Argentina's government has stopped its six-month bashing of Aerolineas Argentinas and awarded the airline a new route to China.
This turnaround follows a sustained campaign against Aerolineas that started shortly after President Nestor Kirchner took office in mid-2003. Kirchner and members of his cabinet accused Aerolineas of creating a domestic monopoly and launched inquiries into alleged financial irregularities. They also called for the resignation of Antonio Mata, Aerolineas president, due to alleged convictions in his native Spain, and challenged codeshare deals between Aerolineas and Air Comet. Air Comet is part of the Spanish Marsans group that owns 91% of Aerolineas.
But Kirchner signalled an apparent end to this campaign late in November when his spokesman announced that Kirchner had met Mata and given him the government's "full support". Two weeks later the foreign affairs office said Aerolineas could launch a new route to Shanghai and Beijing - its first to the region. Today it only operates to Sydney and New Zealand in the Asia-Pacific.
Patricio Seidel, president of Consultair Argentina, notes: "Mata has announced he is willing to create 1,000 new jobs to help Argentina recover." He now sees a shift from confrontation to co-operation.
Source: Airline Business
