Irelandia Aviation, the Ryan family of Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) fame's investment vehicle, is looking at entering the Argentine domestic market as early as next year Managing Partner Declan Ryan has said.
In an interview with La Nacion newspaper, Ryan said that while he was very optimistic about Argentina's future economic prospects under the new pro-business government of Mauricio Macri, he had highlighted his concerns about inflation and corruption.
"We have started negotiations in all countries around the region except in Brazil because there is much corruption (there). But Argentina made me want to return to the Church," he chortled.
Though he did not mention how the firm would enter the market, sources told the newspaper that preliminary talks between the Irish firm and local carrier Andes Líneas Aéreas (O4, Salta) had taken place. As such, it is believed that like Avianca (Bogotá) and its acquisition of Macair Jet (Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery), Irelandia Aviation may acquire an existing operator as a segue into the market.
At present, Andes Líneas Aéreas operates five MD-83s and one MD-88 on regular flights from Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery to Puerto Madryn and Salta. The news report goes on to note that a nascent Argentine LCC would require a fleet of at least five aircraft and USD50 million in start-up capital.
Irelandia Aviation has experience in the budget Latin American market through its partnership with Mexican bus transport firm IAMSA and with Grupo Bolívar and Grupo FAST in Colombia. Together, the entities have jointly established VivaAerobus (VB, Monterrey Mariano Escobedo) in Mexico and VivaColombia (Medellín José Maria Córdova) in Colombia.
