Air Europa to Expand in Latin America

MIAMI — Air Europa is set to consolidate its presence in Latin America from the second semester of this year, as it plans to extend its route offer to Bogota, Colombia and Guayaquil, Ecuador.The Spanish carrier will start flying to the capital city of Colombia on June 28. The route is expected to be served with the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners that the airline will start to take delivery in March. Currently, the airline holds orders for eight 787-8s and 14 of the larger -9 variant.The next destination in the region will be Guayaquil in Ecuador, planned to start in December.These two new routes join the non-stop service from Madrid to Caracas (Venezuela), Lima (Peru), Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), Salvador de Bahía and Sao Paulo, in Brazil as well as Montevideo (Uruguay), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Buenos Aires in Argentina.The expansion plans of Air Europa in the region will face two major challenges in Colombia and Ecuador. Firstly, the stiff competition in a market dominated by Avianca (a Star Alliance member), LAN and Iberia (both oneworld carriers). Also, the weak presence of Skyteam in the Andean region might limit the connectivity choices in both markets. Even so, the alliance enhanced its presence in Colombia with the arrival of KLM last year, and rumors are that Alitalia will follow suit once it starts its forthcoming Rome services to Mexico City and Santiago in Chile.The last year, Air Europa and Avianca Brasil subscribed a codeshare agreement. In the case of Air Europa, it will codeshare 64 flights in Brazil.