Argentina's Senate has voted to bring the national airline back under government control. This move was not expected until the middle of the month, and reverses a trend that has seen a number of State carriers privatised - the latest being the high profile situation with Alitalia as reported on ABTN. Under the legislation, Aerolineas Argentinas cannot be reprivatised.
Aerolineas Argentinas is reported to have debts of US$900 million (£505million) and is behind with staff salaries.
The Argentine government reached an agreement in July to purchase all shares Spanish travel group Marsans holds in Aerolineas and its Austral subsidiary, but a price has still not been agreed. Between them, the two airlines operate 80% of Argentina”s domestic flights. LAN Chile has established a foothold at Buenos Aires and is building up its operations there, currently serving 15 destinations with a fleet of seven Airbus A320 and two Boeing 767-300ER.
This confirmation comes just as British Airways prepares to step up its daily service between Heathrow and Buenos Aires, from the start of the winter season on Sunday 26 October. The flight via Sao Paulo was previously four times weekly. BA has on order, six Boeing 777ER due in 2010, an aircraft ideally suited to a non-stop Heathrow-Buenos Aires flight with a sector length of about 14 hours.
Under the present arrangements, Aerolineas Argentinas passengers from the United Kingdom fly via Air Comet's two-class Airbus A320 twice-daily Gatwick-Madrid (Barajas T1) service. Both flights connect with Aerolineas Argentinas” daily Buenos Aires operation using a two-class Boeing 747 for the 12.5-hour sector.
Aerolineas Argentinas currently has a mixed fleet of aircraft including four Airbus A340s, three Boeing 747s and 17 Boeing 737s, with four Airbus A320s on order. The Austral fleet consist of 22 McDonnell MD80 series.
For more information, visit www.aerolineas.com.ar.