Avianca, who arrived in the country from the Macri family, will stop flying in Argentina

On the road to the elections, the refined sound that the engines of the "aeronautical revolution" had to emit at that moment was beginning to be out of tune.

Avianca, the Colombian company arrived in the country with the purchase of
MacAir, the airline that until 2016 was the family

Macri

, will stop flying in the country. The new white and red turboprop aircraft, which has arrived in many cities that previously had no air connections, will remain on the ground for at least 180 days.

Several meetings preceded the decision of the Latin Holding which has Germán Efromovich as the main aeronautical commercial reference. The decision is already made. Avian (the company operating in the country in cabotage under the Avianca brand) will ask the government for permission not to fly for 180 days. This license will be used to restructure the business plan and take action on local operations. Then the economy, the market, the regulation and especially the political will play their role and finally clarify the question of the future of Avianca in Argentina.

Permission not to operate is a formality. Industry standards establish that if a company does not steal for a while, sanctions are plausible. And one of the main ones is to remove the routes, which implies losing one of its main badets.

The Avian Líneas Aéreas was the first to arrive in the country from the announcement of the opening of the commercial air market which, until 2015, was monopolized by the maps of La Cámpora offices of the Aerolíneas Argentinas.

Mariano Recalde

. Paradoxically, among other reasons, the subsidized operation of the Crown corporation was one of the reasons given for making the current decision.

It all started in March 2016, when Efromovich announced that he was buying the company from the president's family.

Mauricio Macri

. The acquisition of an airline with all its certifications up to date has generated a unique opportunity: start flying immediately.

But that did not happen like that. Hearing the news, it has rained in the courts. The unions also expressed strong opposition: paradoxically, the number of affiliated workers in a new company could be greater. The presentations meant that Avianca could not move any of her planes for 14 months.

The cost of this situation amounted to US $ 15 million between the cost of maintaining the aircraft in the hangars and the salaries of the staff, because they were paid while it was not there. had no flight and the tickets were not sold.

The substance of the complaints was similar, since they all proposed to link the
The MacAir buyer with the Macri family has asked to be investigated for crimes such as conspiracy and abuse of authority. The kirchnerist deputies Rodolfo Tailhade and Juan Cabandié were the authors of one of them; another was initiated by union leader Pablo Biró on behalf of the pilots, the guild he runs.

Without roads, and with criminal causes in the middle, everything was lost. Finally, on November 21, 2017, with a Rosario-Aeroparque flight, the airline began flying on the domestic market. Meanwhile, the Pilots Guild has maintained its dispute. Everything changed when Avianca signed the collective agreement, a decision different from that taken by the low-cost companies Flybondi and Norwegian, which have their own unions and have not signed a collective agreement with Biró.

Regional crisis

At the same time, in Brazil, it was
a crisis of Avianca (the subsidiary of the Colombian company) which forced it to restructure its company. Specifically, the local company depended on this division of the holding company. The flow of funds to subsidize a transaction at a loss has been reduced.

There is more. The devaluation of the peso broke the economic equation. Aircraft leases in dollars have made it difficult to keep accounts online. It is sold in pesos but is paid to most suppliers with dollar costs.

While the newcomers were trying to gain space in a market virtually closed for years, Aerolineas Argentinas has transited the "aircraft revolution" with an unlimited portfolio.

They accuse him of unfair competition and even privileges in tax matters. With more or less emphasis, deplore that the state corporation never tires of putting flights in destinations that others designate. And of course, we go with the checkbook of the partners; the other, with the state.

For example, they say that all airlines, except one, pay VAT for their aircraft leases. Which one is exempt? Aerolineas Argentinas. In addition, this credit is accumulated because the notes do not include VAT and, as a general rule, they can not use this amount to pay their taxes. All have millions paralyzed in the AFIP minus the state.

Finally, Avianca's novel features an almost fictional chapter. Despite being accused by the Kirchner of mutual benefits,
Efromovich and the Macri family have a lawsuit because the buyer does not pay their debt. He says the situation has hurt him and that he can not cope with the commitment. And Macri's claim. The paradoxes of an Argentina that now sees how Avianca (-215,000 pbadengers on 4,400 flights, 450 direct jobs and 2,250 indirect jobs) is starting to be part of history. At least for the moment.