Peru's transport minister Antonio Paucar Carbajal has released some of LanChile's new fifth freedoms to the US but the key Lima-Miami route is still a hostage in the scramble for Peru-US market share.
Since November, when Peru and Chile revised their bilateral to grant each other more third, fourth, and fifth freedom rights, Peruvians have been grumbling that Peru got the short end of the deal. Maria Garrido, vice president of the consultancy International Aviation Group, thinks Peru gave up too much. 'Peru's former aviation secretary allowed LanChile to gain fifth freedom rights in exchange for Peruvian flights beyond Chile to places like Easter Island. I don't know if we're going to go look at penguins in Antarctica or what.'
Peru gave Chile daily flights through Lima to three US gateways: Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. The flights were a valuable concession to LanChile, which sees Lima as an growing hub for its north-south flights. Those flights in particular prompted Garrido to voice a widespread Peruvian concern: 'Where is the even exchange? Where is the reciprocity?'
Shortly after taking office in January, transport minister Paucar decided to review the November accord and delay LanChile's use of new fifth freedoms. Santiago promptly accused Lima of reneging on a governmental agreement; LanChile suspected anti-competitive reasons for the delay. 'The nub of it is that AeroPeru wants less competition,' claims Kryl Acton, LanChile's senior vice president for planning and development. LanChile's chief executive Enrique Cueto, says he plans to operate Boeing B767s daily on the Lima-Miami route, compared with AeroPeru's B757s. Cueto crows, meanwhile, that LanChile is considered to be the preferred carrier in Peru.
Early in March Paucar took his hold off the Los Angeles and New York routes and LanChile launched daily flights through Lima immediately. Miami remains on hold, although Cueto predicts LanChile will ultimately gain that route too, 'maybe with some staging.'
The row over fifth freedoms is part of a broader scramble for shares in the growing Peru-US market. AeroContinente, which has applied for US authority, is still undergoing fitness and economic reviews by Peru's civil aviation authority, the Director General Transportes Aereos. Although such reviews are routine, they could mean another four to six month delay before AeroContinente can launch flights to Miami or Orlando.
In July, Delta plans to become the fourth US carrier serving Lima, and Washington has invited US airlines to apply for a new US-Lima-Iquitos route and other new Peru frequencies. A second round of talks was also slated for March on a new Peru-US bilateral to replace the current one that expires in June.
Source: Airline Business
