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The ecuadorian aviation is not going through its best moment, count on Open skies totals, would it be the solution to increase flights and supply?
Ecuador, with its rich cultural and natural diversity, has been an increasingly popular tourist destination. Nevertheless, Air connectivity has been a challenge that has limited its growth potential. Faced with this scenario, the implementation of Open skies totals is presented as a possible solution to promote the development of the country's tourism and economic sector.
For Ecuador, talk of open skies is not new, since since 2017 the country implemented this policy, but centralized only in the international, meaning that the country sought to sign bilateral agreements with other nations that apply the same policies and thus release restrictions on designated airlines and also, the number of maximum weekly frequencies to operate per country.
This was a first step that allowed us to apply Open skies with USA (which so far does not bring any increase in flights), with Chile, Kuwait and Dominican Republic (with this country there has been an increase in frequencies), But what if we go further and extend this to the domestic as well??
What are Total Open Skies??
Full open skies is a bilateral or multilateral agreement between countries that removes government restrictions on commercial air operations. This means that airlines from any signatory country can operate flights without route restrictions., frequencies or capacity.
concretely, airlines between two countries could operate both international flights to and from Ecuador, but extend its routes also to domestic flights, without the need to have a subsidiary established in the country, making direct use of the well-known octaves and ninth freedoms of the air.
In a specific example case, We could imagine the following situations:
- Colombian airline flight from Bogotá to Quito and instead of returning to their country immediately, That plane and crew remain on domestic routes to Manta, Coca and Cuenca.
- Ecuadorian airline flies from Guayaquil to Lima and instead of returning to their country immediately, That same plane with its crew makes two round trips to Cusco.
The case of Argentina: an example to follow?
Argentina has been a pioneer in the region in terms of the implementation of total open skies. By removing barriers to competition, The country is going to begin to see significant growth in the number of routes and destinations, as well as a reduction in air ticket prices. This should generate an increase in the flow of tourists and strengthen connectivity with the rest of the world..
In context, Argentina weeks ago signed an open skies agreement with Chile, which generated the immediate interest of Chilean airlines such as SKY Airline (which for this reason canceled its plans to open SKY Ecuador) to increase its international flights to this country and expand its operations with domestic domestic flights at the different Argentine airports.
This total opening will generate great new competition that could be seen in a short time, given that SKY You won't have to go through the traditional process of certification as an Argentine airline or use aircraft with LV registration, but simply Chilean crew and Chilean planes arriving on any international flight.
Potential benefits for Ecuador
With the previous example as only a reference and where only time will tell if it brought positive results for the country., Let's see now what could happen in our small airline market. The implementation of total open skies in Ecuador could bring with it a series of benefits, among which stand out:
- Greater connectivity: An increase in the number of routes and destinations, both national and international.
- Increase in tourism: Attraction of a greater number of tourists, both business and pleasure.
- Employment generation: Creation of new jobs in the tourism and aeronautical sector.
- Regional development: Promoting the development of the least connected regions of the country.
- Price reduction: Greater competition between airlines, which could result in a decrease in air ticket prices.
Challenges and considerations
Nevertheless, The implementation of full open skies also poses some challenges that must be carefully evaluated.:
- Impact on national airlines: It is necessary to analyze how the competitiveness of national airlines will be affected by the arrival of new international airlines that carry out cabotage..
- Airport infrastructure: It is essential to have adequate airport infrastructure to meet the increase in demand.
- Regulations and controls: It is necessary to establish a solid regulatory framework to guarantee the safety and quality of the service.
Total open skies represent a unique opportunity for Ecuador, potentially, boost its tourism and economic development. Nevertheless, it is necessary to carry out a thorough analysis of the possible impacts and benefits, as well as establish an action plan to address the challenges and make the most of the advantages of this measure..
further, I consider a series of questions that should be answered over time in case this debate begins in the country:
- What would happen to the Galapagos and the current flight limit, even more so when they want to reduce the number of tourists??
- Open domestic flights only on the continent, Would it be attractive for airlines or is it not enough?
- What are the main obstacles that Ecuador faces to implement total open skies??
- What additional measures could be complemented by open skies to maximize its impact??
- How can Ecuadorian authorities ensure that the benefits of open skies are distributed equitably throughout the country?
What do you think of this possible strategy to grow aeronautically in the country??
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If the author could refresh his memory if he lived on this topic between the years 1960 a 1990 could comment with the truth about the bankruptcy of many purely Ecuadorian airline companies due to the lack of support and great opposition from the Civil Aviation Council, CNAC , of the Directorate of Civil Aviation DAC in the hands of the Ecuadorian defenders air force only, in its state and Tame part, hindering any effort or investment to the point of forcing the purchase and import of airplanes under the excuse of DEFENDING THE FLAG, which prevented them from being purchased because neither the local banks nor the foreign ones financed the millions. They never allowed leasing or leasing, whether dry or dried, single or wet planes with crew, maintenance etc, that would have allowed these companies to survive. Now they only allow it but promote it. Look at the case of the company Avianca Ecuador, Latam Ecuador totally in the hands of foreigners which is FLAG SALE, Well, if you check, you will see that it does not have more than two airplanes with Ecuadorian HC registration. The entire fleet has foreign registration on lease. Now it suggests TOTAL OPEN SKIES so that national traffic can also be taken. Because they do not change the law and allow Ecuadorians to create Ecuadorian airlines. with more facilities than those offered to foreigners STOP SELLING THE FLAG AND PROMOTE ECUADORIANS
Please, If you have proof of what you say at the beginning about Ecuatoriana and others, publish them. About the second part, Avianca Ecuador has 5 aircraft with registration HC- and LATAM Ecuador has 4 HC-aircraft.
About what you say about changing the law, what do you propose to do it, What would you change or suggest to create more Ecuadorian airlines?. Finally, What do you define as an Ecuadorian airline??