The first low cost airline in the country celebrates its fifth year of low cost flights in Argentina, which began on January 26, 2018 when Flybondi made the first commercial flight between the cities of Córdoba and Puerto Iguazú. After five years, 4 out of 10 passengers in Argentina already fly by low cost airlines.
The company came to revolutionize the commercial aviation sector with a business model hitherto unknown to the Argentine market and guaranteed from the beginning the lowest costs in the region, through an efficient, safe and simple operation, thus democratizing air transport.
Proof of this is that in Argentina, with only 10 million passengers in 2016, the local market for domestic flights was very underdeveloped compared to the rest of Latin America. In 2022, with Flybondi with a 21% market share, 13.5 million passengers were carried.
In the 5 years that the company has been operating in the country, it has achieved the sustained democratization of access to the plane as a means of transportation. Thanks to the freedom to fly, its founding purpose, more than 6,000,000 passengers have already traveled on the low cost. It is interesting to note that since its inception in 2018 and even today, the company continues to have a positive impact on accessibility and inclusion, since the model allows people who previously could not travel by plane or did very little to travel now to do so. It is estimated that 20% of Flybondi passengers are people who are flying for the first time in their lives.
Beyond allowing new travelers to enter the market thanks to its low fares, Flybondi also succeeded in breaking the seasonality of tourism and expanding the passenger base throughout the year, reducing dependency on peak season. In addition, it increased connectivity, local mobility and improved the quality of life for its passengers.
Regarding the connectivity of the provinces, the company started a flight network in 2018 that included tourist destinations and others that were not so touristy at that time. So much so that several of the provinces to which it began to fly in the beginning more than 18 years ago had no other option for air connectivity.
During 2022, Flybondi became the number 1 low cost company in the country thanks to the success of the 2X Plan, which allowed it to expand its fleet to 12 aircraft, increase the number of connections, destinations and frequencies. It currently flies to 17 national destinations and 3 international destinations, through 22 routes (17 domestic to and from Buenos Aires, 2 interprovincial and 3 international).
According to the Monthly Report of the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) for the month of December 2022, it has a national market share of 21%, it grew 12 points compared to 2019. Regarding the international market, it increased 1.5 points since in December 2022 obtained 5% and in 2019, 3.5%.
For this year, it anticipates a turnover close to US$500 million and to expand its fleet since it launched a search for at least 5 aircraft on the leasing market.
“We started operations 5 years ago with the purpose of giving the freedom to fly. The objective was ambitious but we were convinced that it would be possible, and it was so and we even surpassed it. This anniversary allows us to renew our commitment to the country because we are a company that is a source of work, that invests and that is determined to continue transforming the commercial aviation market in Argentina and the region," said Mauricio Sana, CEO of Flybondi.
The low cost has a team of more than 1,150 employees throughout the country and generates more than 18,500 indirect jobs. It currently has more than 70 open searches, within all areas.