FLY LIKE AN EAGLE

By implementing a mix of pro-aviation policies while revamping its aviation infrastructure, Ecuador is raising its intra-and inter-regional connectivity.

SITTING ON THE NORTHWESTERN coast of South America, Ecuador is well-positioned to function as Latin America’s gateway to another continent with a huge emerging market: Asia. Ecuadorian airports enjoy the shortest direct flight distance from Latin America to populous Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Ecuador, meanwhile, is trying to strengthen its economic ties not only with the ASEAN region, but also with other Asian economic powerhouses such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia by raising the volume of bilateral aviation activities. Ecuador’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has been making an effort in recent years to register new airspace routes between Ecuador and the Asia-Pacific region. The ATS UN789 ocean route, which was developed by Ecuador and approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2012, is a case in point.

The inter-regional ocean route connects the Manta International Airport in western Ecuador to the International Airport of Tahiti, which lies halfway between South America and Asia. For the time being, ATS UN789 will be mainly used by cargo planes, though once the Manta airport’s construction is complete, passenger flights to Asia can take advantage of the route as well.

In July, 2019, Anyelo Acosta, general director of DGAC, attended the “First Unassigned High Seas Airspace Special Coordination Meeting,” where he emphasized his country’s interest in the development of new oceanic routes in unassigned areas, while adhering to strict safety measures.

The registration of new airspace routes is of little use for passengers, however, without airlines arranging regular flights using such routes. Fortunately, 2019 saw the arrival of airlines such as Air France and Air Canada in the country, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

The raised level of interest in Ecuador is in part due to an incentive program launched in early 2019 to attract foreign airlines, reinforcing Ecuador’s connectivity to the region and beyond. Developed jointly by DGAC and the Ministry of Transport, the incentive package grants a 40% fuel cost subsidy to international carriers running local, regional, and long-haul flights to and from Ecuadorian airports overseen by DGAC. Other benefits include discounts in parking fees, terminal fees, and landing services.

The incentive package is expected to complement the “open skies policy” that Ecuador has been following since 2017. In that year, President Lenín Moreno put the policy in place by an executive decree, with the hope of boosting the nation’s tourism and cargo transportation industry. In addition to the flag carrier airlines mentioned earlier, a number of so-called low-cost airlines have begun their operations in Ecuador, as well. The American low-cost carrier, JetBlue, recently launched a nonstop flight between New York-JFK and Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport. A daily nonstop flight between Guayaquil and

the US can have a profound impact on Ecuador’s tourism sector, especially as US citizens—who arguably have a high spending power—traditionally form a sizeable percentage of tourist arrivals in the country. European airlines, too, have taken an interest in Ecuador. The Spain-based airline, Air Europa, set up flights from Madrid to Guayaquil and Quito in January 2018—and the routes are still in place, some two years later, with a greater frequency of flights. Plus Ultra Airlines is another Spanish airline that launched services to and from Quito and Guayaquil in 2019.

In 2018, well over 1.07 million tourists arrived in Ecuador by air, marking a 16% to 20% YoY growth, and there is no denying that the newly established flight routes from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and New York-JFK have contributed to this leap.