Aerolíneas Argentinas

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Aerolíneas Argentinas
IATA AR	ICAO ARG	Callsign ARGENTINA
Founded		1949
Hubs		Ministro Pistarini Int'l Airport Jorge Newbery Domestic Airport
Frequent flyer program		Aerolíneas Plus
Member lounge		VIP Lounge
Alliance		Possibly Star Alliance in the future [1]
Fleet size		65 (+70 orders)
Destinations		56 (+5)
Parent company		Grupo Marsans
Headquarters		Buenos Aires, Argentina
Key people		Esteban Maccari (CEO)
Website: http://www.aerolineas.com.ar/

Aerolíneas Argentinas is Argentina's largest domestic and international airline. It is the national airline and carries around 70% of Argentina's domestic traffic and 40% of international flights from Ministro Pistarini International Airport, which is located in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires. Aerolíneas Argentinas and LAN Airlines are the only Latin American airlines that fly to Oceania. [2]

History

The airline's history can be traced back to the year 1929, when carrier Aeroposta started operations. The Argentine government, recognizing Argentina's vast geographic size and the need for fast transportation links between the countryside and the larger cities, established an airline company to carry passengers and mail. The first two destinations served were Mendoza and Posadas. Frenchmen Jean Mermoz and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry were among the company's first pilots. By 1930, two more airlines, LASO and LANE, began flights and the number of cities served by air routes in Argentina tripled. In 1945, these two airlines merged, becoming LADE (Líneas Aéreas del Estado, i.e. State Airlines). This was a well-timed move, as World War II was entering its final stages and commercial aviation was set to start a stage of explosive growth. In 1946 the first Douglas DC-3s arrived in Argentina, and Argentina's first intercontinental airline, FAMA, was created. In May 1949, all these carriers merged under the name Aerolíneas Argentinas. Operations started on 7 December 1950. At this time Argentina did not have suitable airport facilities, so the government of Juan Perón built Ministro Pistarini airport; General Juan Pistarini, after whom the facilities are named, designed and directed its construction. Key to the airline's growth were Alfonso Aliaga García, and Dirk Wessel Van Layden, who had been a pilot with French carrier Aéropostale (not to be confused with Aeroposta) and was influential in raising flying standards.

1977 international routes timetable in French, featuring a picture of a Boeing 747 on its cover.^[1]

The DC-3 proved to be an invaluable asset for Aerolíneas Argentinas, as for many other airlines worldwide. It enabled them to fly to domestic destinations that had, until then, been unreachable – and to keep flying FAMA's international routes. Soon afterwards, Douglas DC-4s joined the fleet and services were inaugurated to Santiago de Chile, Lima, Santa Cruz, and São Paulo. The 1950s saw the arrival of the DC-6, allowing Aerolíneas Argentinas to fly at night for the first time. Thanks to this plane, the name of Aerolíneas Argentinas was seen at terminals in New York's Idlewild airport, as well as Havana, Lisbon, London Heathrow, Dakar, and Rio de Janeiro. By the end of that decade, the Comet IV jet had begun commercial jet services worldwide, and Aerolíneas once again wanted to set the pace among South America's air companies. Airline President Juan José Güiraldes persuaded Argentina's President Arturo Frondizi to buy six of the new planes, on the understanding that Aerolíneas would pay for the planes later. And so, on March 2, 1959, 'Tres Marías', which became the first jet airplane flown by Aerolíneas, landed at Ministro Pistarini International Airport. With these jets, Aerolíneas Argentinas kept a steady growth during the 1960s, opening routes to London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid. The 1970s saw the arrival of the Boeing 747s, 737s and 727s, and a stronger marketing strategy. Aerolíneas Argentinas was featured on many Jorge Porcel movies at that time, and the began licensing toy companies to produce models of their aircraft, a practice it maintains today.

An Aerolineas' Boeing 737-200 in the 1990s

Privatization and near-collapse

On 27 December 1989 the government authorised the privatisation of the airline and on 21 November 1990 Iberia acquired a 30% stake, subsequently increasing it to 83.5%. Continuing poor financial performance led Iberia to reduce its stake to 20%, which was transferred to a Spanish state holding company, SEPI, and the company was reorganised as a subsidiary of Interinvest. In July 1998, American Airlines acquired a 10% stake in Interinvest, giving it an 8.5% stake in Aerolíneas Argentinas. American has since disposed of the holding and Iberia then reduced its stake in Interinvest to 10%. Plans for employees to take an 85% share in 2000 never came to fruition.^[2] Both the price paid by Iberia and the Spanish firm's ulterior conduct (including some convoluted lease-back operations) were widely considered to be due to corruption, with the airline paying the price for its own purchase with its assets. Subsequent management by American Airlines and Spanish state owned conglomerate SEPI drove Aerolineas Argentinas into an almost terminal crisis in 2001. The planes and most real estate (both global headquarters and offices in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Rome and Frankfurt) were sold; some assets were leased back. The firm incurred massive debt, and operating profits were not realized. Iberia bought from Aerolíneas Argentinas two 10-year old Boeing 707 aircraft for the price of US$1.57 million each. Aerolíneas Argentinas when Iberia acquired it, and when it sold it.

