Argentina’s air transport industry has entered more turbulence – this time over who will operate its international routes.
Aerolineas Argentinas is studying the withdrawal from some major overseas routes in favour of its domestic subsidiary, Austral.
Aerolineas has been the only locally designated carrier flying overseas since a drug scandal earlier this year toppled Southern Winds into bankruptcy. Even so, labour unions have disrupted Aerolineas for months, culminating in a recent wildcat strike by mechanics that shut down operations at Aeroparque airport in Buenos Aires. Pilots and other staff have also staged protests.
Now, Aerolineas is applying on behalf of its subsidiary Austral for the unit to fly eight of the most important overseas routes that Aerolineas serves, including Madrid and Miami. Austral would operate the same aircraft types on the same routes as Aerolineas now flies. Apparently, Aerolineas hopes to lease its own aircraft to Austral, whose unions are far less militant.
In the meantime, the government is searching for a way to salvage Southern Winds, to keep its 950 staff and provide some competition for Aerolineas. Before the drug scandal, it paid subsidies to Southern Winds to stabilise employment and maintain competition.
The secretary of transport is proposing that local rail and bus operators enter a deal to take over the troubled carrier with Eduardo Eurnekian, a leading figure in Argentina’s airports who already owns 30% of Southern Winds. Earlier, the transport secretary invited Brazil’s GOL to assume Southern Winds routes and keep its employees working. Many of those staff are now on indefinite strike over unpaid wages.
Adding to this, Martin Varsavsky, another Southern Winds investor who has given up on the airline, plans to launch his own carrier and take over the dormant Madrid and Miami routes awarded to Southern Winds.
Perhaps the most stable player in the sector is LAN Argentina, which entered the market after the collapse of Southern Winds. The recent entrant has been expanding its domestic network, where it now employs staff from Lafsa, the government-owned “paper” airline.
Following a pattern that has become a LAN trademark, LAN Argentina is applying to US authorities to launch Buenos Aires-Miami flights in October.
DAVID KNIBB/SEATTLE
Source: Airline Business
