NEW LOW-COST AIRLINE BEGINS TICKET SALES FOR ARGENTINA-CHILE ROUTES

JetSmart, the latest addition to Argentina’s growing lowcost air travel market, began selling tickets this week . Chile-based JetSmar t will offer low-cost domestic and international flights, connecting Santiago de Chile with Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Córdoba. Passengers in Mendoza and Córdoba will also be linked to the Chilean coastal- resort city La Serena. “It was a very good meeting. Open and quiet. We spoke about our model and the potential of the Argentine market which is there, despite the situation the country is facing”, JetSmart CEO Estuardo Ortiz said after a meeting with President Mauricio Macri. “He gave us the confidence that this process of modernising A rgentine aviation will continue.” Ortiz was joined at the meeting with Bill Franke, the founder of the US firm Indigo Partners, which is JetSmarts mother company. Indigo carries 1.4 million passengers per year on its Wizz Air (Europe), Volaris (Mexico) and Frontier Airlines (USA) airlines, the company reports. Meanwhile, Norwegian Air, which is already operating an international service to the United Kingdom, also began selling tickets for its domestic services this week.Its flights will connect Buenos Aires with Córdoba, Mendoza, Iguazú, Neuquén, Bariloche and Salta. The firm hopes to operate 246 weekly flights in the next 12 months.