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Guayaquil airport has 13 direct routes and is experiencing passengers’ upstream
Posted On 06 May 2019
Ecuadornews:
Dismissing his daughter last week at the Guayaquil airport, Marco Huilcatanda learned that JetBlue will start operating with a new direct service to New York.
With other friends he commented that this is good for the passenger, because it makes the prices move with the competition. He had obtained for his daughter a passage in more than $ 800 in Latam, the only airline that for now gives direct service.
“If there is another company, I hope the price is standardized, improve, because there are seasons when the passage goes down (in the direct route), but in others it exceeds $ 1,500,” Huilcatanda quoted.
Near him, Angel Quiroz, an immigrant who lives in Spain for 19 years, had similar expectations with the entrance of Plus Ultra, a Spanish airline that will operate from July in Guayaquil, which will be the third option to Madrid.
He said that the costs of the tickets sometimes prevent him from coming.
The announcement of the opening of new routes and the arrival of other airlines to Guayaquil has awakened expectations among users. And it happens at a time when the airport is experiencing growth and has generated the interest of more airlines.
Only in the last five months, the air terminal concessioned to Tagsa has received two new airlines: Laser, with direct service to Caracas, and JetBlue, which increased the options to Fort Lauderdale.
Aeromexico landed at Guayaquil airport, will operate three times a week
In addition, Aeromexico opened operations in Mexico City last week and Plus Ultra will come to Guayaquil in two months.
The Colombian Viva Air already obtained the permit to operate the Bogota-Guayaquil route.
Interjet announced that it will fly to Guayaquil from Cancun and Mexico City.
JetBlue will fly to New York in December.
Promotion of Guayaquil and the Austro
Ángel Córdova, manager of Tagsa, considered that the income of these new airlines is the product of a promotion that they have made in several forums during the last years.
He indicated that airlines have not only been exposed to the potential of Guayaquil, but the Ecuadorian Austro, which can nourish passengers to some destinations.
“A flight from Mexico, for example, can connect Guayaquil to the west coast of the United States, where there is a significant number of Ecuadorians,” said Cordova.
With thirteen direct routes abroad and domestic flights, the terminal registers an upward trend in the movement of passengers. This was already felt in 2018 and was maintained during the first quarter of 2019.
According to data from the airport, in this period 967,203 passengers were mobilized on national and foreign routes, that is, 81,340 more than in the same period of 2018. This represents a growth of 9.18%.
Juan Carlos Villagómez, pilot and founder of the portal Aviación Guayaquil, believes that the diffusion of the benefits that the airport has in the rates, costs of landing and use of manga has affected the interest of new companies.
The Minister of Foreign Trade, Pablo Campana, said that the decree that sets a policy of open skies, in force since 2017, has also motivated the arrival of new lines to Quito and Guayaquil. (I)
Incentives new route
When an airline arrives in Guayaquil and opens a new route, it receives as an incentive, during the first year of operations, a 100% discount on the payment for landing and parking. Then, in the second year, that incentive drops to 75%; the third, at 50%; the fourth, 25%, and the fifth, 15%. These incentives were endorsed by the Cantonal Council and the Tagsa dealer applies them.
Stimulus existing route
The stimulus contemplated for a new airline that enters Guayaquil to operate on an existing route varies. In this case, the airline begins to enjoy a 75% discount on the landing payment, in the first year. And it is reduced in later ones. This benefit is enjoyed by the US company JetBlue, which went into operation this year in Fort Lauderdale, where Tame and Spirit are already flying. (I)
