Aerolíneas Argentinas To Increase Flights To Rome And Madrid

Argentinian flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas is looking to increase long-haul capacity from Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) in Buenos Aires to Madrid Barajas International (MAD) and Rome Fiumicino International (FCO). During the airline’s participation at Spain’s International Tourism Fair (FITUR), it presented the new scheduling for 2023’s summer season.

Adding new flights to Madrid and Rome

Aerolíneas Argentinas announced on Thursday that it will add up to five new flights per week to Madrid, Spain. In April, the state carrier will add two new services going from seven to nine per week. Three months later, in July, the airline will add three more flights per week, offering 12 weekly services to Spain’s capital in time for the peak summer season. There will be two daily flights each day except for Wednesdays and Sundays (1x daily).

Aerolíneas Argentinas has a codeshare agreement with Air Europa. This partnership allows passengers of the Argentinian carrier to connect from Madrid Barajas to Spanish cities such as Bilbao, La Coruña, Vigo, Gran Canarias, Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona, as well as international destinations such as London and Lisbon.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Concerning Rome, Aerolíneas Argentina will add one more flight per week in April (going from three to four weekly flights) and one more in July. Therefore, the carrier will operate five weekly flights departing from Buenos Aires on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays by July.

The competition

Madrid and Rome are Aerolíneas Argentinas’ only scheduled destinations in Europe. The airline has direct competition from three airlines. ITA Airways flies daily from Rome to Buenos Aires, Iberia operates twice daily services from Madrid, one daily from Barcelona, and Air Europa flies daily from Madrid.

Overall there are 68 weekly flights between Europe and Buenos Aires. Other airlines operating flights are Air France (flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle), British Airways (flying from London Heathrow), KLM (flying from Amsterdam), and Lufthansa (flying from Frankfurt). Iberia remains the top carrier with 21 weekly flights. Aerolíneas Argentinas will offer up to 17 weekly flights by the summer.

The Argentinian Minister of Tourism and Sports, Matías Lammens, celebrated Aerolíneas Argentinas’ increase in connectivity. He said,

“This is one of the great news we announced at FITUR: the increase in weekly frequencies to our country allows us to boost inbound tourism in two of Europe’s most important destinations. Aerolíneas Argentinas is a strategic ally to support the arrival of tourists, which results in foreign exchange earnings and the generation of employment for our country.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Figueroa, Communications Director at Aerolíneas Argentinas, explained that the goal is to strengthen the country’s connectivity by focusing on inbound tourism. The new arrivals from Madrid and Rome will allow easy connections with domestic flights from Ezeiza to destinations such as Mendoza, Córdoba, Ushuaia, and El Calafate.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Aerolíneas Argentinas last year

In 2022, Aerolíneas Argentinas carried 11.67 million passengers. The flag carrier received $353 million in state funds, reducing its dependency on the government by about 50% from what it was initially allocated.

The airline has a fleet of 78 aircraft, including eight Airbus A330-200s used for long-haul services, eight Boeing 737-700s, seven Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 29 737-800s, and 26 Embraer E190s inherited from its merger with Austral a couple of years ago.

What do you think about Aerolíneas Argentinas’ connectivity plans to Madrid and Rome? Let us know in the comments below.