In the country twice as many passengers as in 2011 and buses suffer – 01/10/2019

Very few companies can assume that in 2018, the year of a serious economic crisis, they managed to achieve higher demand and win a lot of customers. But this also happened to airlines in the sale of tickets for flights within the country. The number of cabotage passengers has been for six consecutive years, which is a record number of record values. And last year, despite the recession, the trend has not slowed down so far.

With the "low cost" pulsation, almost 1,600,000 national trips were recorded more in air than in 2017, the previous record year. What gave a new impetus to the plane on the road in order to consolidate itself as a transport are increasingly massive and accessible for a middle class that you can not afford it traditionally.

The statistics published this week by the Argentinean air navigation company of the Ministry of Transport in the country confirmed that 14,21 million passengers performed domestic flights in 2018. This is a new historical maximum that corresponds to an average 38,931 shipments per day or 27 per minute.

Another way of graphing is that through the whole year, 24 hours a day, every two seconds He embarked on an airplane at an airport in the country to move to another terminal in Argentina.

With these brands, national air traffic increased by 12% in the last year and by almost 38% by 2015. However, the gradual and sustainable growth of the use of the aircraft in the country began before the arrival of the current government and its operation. Revolution of the Airplanes "and long before the launch of low-cost airlines, which started in January and have already moved almost a million people (see below).

14.21 million cabotage passengers, registered in 2018, more than doubled the 6.46 million passengers that flew in 2011 – just seven years ago – and tripled to 4.7 million, which they made in the critical year of 200315 years ago

In the case of international flights starting or ending in Argentina, official statistics also show a strong increase in passengers, but more moderately. In this case, it increased by 154% in 15 years (compared to 205% in cabotage), 31% in 7 years (against 120% of citizens) and only 2% on average in 2018, although towards the end of the year the balance was negative due to devaluation.

On the other hand, when adding national and international flight records, Argentina appears to have a record 29,21 million passengers in 2018, which corresponds to 80,000 shipments per day and almost one second.

Until recently, the plane this was a limited spending for high-income families, but in recent years it has opened up a lot for the middle and characteristic sectors. The foundation has been extended, and many people who have not even thought about the possibility of traveling by plane now feel like conquest, in order to do so, and even as the right not to be ready to withdraw easily"We analyze Ximeno Díaz Alarcón and Marielo Mociulsky, partner director of Trendsity, an advisory firm specializing in market research, trends and innovations.

They attribute the phenomenon to what they define as the "perfect combination" of factors: "On the demand side, people are increasingly watching optimize your time and plans journeys and craziness at different times of the year, seeking capsules for relaxation and more atomized space than in other periods. And on the supply side, the airplane became more and more accessible in the hands of better prices and quota plans and all kinds of promotions that made it easier to buy tickets. "

In the K period, greater accessibility of crossings was facilitated by the large subsidies received by the leading cabotage company Aerolineas Argentinas. Recently, after the arrival of the first "low-cost" companies, which promoted greater competition, and the removal from August's tariff floor, this phenomenon accelerated, which was prevented by aggressive sales until then.

For Díaz Alarcón and Mociulsky, it is understandable that in the year of the crisis there were more passengers. "In contexts like this," they explain, "when people can give up a little taste, they often opt for a trip, because they then return and recover to continue.

Buses are among the most affected

While cabotage flights doubled their passengers in just seven years, millions of long-distance buses lost them. According to the Long Distance Chamber (Celadi), based on information from the National Transport Regulatory Commission (CNRT), in 2011 buses took 52.7 million passengers, this figure decreased every year until 2006, when it reached 37.3 million annually.

There are no official data on how the situation continued, because the government stopped publishing them. In any case, sectoral sources estimate that companies would be transported around 2017 and 2018 35 million passengers in these years.

If so, it would represent 33% compared to the demand that these services had only seven years ago. And much larger than 57 to 60 million passengers that buses were transporting annually at the beginning of this century.

"We are aware that in recent years there have been people who have stopped airplanes in order to go by plane, in a number of cases, because the airline has had and has subsidies and tax advantages that do not have buses, and the Retiro terminal is obvious problems and everything that affects ", explains Gustavo Gaona, representative of Celadi."The most affected sections were direct frequencies of longer distancesfor example, those who go to the northwest or Patagonia, but intermediate services are still in demand, "he adds.

In Celadi, we remind you that, despite this, microphones are still remote more than twice as many passengers as the airplane, because many people "need to go to small central cities that do not have nearby airports" and because "For those who choose to travel at the last minute, micro is usually much cheaper"given the fact that in these cases the highest tariffs, which are far more restrictive than in the aviation market, are the highest."

Gaona also confirms that the decline has been "slowed down" in recent years, due, on the one hand, to "low costs" that the government has allowed the government to do from September to make predictions of sales and allow them to have "more competitive prices". And, on the other hand, because, with the recent increase in oil, "Many families who once drove in the past turned to the bus"The biggest loser in recent times was a passenger car, which is still the most commonly used means of transport," the spokesman said.

In the first year almost one million people came to "cheap" aircraft

In the world, low-cost airlines have been offering the opportunity to travel very cheap, receive a basic service and pay extra luggage and other "accessories" for decades, only if they are truly used. Only in Argentina last year companies were introduced with this logic to start operating in the cabotage market. They aroused a great expectation, they were surprised by exceptional offers and in the first year nearly a million people were encouraged to travel on their own aircraft.

The first one started to work Flybond. He arrived in January 2018 and settled in the new El Palomar airport, suggesting that the first airline will be "an ultra low price". However, it was only from 1 August that she could fulfill this promise when the government lifted the minimum rates for the sale of tickets set at least one month in advance. Since then, when he added new routes and airplanes to the service, they came to the promotion.tickets for $ 1"And her sales jumped.

According to the data from the Ministry of Transportation of the Nations, Flybondi carried out approximately 7 078 flights in 2018 and was able to 865 thousand passengers cabotage. This company already operates 18 routes on its domestic market, which it recently added to three international routes (to Punta del Este and Asunción).

Another company with low prices for domestic flights was Norwegian Air Argentina. In his case, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery took over as its operating base, first taken off in October and from then to December carried over the country. 102 thousand passengersaccording to official statistics.

With this base, the Norwegian line is expanding. This week, he opened the route to Salta and already offers flights from Buenos Aires to Cordoba, Mendoza, Puerto Iguazú, Neuquén and Bariloche, with a fleet of four Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 189 seats.

Last year, Flybond and Norway added 967 thousand domestic trips. While its participation in the cabotage market increased from month to month, until December, when 13% of the transfers were monopolized: Flybond 8% and Norwegian 5%. It's all together, 1 out of 8 passengers already decide on the "low cost".

This reality is new to the country, but still far from reaching the level of other latitudes. According to the report of the International Civil Aviation Organization, In 2018, 31% of airplane passengers carried in "low-cost" mode.and 36% in Europe.