Ecuador needs to improve its competitive conditions and try to lower the burden of fees and taxes on air tickets. These are part of the recommendations that were repeated the most during the Aviation Day organized by IATA, which took place this Thursday in Quito.
The eight-hour day served for managers and executives of the main airlines in the Americas to review the challenges of aviation in times of pandemic, the need to have more competitive scenarios to attract passengers, regulations and initiatives in the sector.
IATA stressed that 45% of the cost of an air ticket in Ecuador is made up of fees and taxes, a reality that it urged to review if the movement of passengers is to increase. In addition, the entity asked to review items that are charged to airlines to make the market more attractive, despite the fact that the foreign exchange outflow tax (ISD) has already been eliminated for airlines.
With a panel format, the day also served as a platform for some airlines and airports to present their plans.
‘To attract new airlines and attract 2 million tourists, we must be more competitive’
These are the main novelties that were exposed within the framework of Aviation Day:
Latam will have a cargo base in Ecuador and will increase frequency in Manta and Coca
The company indicated that it will promote a cargo division in Ecuador. The plan aims to have a cargo base in Ecuador, with operations from Quito. For that, it will incorporate a first plane that they hope will arrive in the country in June.
This is added to the cargo business that the Latam Airlines group already operates. This will imply increasing its supply of spaces by 35%, which would be an additional 300 tons per week, said Mónica Fistrovic, CEO of Latam Ecuador.
In addition, they plan to increase their frequencies in Coca, with five flights a week, and Manta. On international routes, it ratified the start of its flights between Quito and Bogotá for April 1. “We believe that in this market (Colombia) there is still demand to cover, we are starting with five frequencies and we hope to reach daily flights,” said Fistrovic, who announced that they intend to strengthen their connectivity with the south of the continent.
Avianca will increase its presence in Manta and San José, Costa Rica
Avianca will continue with its plan that involves increasing Ecuador’s connection with other international destinations and will add frequencies on some domestic routes that are in good demand. Frederico Pedreira, COO (Chief Operating Officer) Avianca, indicated that in Manta, where they have a daily frequency, they will have two frequencies per day. The challenge for that terminal, he said, is to solve the fuel supply problem.
At the cargo level, Avianca manages plans. “We want to maximize the potential that this country has in terms of exporting flowers, fish…”, he said.
David Alemán, director of Avianca for Central and South America, said that they will increase frequencies to Cuenca and Manta. At the end of this month they will start the Quito-San José route in Costa Rica.
Galapagos Airport with development plan
Jorge Rosillo, manager of the ecological airport of Galapagos, announced that a development plan for this terminal for the coming years was presented to the Civil Aviation Directorate. The main proposal includes the expansion of the platform for aircraft parking.
Within the project, it is proposed to incorporate a platform that allows it to serve four aircraft simultaneously. “We hope that it will be approved soon, it is a wish of the airlines and tour operators,” said Rosillo, who said that at the moment this terminal only has one taxiway.
In addition, he indicated that they are developing a technological project to prevent travelers from making long lines when arriving in Galapagos. An application is being worked on that is expected to start operating as a pilot plan this year.
Manta analyzes options for fuels
One of the limitations of the Manta airport is that it does not have fuel supply for aircraft. And that was an aspect that was mentioned in a panel. Jimmy Villavicencio, from the Airport Development Committee, who was among the attendees, indicated that they are talking with distributors and analyzing the proposals. It is expected that in no more than 90 days this issue will be resolved.
Latam Ecuador opens new route from Quito to Loja
Copa consolidates its presence in Ecuador with more frequencies
Copa is going through a good moment in Ecuador. Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, highlighted his participation in this market, which is recovering. He indicated that pre-pandemic levels were already being reached in December 2021, which dropped a little with the omicron outbreak earlier this year. They hope that in the high season of August and September they will reach pre-pandemic levels or even exceed them. Copa Airlines is expanding its frequencies in Guayaquil.
Ecodelta review and reforms
The Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, said that the contribution of the Ecodelta rate that is charged on tickets issued in Ecuador is being analyzed. This item is one of those that raises the price of tickets. He also announced that in the next few days the nomadic visa project will be ready to attract foreigners who do remote work.
Regulations were part of the topics addressed at Aviation Day. The Ministry of Transport announced that there are incentives that have been planned for the airports managed by the Civil Aviation Directorate and reforms to the Civil Aviation Law are planned. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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