Lan Ecuador and Ecuadorean air force-owned carrier TAME are planning to begin codesharing on domestic services to the Galapagos Islands.
TAME president Hartmut Porstmann says Lan Ecuador has received authorisation to place its code on seven of TAME's 18 weekly flights from Quito and Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands. He says the two carriers are now planning to begin the codeshare in January.
Porstmann says to support the new codeshare TAME is now in the process of switching its reservation system from an in-house system to Sabre. He says with the Sabre system TAME will also be able to pursue codeshares with foreign carriers.
TAME currently doesn't have any codeshare partners but Porstmann says codeshares are becoming more important as the carrier is starting to expand its international network, which currently only consists of one destination.
TAME primarily operates domestically with a fleet of three Airbus A320s, one A319, three Embraer E-190s and two E-170s. Lan Ecuador launched services in 2003 but until earlier this year only operated international routes.
Lan Ecuador is now competing against TAME as well as two other local carriers, AeroGal and Icaro on Ecuador's two largest domestic routes - Guayaquil to Quito and Cuenca. But while Lan Ecuador has been able to finally secure traffic rights for these two key routes after a long battle it has only been cleared to serve the Galapagos Islands on a codeshare basis.
Porstmann says the addition of a fourth airline on Guayaquil to Cuenca and Quito is tough but for now TAME and Lan Ecuador plan to compete rather than cooperate in these markets while codesharing to the Galapagos.
"For a small country four carriers is too many," Porstmann told ATI at the 2009 ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Cartagena, Colombia. "There's a market share reduction for everyone. It's not good because they are all short routes."
Despite the new competition Porstmann says TAME is still profitable and has been able to continue to operate without any government subsidies.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
