Last week Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) authorized Wingo, Copa Holdings’ low-cost subsidiary, to operate in Buenos Aires from seven Colombian cities and Panama City.
According to Aerocivil documents in Colombia, Wingo had already requested in 2018 to operate up to seven weekly frequencies between Colombia and Argentina, a request that was renewed this year.
Resolution 379/2022 published in the Argentine Official Gazette indicates that the company will be able to operate from Medellín and/or Cartagena and/or Cali and/or Barranquilla and/or San Andrés and/or Pereira and/or Bucaramanga and/or Bucaramanga and/or Panama City to Buenos Aires/Ezeiza and vice versa, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
A growing market with little room
This approval brings to four the number of airlines that would serve between Argentina and Colombia, given that Aerolíneas Argentinas, Avianca and, since June, VIVA are currently operating.
Earlier this year, the National Institute for Tourism Promotion (Inprotur) held talks with Wingo to encourage its landing in Argentina, seeking to connect secondary cities in both countries.
However, bilateral agreements do not allow exceeding 35 weekly frequencies for each country, including 7 frequencies to connect secondary cities, making it difficult for Colombian airlines to expand.
Aerocivil assigned Avianca 14 weekly frequencies that are currently being operated to connect Bogota (BOG) with Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE). A couple of months ago, Colombian aeronautical authorities denied an expansion request that included flights to Cordoba, Cali, Cartagena and an additional daily frequency to Buenos Aires.
VIVA has also been assigned 14 frequencies per week to connect Medellin and Bogota with Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE). Starting in October, both routes will have 5 weekly flights.
On the other hand, Wingo has been assigned 7 weekly frequencies for 8 routes that it will have to select according to its convenience, having more destination options than its two Colombian rivals.
Argentina has greater operational freedom, as it is only using 7 of the 35 weekly frequencies allocated, all by Aerolíneas Argentinas to connect Bogotá with Buenos Aires/Aeroparque (AEP).
According to data obtained through ANAC Argentina, during the first half of 2022 passenger movement between the two countries recovered by 86% with more than 130,000 passengers and occupancy factors of 85%, compared to 150,348 travelers in the same period.
Wingo, Copa Holdings’ low cost carrier
Wingo currently operates a fleet of eight Boeing 737-800s based in Colombia and one Boeing 737-800 registered in Panama, with capacity for 186 passengers. Its route network is focused on international destinations, making it Colombia’s leading low cost carrier in this segment.
It offers the following international routes:
- From Bogota (BOG) to Aruba (AUA); Havana (HAV) in Cuba; Curacao (CUR); Panama City (PTY); Guayaquil (GYE) and Quito (UIO) in Ecuador; Santo Domingo/Las Americas (SDQ) and Punta Cana (PUJ) in Dominican Republic; Mexico City (MEX) and Cancun (CUN) in Mexico; San Jose (HAV) in Costa Rica; Lima (LIM) in Peru and Caracas (CCS) in Venezuela.
- From Medellin to Aruba (AUA), Cancun (CUN), Panama City (PTY), Havana (HAV), Punta Cana (PUJ) and Santo Domingo (SDQ).
- From Cali to Cancun (CUN) and Panama City (PTY).
- From Panama City to San Jose (SJO) in Costa Rica and Cartagena (CTG) in Colombia.
It also has connections within Colombia from Bogota (BOG) to Armenia (AXM), Barranquilla (BAQ), Cali (CLO), Cartagena (CTG), Medellin (MDE), Santa Marta (SMR), San Andres (ADZ) and Villavicencio (VVC); and from San Andres (ADZ) to Barranquilla (BAQ) and Cartagena (CTG).
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