Aerolineas Argentinas Plans Qatar World Cup Charters Via Rome

Aerolíneas Argentinas

IATA/ICAO Code

AR/ARG

Airline Type

Full Service Carrier

Hub(s)

Ezeiza International Airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery

Year Founded

1949

Alliance

SkyTeam

CEO

Pablo Ceriani

Country

Argentina

Aerolíneas Argentinas has announced it will operate at least six charter flights between Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) and Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) to carry football fans to the World Cup, which will be played between November 21 and December 18, 2022. How will these flights take place, and which aircraft will Aerolíneas Argentinas use on this new route? Let’s investigate further.

Going to Qatar

Argentina qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 to be held in Qatar late this year. The South American country will play in Group C against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland.

The Argentinian fan base is among the most loyal worldwide and always fills the stadiums when their national team plays. Aerolíneas Argentinas has found a commercial opportunity and has announced it will operate six charter flights to Doha, two services per game, to carry fans to see their team in Qatar.

Moreover, if Argentina goes beyond the group stage, Aerolíneas Argentinas will add more charter flights, the airline said.

The first flight will take place on November 19, departing from Ezeiza at 15:25. Due to the distance between Buenos Aires and Doha (around 8,288 miles or 13,338 kilometers), Aerolíneas Argentinas will operate these charter flights with a stopover in Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport (FCO). The stopover will last one hour before departing again towards Doha. The flight time will be around 19 hours, said the airline.

Aerolíneas Argentinas will operate the remaining flights on November 23, 24, 27, and 28.

Aerolíneas Argentinas will employ its Airbus A330-200 fleet to connect Buenos Aires and Doha via Rome. Photo: Getty Images.

Using the A330

To operate these charter flights to Doha, Aerolíneas Argentinas will deploy its long-haul widebody Airbus A330-200 fleet.

These jetliners have the capacity to carry 270 passengers in a two-class cabin. There are 24 angle-flat Club Condor seats and 248 standard economy seats.

Aerolíneas Argentinas currently has nine Airbus A330-200s and expects to receive an additional unit later this year.

Pablo Ceriani, Aerolíneas Argentinas’ CEO, said,

“This charter service is a great opportunity to create additional revenue, and it is also very special because it feeds the Argentinian’s football passion.”

Aerolíneas Argentinas long-haul destinations

Currently, Aerolíneas Argentinas operates around 56 weekly flights employing its long-haul Airbus A330-200 fleet. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aerolíneas has not fully restored its long-haul connectivity. According to data provided by Cirium, the Argentinian state carrier still has to recover 17.6% of flights operated with the A330-200 in May 2019.

Aerolíneas Argentinas serves six routes with the A330, including one that is not long-haul but has heavy leisure demand (Buenos Aires-El Calafate).

These are the routes Aerolíneas operates:

1. Buenos Aires-Miami, nine frequencies per week
2. Buenos Aires-Madrid, seven frequencies per week
3. Buenos Aires-Cancun, four frequencies per week
4. Buenos Aires-Punta Cana, three frequencies per week
5. Buenos Aires-New York, three frequencies per week
6. Buenos Aires-El Calafate, two frequencies per week.

Are you an Argentinian planning to travel to Qatar? Would you consider using Aerolíneas Argentinas to get to Doha? What do you think about Aerolíneas’ service? Let us know in the comments

Btw, go Mexico!

Source: ch-aviation.

Read Next

About The Author