ROS) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) service announced in a posting last week, Gol initiated service between Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) and the Brazilian capital Brasilia (BSB) on 02Jul15 with 4x/weekly 737-800 flights.   

The Brazilian airline also started service to its fifth Argentine airport on 04Jul15 when it added 2x/weekly flights (Wednesdays and Saturdays) from Mendoza (MDZ) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) using 737-800's.  

Also on 04Jul15, Gol added its ninth Brazilian airport from Argentina when it started Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Natal (NAT) 1x/weekly service (Saturdays) also using 737-800's.

Gol links 5 Argentine airports with 9 Brazilian airports operating 76 weekly flights on 14 different routes:

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Brasilia (BSB)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Curitiba (CWB)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Florianopolis (FLN)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Fortaleza (FOR)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Natal (NAT)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Porto Alegre (POA)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Salvador (SSA)
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (AEP) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Cordoba (COR) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG)
Cordoba (COR) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Mendoza (MDZ) - Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU)

Rosario (ROS) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG)

Sources: 

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150514/avn-150514.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150528/avn-150528.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150702/avn-150702.html
http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150709/avn-150709.html
http://airlineroute.net/2015/07/08/g3-bsbeze-jul15/ via Eric Trum
http://www.aa2000.com.ar/
www.flightstats.com

ROUTE UPDATE: Gol added Rosario (ROS) - Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) 2x/week effective 02Jul15

Gol added flights from Rosario (ROS) to Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG), 2x/weekly on Fridays and Mondays, effective 02Jul15 using 737-800's, a route that the Brazilian airline apparently flew before in 2012. 

Gol flies to Brazil from four Argentine airports, Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP), Cordoba (COR) and Rosario (ROS).  The airline has flown extensive charters to the Bariloche (BRC) Argentine ski resort in the past but does not appear to be doing so this southern hemisphere winter, presumably because of the sharply devalued Real, the Brazilian currency.       

Source:

http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/23/g3-gigros-jul15/ via Eric Trum http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150416/avn-150416.html

  

Editor has been Traveling Extensively, Posts will Resume between July 18 and 31

ROUTE UPDATE: Four of Aerolineas Argentinas' scheduled European Flights to make stop in London-Heathrow (LHR) in September

Four of Aerolineas Argentinas' scheduled flights to Barcelona (BCN) & Rome - Fiumucino (FCO) will make a stop in London-Heathrow (LHR) in September taking fans to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which Argentina will be participating in.  

Aerolineas' normal Buenos Aires - Barcelona round-trip flights will operate on a "triangle" basis with a stop in London on 18/19Sep15: 

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - London-Heathrow (LHR) - Barcelona (BCN) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE).

A similar routing will be followed on 25/26Sep15 but stopping in London after Barcelona: 

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Barcelona (BCN) - London-Heathrow (LHR) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE).

A similar concept will be implemented in October towards the end of the competition adding London to the normal Rome route instead:

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - London-Heathrow (LHR) - Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 09/11Oct15.

Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) - Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) - London-Heathrow (LHR) - Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 17/18Oct15.

All of the flights will be operated by Aerolineas Argentinas' A340-300's. 

Source:

http://airlineroute.net/2015/05/06/ar-lhr-sep15/ via Eric Trum

ROUTE UPDATE: LAN to operate two round-trip charters from Montevideo (MVD) to La Serena (LSC) Chile

LAN is scheduled to operate two A320 charters between Montevideo (MVD) and La Serena (LSC) Chile in June 2015.  The passengers are apparently Uruguayan as the first flights are originating in Montevideo (MVD) on June 14 and 15 with the returns staggered a few days later on June 17 and 21. The reason for the charters appears to be some sort of an event, such as a rugby championship.

Source:       

http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/29/la-lscmvd-jun15/  via Eric Trum

PHOTO GALLERY: Beech King Airs at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP)

Below are a half-dozen photos of Beech King Airs taken by blog editor Phil Perry at Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) in recent years. 

Beech B200GT Super King Air, LV-CHW (c/n BY-58), belonging to Ledesma SAAI   (paper, alcohol & sugar products) at AEP on 16Jan11.

Beech F90 King Air, LV-ZPY (c/n LA-89), belonging to 

Bravo Foxtrot Srl at AEP on 06Feb11.

Beech 200 Super King Air, LV-OFT (c/n BB-699), belonging to 

Don Roberto S.A.A.C.I at AEP on 11Feb12.

Provincia del Chubut Beech C90B King Air, 

LV-WPB (c/n LJ-1416), at AEP in October 2012.

Provincia de Santiago del Estero Beech C90A King Air, 

LQ-ZRB (c/n LJ-1552), at AEP on 20Jun14.

Beech 300LW Super King Air, LV-WLT (c/n FA-221), 

belonging to Tango Jet S.A. at AEP on 15Aug14.

This aircraft crashed when it suddenly nose-dived into two homes in the Nordelta luxury housing complex north of Buenos Aires while on approach to Aeroparque (AEP) on 14Sep14, killing both the pilot, Andy Deutsch, the former owner of LAPA Airlines, and his wife.  Nobody on the ground was hurt but both homes were destroyed by the ensuing fire.  

There was speculation in the Buenos Aires press that Mr. Deutsch, who was 78 years old at the time of the accident, might have suffered some sort of sudden physical impairment resulting in loss of control of the aircraft.  The editor of this blog is unaware that this was ever verified.     

Accident Description:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20140914-0

Information Sources: 

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2011/08/lv-chw-beech-king-air-b200gt-cn-by-58.html

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2011/08/lv-zpy-beech-king-air-300-cn-fa-89.html

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2011/02/lv-oft-beech-200-king-air-cn-bb-699.html

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/lv-wpb-beech-c90b-king-air-cn-lj-1416.html

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2011/02/lq-zrb-beech-c90a-king-air-cn-lj-1552.html

http://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com.ar/2011/02/lv-wlt-beech-300lw-super-king-air-cn-fa.html

ROUTE UPDATE: United to introduce the 787 between Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), effective 25Oct15

United will introduce the 787 on its daily flight between Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), effective 25Oct15, becoming the fifth airline to fly the aircraft type to EZE, joining LAN, Avianca, AeroMexico and American Airlines.   

United will also introduce the 787 on two other South American routes, Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG) in August 2015 and Santiago (SCL) in January 2016, both also from Houston.  United currently has a fleet of 17 787 "Dreamliners" consisting of 12 787-8 and 7 787-9 (the longer model). 

Source:

http://www.siscoma.com.ar/online/aviacion/2015/avn150514/avn-150514.html

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: 

Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP) - Villa Gesell (VLG)

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