Aerovip was born in 1999 to take over the Inter Austral failed attempt (later austral Express) for operating as feeder line for Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral. The company was steered by Sebastián Agote, its actual owner, although the Spaniards who controlled Aerolíneas Argentinas in those times also held an 18% share of the stock.

Aerovip incorporated a total of six BAe Jetstream 32EP with which it started operating the Aerolíneas and Austral low-density routes. The original idea was installing a hub in Córdoba city (the same that Inter Austral did), another one in Aeroparque and another in Ezeiza, but the latter was never mounted, and the Córdoba hub was transferred to Rosario for achieving lower costs.

With the crisis broken loose during 2001 in Aerolíneas Argentinas that led to the posterior sale of the company to the Marsans Group, during June that year Aerovip stopped operations with this company and started developing the idea of operating on its own account or as a feeder line for TAM. Conversations with Rolim Adolfo Amaro, president of the Brazilian line, were ahead when the executive lost his life in an accident.

Days after, on July 20^th, the company was bought by the group that belongs to Eduardo Eurnekian and 72 hours later one of the Jetstreams was presented in the LAPA installations at Aeroparque with the Aerovip inscription on the fuselage, which had the Aerolíneas markings wiped out but kept the paint.

When they started operating for LAPA, the Aerovip inscription was changed for LAPA VIP. Routes reached Santa Fé, Rosario, Mar del Plata and Viedma. It then received authorisation to operate regionally to Montevideo and Punta Del Este and later it started operating to Bahía Blanca. When the LAPA name was replaced by ARG, the aircraft were painted again with the ARG Express colours, even though the company was re-sold in an 80% share to Sebastián Agote.

The crisis, which rose in the air market after the devaluation, led to that the possibility of ARG’s closure was being commented in the entire sector. And the preparations for the separation of Aerovip from ARG, which would take time due to the need to establish points of sale, relating with tourist agencies, mounting the booking systems and further, started in those days.

Graphic designer Carlos A. García was hired to produce the new corporate image, who took for the aeroplanes the base of the ARG scheme with some minor changes, among which the exclusive use of blue, eliminating the red.

Despite the decision of commencing operations on its own steam coincided with ARG’s crisis, Ivana Palmieri, legal and air policy manager for Aerovip, stated they opted for separation because they considered "the company was mature to operate without the need of another company to market the flights.”

Aerovip’s bet is somewhat risky owing to the difficult situation the sector is going through and the scarce awareness of the company by the market, but in the airline they are betting to offer a quick and efficient service “thanks to operating a 19-seat plane that allows to establish a 15-minute check-in time, a fast short-leg flight and a quick dissembarkment also” they assure.

María José Gallo Aerovip commercial manager, emphasised her idea is selling a great slice of the places in low tariff with no restrictions, so it will be more competitive than other companies. The offered rates, tax-free, go from 45 pesos to Rosario, 54 to Santa Fé, 55 to Mar del Plata, 50 dollars to Montevideo and 50 to Punta del Este.

With the objective of an eventual operation raise they showed interest in the Jetstreams that belonged to LAER, that are still in the city of Paraná waiting to be returned to the lessor, that is the same one for the AeroVip Jetstreams. Anyway, despite they are the same model, they consider they are still not necessary.

According to the company, they expect to be operating on their own completely around mid July, although the planes already fly the company colours.

American Falcon

American Falcon arose in 1995 when it obtained a contract with the North American Olympic Committee to transport 2500 United States and Canadian athletes during the Mar del Plata Pan-American Games that year. That opportunity 76 flight were operated using the Fokker F-28Mk.1000 that they rented from Lineas Aéreas Del Estado (LADE).

American Falcon is presided by Lebanese Fayez Chehab, owner of 53% of the shares, although the cash is provided by American Falcon Investment LC, investment fund formed by 14 United states physicians.

During the following years they operated charter flights to the Caribbean as well as in the national territory, until on December 3^rd 1999 they presented their first owned plane (in leasing): the Fokker F-28Mk.1000 LV-WZC that previously belonged to Aero Gaucho.

