The airline announced more flights from Colombia to New York and an increase in frequencies to Miami, United States.
In May, American Airlines will reach the highest operating point in Colombia with three new daily routes from Bogotá, Cali and Medellín to New York, which will be added to the airline’s itinerary in the country, which includes more than 14 daily flights. flee. Omar Nottaro, the airline’s director for Colombia and Ecuador, spoke with The viewer about the reactivation process in the region and the most strategic markets in her company.
Why did you decide to expand your operation?
Since we restarted the routes in September, we have seen gradual growth in the market. Despite all the measures that are in place today to fly, the Colombian market is responding positively and for us it is very important to offer the public all these flights that we have announced: from March we have an extra flight from Cali and Medellín to Miami and in April we put on a fourth flight from Bogotá. In addition, we will have a growth in equipment as our planes will change and they will have a wide cabin (Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 787-800), with more passenger and cargo capacity. The last thing we’re going to do in May is increase three frequencies to the New York market from Bogotá, Cali and Medellín.
Before the pandemic, did you have this offer of flights or was it gradually given?
We started in Colombia 30 years ago, we fulfilled them in August last year; Originally, in 1990, we flew to Bogotá and Cali. Today we operate in six cities, along with Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Pereira. With the growth that we will experience in May, we will go from 65 flights a week to 117 flights. That is a growth forecast of 160%.
How are you doing these months after reactivation?
We resumed operations in September 2020 and we did it in a segmented way, starting first in Barranquilla and the following week in Cartagena. In October, we had the opportunity to operate from Bogotá and Medellín, and the last operation we reopened was Pereira in December last year. Demand fell sharply in 2020 when flights were interrupted, but Colombian passenger is gaining confidence as time went on, it is one of the markets that has seen a good recovery.
How many passengers have they moved?
Since we started our operations, especially since this year, we have noticed an increase in the number of travelers, we have carried the first months of the year from 50,000 to 60,000 passengers despite fluctuations due to the measures imposed by the government ., Because from time to time there are some additional closures and requirements; yet we find that there is a pent-up demand that has to travel. It is expected that we will have a lot more passengers, from April we think we will possibly be around 130,000 to 150,000 per month.
How strategic is Colombia for the airline, how can the country contribute to the recovery of operations?
With demand declining so sharply, we recorded a global loss of $ 9.5 billion in 2020, 62% less sales compared to 2019. However, analysis from our route planning folks tells us that there is a potential market in Colombia and that’s what makes us think. confidence to market the product the way we do it.
What are the outlook for 2021?
By 2021, we will have approximately 1.7 million seats on the market, a very important offer to revitalize this sector. The fact that an airline is betting on increasing its supply at a time when demand is not at its 2019 level is a sign of commitment that can reactivate sales and help people find better prices. We see demand shifting a lot since January from different channels such as travel agents, although others are slightly more suppressed, such as the business side.
How has the airline reactivated in other countries?
Our region started to reactivate in June 2020 and it has been progressive growth to the extent that the governments of the countries where we operate have allowed us to arrive. Today we operate in practically 95% of the region, respecting all biosafety protocols, for example with testing requirements.
Is there an opportunity to grow even more in Colombia?
Our route planning group is always on the lookout for opportunities, checks where there are new markets in which we can start operations or whether existing markets have the potential to grow, it is a periodic and constant survey.
And will there be news with regard to the freight business?
It is a very important segment for us and we want to make it clear to our customers that we are going to get higher capacity aircraft. The growth in pound freight we have recorded since December, when we started using our wide-cabin aircraft, was 170% from 2019; In January this was 375% compared to the same month of 2020. Not only does this allow us to expand the passenger network, but it is also an opportunity for our freight customers to know that we have more capacity and that we are willing to receive your shipments to the United States and other countries in the world with the full network we have.
American Airlines has announced that it would have to fire some passengers in the United States due to the pandemic, does this decision have room for Colombia?
What has recently been announced only applies to the United States at this point, not international markets.