AIR TRANSPORT

With Ecuador’s state-of-the-art Quito airport, large-scale logistics center, and increase in tourists, companies from logistics to private jet operators are looking to reap the benefits offered by increasing amounts of flights and people.

Sandro Ruiz GENERAL MANAGER, PUBLIC COMPANY FOR AIRPORT SERVICES – QUITO (EPMSA)

EPMSA HAS THREE FUNCTIONS. The first is managing airport concessions with Quiport, a public-private partnership that handles all operations of the airport. Since the new Quito airport was opened in 2013, it has grown and consolidated. Some 19 airlines operate in the new airport, as compared to nine previously. That growth is important because it demonstrates the opportunities that the aeronautical infrastructure of Quito and country offer. Awarding the concessions of the investment and development plan to the private sector through Quiport has played a key role in attracting more airlines. This growth is based in the fact that Quiport offers tailor-made incentives to each airline. Due to these synergies, airline operators see Ecuador as a high potential destination. The second pillar is airport security, where we directly handle the security in all airport structures. The third is the management of the current free zone, and the development of the Special Zone for Economic Development (ZEDE) under the Ecuadorian legislation. Within the new infrastructural masterplan, the Quito airport will be extended by 1,700m at its north end. The project will require an investment of USD60 million and be completed in 2020. The business center and cargo areas will also undergo changes. These improvements will allow us to become an international hub and help expand our logistics facilities. We mainly work with Tabacarcen, a private cargo consolidator that uses the latest technologies. We also have other private cargo consolidators and storage facilities next to the airport. In addition, the masterplan includes remodeling the internal spaces of the airport in line with more local cultural sensibilities. Moreover, the plan involves the expansion of the loading platform and the development of palletizers consolidating cargo. We have another project under the PPP model to develop a ZEDE in a 205-ha space located next to the airport. As for future investments, Quito is the heart of the country. We plan to attract more companies to the logistics center within our premises.

Santiago Gómez de la Torre CEO, TABACARCEN S.A.

TABACARCEN WAS FOUNDED in 2013, because Quito’s new airport needed a larger infrastructure than originally planned to cater to the needs of exporting and importing industries (specifically the flower export sector). Tabacarcen belongs to an American fund, Darby’s Overseas Investment, that has invested USD30-35 million for the development and operation of the logistic center. We have separate blocks for imports and exports. The export block is concentrated on 70% of the country’s air exports, 90% of that being flowers. The remaining 10% is dragon fruit, the market for which is growing rapidly. The products that are exported via air are mostly perishable; they need to arrive quickly to their destination and have a high-added value. We also have the import section, which receives 100% of the national air cargo. We receive all sorts of products, including oil drills, mining equipment, medical equipment, textiles, clothes, pharmaceutical raw materials, pharmaceutical products, and electronic products with high value, like cell phones, tablets, and computers. In 2019, we decided to open other logistical business lines. Our vision is to provide the know-how we have gathered from the airport to the logistics sector, but not only for air logistics. We want multinational companies to see us as their local partner for logistics and distribution, not limited to air. That is why we work with international companies such as Royal Carribean Cruises and Toyota in terms of logistics management and procedures. Tabacarcen currently handles around 33 million kg per year for imports. For exports, it has a ratio of 6 to 1. We are in the process of automating our cargo distribution area, by making it into a storage facility that moves pallets. This improves traceability because it has an integrated tracing system and speeds up the process. We have increased security by controlling access and are installing a digital barrier system. We are advancing toward a digital platform as well. 2020 will be a year for technological and digital transformation.

Gustavo Junovich COUNTRY MANAGER, ECOCOPTER

THE COMPANY IS PART OF Ecocopter Holdings, which covers Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. In Chile, we mainly focus on providing services to companies in the mining, tourism, and telecommunications sectors. In 2018, we decided to enter Ecuador after receiving requests from some major mining companies in Ecuador. As we had already worked with them in Chile, they requested the same level of services for their Ecuador operations. We saw an opportunity for expansion and started the project in 2018. We are specialized in passenger and cargo transport in a high mountain environment, which fits perfectly with Ecuador’s geography. In the field of helicopters, Ecuador’s main challenge is that there is no large fleet for in-country training; however, we can send pilots to Chile for training, both in general areas or more specific ones such as firefighting. We offer these services at cheaper rates compared to Europe. Additionally, our position in the oil and mining sector is strong, as several of our mining and oil clients in Chile and Peru are now in Ecuador. These companies rely on our services and trust our brand. To keep up with this increasing demand, we plan to add two more helicopters to our fleet of 11. There are no certificated heliports in Quito, so we are in talks with construction companies and hotels to develop heliports. We would like them to develop the infrastructure in order to develop the sector and create synergies with the tourism sector so new trips can be developed, including trips to volcanoes or the Cotopaxi region. There are more airlines flying into Ecuador, which means more tourists. We can offer tourism experiences in helicopter traveling. We are happy to share our experiences with other players in the sector so that the market can eventually develop. Air transportation is a sector in which there is a lot of passion involved. By expanding our fleet, we will able to serve more clients and maintain our high security standards.

Pablo Neira GENERAL MANAGER, JETHANDLING

PRIVATE AVIATION IN ECUADOR was born after the building of the Transecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) that followed the discovery of oil in the west of Ecuador. The main executives of those oil companies tended to travel in private jets, so my father had been involved in the air transportation subsector for many years. At that time, a US company contacted him and proposed him to create a subsidiary of the US company in Ecuador; this is how Jet Handling started. After 2000 is when that “boom” of private aviation took place. New actors came into the game and more companies started to join. Additionally, we have provided services for many international celebrities who come to Ecuador and are looking for a discreet way to travel. Any private jet has to request permits to enter the country. As such, we coordinate all the efforts required in areas of technical certifications, visa and travel requirements, and other areas to ensure the jets can land in Ecuador. We provide service to 800 jets per year across all airports. Our next move will be to buy a private jet of our own to start offering charter flights upon request. Tourism today is an important source of revenue, and we have adapted accordingly. We learned that many users of private aviation are not flying to just one destination, so we had to diversify our offices in all the international airports in Ecuador to attend our clients with our own personnel. We even have offices on the Galápagos Islands. Galápagos is growing as a destination, and we are seeing people coming from other countries, not just the US. Additionally, we are planning to expand operations in Peru and Colombia to offer a more comprehensive service for tourists that want to visit locations in any of the three countries. We have obtained most of the paperwork that the authorities require in Peru. In fact, we will start offering Ecuador’s Galápagos and Peru’s Machu Pichu as a joint trip.