Aerolíneas merged with Argentina's domestic carrier Austral. By the late 1990s the airline was near bankruptcy; losses in 1999 where around 240 million US dollars. The Spanish government tried to sell its controlling share to American Airlines but the offer was declined. In 2001 the airline filed for protection from creditors and parts of the business were sold off. Grupo Marsans acquired 92% in 2001 and committed to inject $50m capital with the intention of resuming long-haul services. This was realised on 6 November 2001 with a transatlantic service to Madrid.^[2]

Aerolineas Argentinas is the only airline in Latin America which has ordered Airbus A380s and Airbus A350s.

In June 2001 flights to seven international destinations were suspended and the airline went into administration. In October 2001, control of both Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral was handed to Air Comet, a consortium of the Spanish private carriers Spanair, Air Plus Comet and travel operator Viajes Marsans, who acquired 92.1% of the shares. After teetering on the brink of closure during most of 2001, combined with the adverse effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the industry and Argentina's financial meltdown of December 2001, Aerolíneas was forced to close down international services for a few days during early 2002. However, fresh capital was provided ($50 million from the Marsans Group) and the airline resumed services almost immediately. In 2002 the airline came out of administration after a Buenos Aires judge accepted its debt restructuring agreement with creditors. The airline is now owned by Grupo Marsans (92%), the government of Argentina (5%), and employees (3%)^[2] and employs 7,016 staff (at January 2005). The airline endured a pilot's strike during November of 2005. After nine days of negotiations, the airline and its pilots struck a deal. The Argentine government wanted one (15%) of Aerolineas Argentinas Marsans Group, which changed the numbers:

• Grupo Marsans (77%).
• Argentine government (20%).
• Employees (3%).

Destinations

Main article: Aerolíneas Argentinas destinations

Fleet

The Aerolíneas Argentinas/Austral active fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2007):

The list only considers operative aircraft. The average age of the Aerolineas Argentinas fleet is 19.1 years (as of March 2007).^[4]

Boeing 747-200 LV-MLR leaves Berlin TXL after a state visit in 2005

Aircraft scheduled to receive throughout 2007: 2 Airbus A310 (ex Air India); 2 Airbus 340-300 (ex Air Canada and BWIA) and 7 Boeing 737-500 (ex Air France, HLX and Nordeste). On January 7, 2007, Grupo Marsans Who controls Aerolineas Argentinas, orders 12 A330-200, of which 6 will go to Aerolineas, to be delivered in 2008-2009. On October 12, 2007, Grupo Marsans made a preliminary order for 61 various Airbus aircraft including 5 more A330, 42 A320 Family (12 A319, 25 A320, 5 A321), 10 A350 and 4 A380, of which part (including 2 A380) will go to Aerolineas ^[5] On December 17, 2007, Grupo Marsans adds 2 more options for A380 model.

Accidents and incidents

On February 20, 1992, shrimp contaminated with cholera was distributed on an Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 386, a flight using a Boeing 747 bound for Los Angeles from Buenos Aires, with a stop in Lima, Peru. The contaminated shrimp entered the aircraft in Lima. 76 passengers became ill after landing in Los Angeles. One of the ill passengers, a 70-year old man named Anibal Cufre ^[6], died of the illness ^[7][8]. Of the 336 passengers on the Lima to Los Angeles leg, the United States was the final destination for 297 of them. Two passengers selected Canada as their final destination, while 37 selected Japan as their final destination. The cholera on the contaminated food did not spread to other areas. ^[6]

Other facts

• Boeing customer code is -87
• Aerolíneas Argentinas is the longest serving operator of the Boeing 737-200.
• In 2007 (first 747 entered service on January 6, 1977) Aerolíneas Argentinas will celebrate 30 years of uninterrupted Boeing 747 operations. Of the few Latin American carriers to operate the mighty Jumbo, none operated as many as the Argentine flag carrier, or for so long. While older -200 models are being progressively phased-out, the acquisition of used -400s in 2004/5 gave the type a lease of life with the airline.
• Aerolíneas Argentinas along with Surinam Airways are the only operators of the Boeing 747 in Latin America.
• Sister airline Austral lost four aircraft (two BAC 1-11s, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and a McDonnell Douglas MD-80), with the loss of 127 lives. In three of the accidents, there were no survivors. All were largely caused by pilot error.
• Austral was one of the launch customers for the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, ordering five in April 1979 (of which two were never delivered). They too are the oldest operator of the type, and one of the originals (LV-WFN) is still in service after 25 years, while another one (LV-WPY) ended its service in January 2007.

Catering

• Gate Gourmet

External links

• Aerolíneas Argentinas
• Aerolíneas Argentinas Fleet Detail
• Aerolíneas Argentinas workers' Union Site

References