With this plane and the LADE Fokkers, they started regular domestic flights, but with the detail of operating from the Ezeiza International airport, instead of doing it from Aeroparque, with the purpose of facilitating international connections for the inland passengers.

They flew to Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, Comodoro Rivadavia, Córdoba and Rosario from Ezeiza twice a week. In those times the leasing of two Douglas DC-9-15 from the ex TWA was being negotiated but they never arrived, for which reason they operated Falcon Air Express Boeing 727-200 for a time. They also created a hub in Mar del Plata city, but the flight regularity went varying according to the availability of its F-28 and of the LADE planes.

In 2000 they announced the near following incorporation of two Boeing 737-200, the first of which (LV-WGX, ex Aerolíneas Argentinas and on leasing to GECAS) arrived to the country on March 15^th and the second (LV-ZYJ), on December 3^rd 2001, although both started operating at the year-end.

During last year they started operating to Río Gallegos, Ushuaia, El Calafate, Puerto Madryn, Iguazú, Chapelco, Bariloche, Neuquén, Mendoza and Punta del Este, though many of them only during the high season.

Before the arrival of the 737’s they operated charter flights renting the DC-9-41 to Dinar and F-28 from LADE, operating to Florianópolis from Mar del Plata and Bahía Blanca.

Also apart from operating with many of the main travel agencies in Argentina, they made shared code agreements with Iberia and traffic transference agreements with United Airlines, Lan Chile, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, Alitalia, British Airways, Air France, Quantas and Lufthansa to transfer their passengers to the inland combining with the arrival of their flights.

For reservations they operate with Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo and Gabriel II systems. Because of its growth American Falcon directors expressed interest for LAER, if it was privatised again, but this did not happen.

This is how they reached the present day, with the two Boeing 737-200 and the Fokker F-28 Mk. 1000 and eventually using LADE aircraft, making four weekly flights to Córdoba with the Fokker and two a day to Montevideo since April 1^st, linking Uruguayan and passengers from the inland with international flights, for which they have combined schedules with the companies they serve as feeder line. It will now start flying three times a week from Aeroparque to Iguazú from the end of July, two to Puerto Madryn and three to Bariloche during the ski season.

To increase the quantity of regional flights and compete directly with Southern Winds, it will start flight to Santiago de Chile from Aeroparque, an increasingly interesting option for regional destinations. In order to increase brand awareness it will invest two million dollars in commercial offices in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Córdoba, Montevideo and Santiago de Chile.

In statements to the Cronista Comercial newspaper, the company planning manager, Jorge Vuletich expressed that “Up to now we only flew with the international traffic and did not emit our own tickets, now we’ll begin to do it”.

Although the possibility of making overseas charter flights is very limited, and also the regular operations have diminished through lack of demand, they continue flying for the River Plate, Boca Juniors, Rosario Central, San Lorenzo, Racing Club football clubs and the Argentine Football Association, companies like Coca-Cola, Bianchi, Arcor, Flight Time, General Motors, Sports Flights, Chrysler, Siembra and Pérez Companc, and are complying with their flights to Córdoba and Montevideo.

Actually, the return on behalf of Dinar of half of its fleet has led to the rent of their 737’s for most of its flights by American Falcon, which favours both companies now that Dinar does not lease the planes to overseas companies but rents them per flight to a local company with which it is easier to negotiate payments and American Falcon can operate its flights and the Dinar ones with the same planes. They are also making some flights for AIRG.

The flights to Ezeiza are a great advantage for the foreign companies that offer the passenger that comes or goes from the inland or Uruguay and they must not go from Aeroparque to Ezeiza, greater comfort. While the rental of the planes provides extra income.

With the purpose of increasing these flights, the president of the company announced the near incorporation of two Boeing 737-200’s through a seven million dollar investment, that can be ex Aerolíneas Argentinas in leasing to Pegassus or purchased from a company in the region. With these planes they will give back the Fokker F-28.

This way, operating with four medium size planes, they would be another competitor for the regular Argentine companies, quite bashed about due to the invoicing slump since the beginning of the crisis and that in the course of the year reaches 56%, but the operational diversity and its small structure render American Falcon better possibilities to subsist.