There are already 4,620 Formosana GCTCV-218 banana plants in the country, tolerant to Fusarium race 4

Undersecretary of Air Transportation explains how progress is being made in agreements and airlines' plans to transport more passengers and cargo.

The Undersecretary of Air Transportation, José Luis Aguilar, details the increase in frequencies and flights that have occurred these days to and from Ecuador. The signing of the open skies memorandum with Panama and Chile is already generating results.

These days changes in routes and frequencies have been known, what are the main news?

The week that passed was extremely important, we had three new routes: two international and one national. On Monday of last week Quito-San José de Costa Rica with Avianca and Quito-Bogotá with Latam. It is important that Latam begins to compete with Avianca on flights with Bogotá because supply and demand operate in aviation issues and we had very high tickets to Bogotá. The entry of Latam has forced Avianca to lower its costs. This is very good news because there is significant traffic to the Bogotá airport.

Since when can costs be seen falling?

Immediately, since it costs $400 to $500, it costs $250 to $300. It is true that there are seasons in which prices rise, but at this time they have already been lowered. The same thing that has happened with the Guayaquil destination with the entry of Equair, prices also dropped.

There was also a new frequency to El Oro, what company will take over?

Precisely, we inaugurated a new frequency from Quito to Santa Rosa with the Aeroregional airline, which will connect El Oro with Pichincha and which was an aspiration of the province. We needed to recover this route that TAME had and that had been suspended since the beginning of the pandemic. It is a route that will have great demand from productive, tourist, and mining sectors. In Arenillas is the Hillary Resort, which attracts a large flow of tourists.

Are the rates competitive on this frequency?

We do not have a pricing policy. Currently there is a flat rate of $160, meaning no extra to pay. It must be taken into account that the El Oro airport, which has excellent facilities, is the furthest point from Quito. It is a rate that is in accordance with the distance you must travel to the plane. I consider that if the conditions are good and the frequency is well received, due to greater demand, they will end up decreasing. It must be remembered that the airline is betting on the province.

Ecuador has been committed to promoting the open skies policy, how is this issue progressing?

Two weeks ago we signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Panama. It is an important achievement for the country, since Copa connects with Europe, the US and even South America itself. Panama is ahubvery important connectivity. In a month the agreement itself will be signed. Furthermore, the open skies agreements with Chile and the Dominican Republic were signed two months ago.

Can these firms bring benefits in rates to the consumer?

Latam, which is a Chilean airline, has just announced that it will bring its sixth plane to Ecuador and that it will bring a new flight for cargo. These types of agreements position Ecuador better in the international community. Now that we have signed with Panama, Copa also says that it would be interested in flying from Panama to Manta. Meanwhile, the agreement as such has not yet been signed with the United States, but the corresponding memorandum has already been signed. The signature of the presidents is missing.

I would like you to tell us about the results of the Aviation Day Ecuador event, held a few days ago.

On March 17, this event took place at the Swissôtel in Quito. Several international representatives were present. It was a sign that the market supports Ecuador's policy. We had a significant turnout from airlineslow costthat offer services at low costs. Our new project that we are working on with the Ministry of Tourism is that these airlines could go to alternative airports that have lower costs, such as Latacunga.

Which airlines are interested?

Among others, there were Jet Smart, Spirit and Volari, all of them are low cost interested in the Latacunga airport. That airport already has more competitive conditions than the airports of Quito and Guayaquil. We are implementing an incentive plan so that rates that are already low have an additional discount. On the other hand, Turkish Air Line also started flying with cargo and is interested in having passengers next year. Another airline, from southern Colombia: Sarpa, has also announced that it will fly on a Quito-Esmeraldas-Medellín frequency.

Finally, what happened with the liquidation of TAME?

This process remains in the hands of the liquidator. In these days, offers for the sale of aircraft were going to be received.