Chilean ultra-low-cost carrier JetSMART previously filed to open a new subsidiary in Colombia after applying for a permit to operate a total of 111 requested routes. However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia has since delayed the approval of JetSMART Colombia due to doubt that the airline had the capacity.
Not wanting to give up, JetSMART has now used its Peruvian subsidiary, JetSMART Peru, to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia to operate international passenger, cargo, and mail services to Colombia with fifth freedom of the air.
Another attempt at expanding to Colombia
Previously, the Peruvian low-cost carrier applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Peru to expand its international flight operations in South American countries. Colombia was one of the countries listed and applied for, and JetSMART Peru recently received the go-ahead to operate these services.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
With an approval from the Peruvian authorities, all JetSMART requires now is a green light from the Colombian authorities. Contrary to the 111 routes that were initially planned for JetSMART Colombia, JetSMART Peru intends to operate 12 routes.
The following 12 routes are:
- Cuzco – Bogota – Cuzco
- Lima – Bogota – Lima
- Lima – Medellin – Lima
- Lima – Cali – Lima
- Lima – Cartagena – Lima
- Lima – Cucuta – Lima
- Lima – San Andres – Lima
- Lima – Pereira – Lima
- Arequipa – Bogota – Arequipa
- Arequipa – Cartagena – Arequipa
- Arequipa – Cali – Arequipa
- Arequipa – Medellin – Arequipa
JetSMART Peru proposes to operate these 12 routes with its fleet of three Airbus A320neo aircraft, configured for 186 passengers. And with an ambitious schedule of seven weekly flights per route, the budget carrier will offer approximately 15,624 seats to Colombia weekly.
Heavy competition between Peru and Colombia
But why is JetSMART so keen on expanding in Colombia, and why the decision to use JetSMART Peru instead? According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Peru, more than 878,450 passengers were ferried between Peru and Colombia last year. In other words, Colombia is Peru’s third most significant market, falling short of Chile and the US.
And with a low-cost expanded offering to such a critical market, JetSMART sees many profitable opportunities. However, competition will be challenging if the budget carrier wins approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority in Colombia.
For the majority of its 12 requested routes, the Peruvian low-cost carrier will be heavily competing against legacy carriers like Avianca and LATAM Airlines and also against low-cost competitors such as Wingo and Viva Air.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Fortunately, JetSMART Peru still has the monopoly leverage on some routes, such as being the only airline connecting Arequipa with Colombia. The budget carrier could also likely be the only airline serving non-stop flight services between Cucuta, Pereira, San Andres, and Peru.
Bottom line
Since JetSMART Peru has the ability to offer the proposed capacity, perhaps the Colombian aviation authorities might give the go-ahead soon. And if that does happen, it’d be interesting to see how well the low-cost carrier will fare with such a ramped-up schedule and against so many competitors.
Source: Aviacionline