Volotea plans to open up to four new bases in Spain and further increase its route network as part of an agreement designed to ease International Airlines Group’s purchase of Air Europa.
After being denied in its quest to form a joint venture with LATAM Airlines Group and American Airlines – and then seeing rival Delta Air Lines take a stake in LATAM – International Airlines Group is strengthening its position on transatlantic services to South America with the acquisition of Air Europa. Routesonline looks at the current state of play on Europe – Latin America routes.
Iberia owner International Airlines Group has agreed to pay €1bn for Spanish airline Air Europa as it seeks to make Madrid a hub that will challenge rivals such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London Heathrow.
SkyTeam partners Air France-KLM and Air Europa are hoping that a planned joint venture agreement on flights between Europe and Central and South America will help to unlock new routes and direct flights between the two continents.
The Spanish carrier is due to start service to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in April 2017. This route will be the nineteenth link to the Americas served by the airline.
Spanish carrier Air Europa is to further extend its network into South America during the winter 2016/2017 schedule with new links into Argentina and Ecuador and Routes events and consultancy ASM (Airport Strategy and Marketing) contributed to delivering one of these new long-haul flights.
The SkyTeam alliance member initially planned to debut the aircraft on a weekly service to New York from April 12, 2015 and a three times weekly route to Montevideo from April 13, 2015. However, this week it has emerged that the aircraft will instead be used on the airline’s Madrid – Miami route from April 12, 2015, originally due to be served by an Airbus A330-200.
