Argentina, Buenos Aires, September 27, 2019. –Flybondi, the first and leading low cost airline in Argentina, confirmed yesterday the reduction of its activity from its operational base in El Palomar International Airport (EPA), following the results of a judicial resolution.
Federal Judge Dr. Martina Forns banned the operation of commercial flights at EPA between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am, making it only airport in all of Latin America to have such a curfew. The judicial decision came as a result of the complaint of a local resident who claimed the night time flight activity had a negative impact on sleep.
The only low-cost airport in the country, and the first in Latin America, El Palomar is already 7th largest in the country in terms of passengers numbers. In its 20 months of commercial operations, more than 1,600,000 people passed through the airport, generating 1000 jobs within the airport, as well as indirectly impacting employment figures and development in the local neighbourhood.
As a result of the judicial measures, Flybondi’s entire flight schedule will be affected. All current flights scheduled until March 2020 will be reprogrammed and various flights will have to be cancelled, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
“We are very concerned about this measure because it directly affects hundred of thousands of passengers and thousands of workers. It could have a much wider negative impact on the domestic airline industry as it sets a very negative precedent for other airports in Argentina which operate in urban and similar operational conditions to El Palomar”, commented Sebastián Pereira, CEO of Flybondi. “It is important to bear in mind that the magnitude of this decision is not only national but also regional, because it will negatively impact the connectivity of all Argentine provinces and even regional routes. We question the real motivations of the judge which is supposedly to allow one neighbour to sleep while taking away the right to work, to travel low cost, and even the right to a better quality of life for thousands of people."
Despite these new operating conditions at one of the most important airports for the low cost business model, Flybondi maintains its long-term commitment in Argentina and the Latin American region, to generate greater connectivity, increased direct and indirect employment, and improved travel accessibility for thousands of people.
Since its inception in January 2018, Flybondi has democratised commercial air travel as a means of transport by creating new routes that connect cities in a way they had never been previously. In just over 20 months, the airline has already transported almost 2 million passengers, 300,000 of which were first-time flyers. The low cost airline is already the third largest airline in the country with a 9% market share, and second in terms of flight occupation both in Argentina and Paraguay. Flybondi has the lowest CASK[1](ex-fuel) in Argentina which currently stands at 2.1 USD cents which therefore gives it a tremendous future growth opportunity.
Flybondi in numbers
- More than 570 direct employees
- 5 Boeing 737-800 NG aircrafts
- 18 destinations connected through 28 routes
- More than 2.000.000 passengers transported, of which 300,000 traveled by plane for the first time in their lives
- 9% market share (august)
- 87% occupancy factor (august)
- 82% punctuality (august)
- CASK (ex fuel) 2.1 USD cents.
- Third largest airline in Argentina
- Second airline with the best occupancy, both in Argentina and Paraguay
[1]Unit cost for each seat per kilometer traveled in cents.