Today, Pablo Ceriani received the certification from the Argentine Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC, for its Spanish acronym) that allows the companies to operate jointly. As from tomorrow, all flights will be operated under the Aerolíneas Argentinas trademark.
November 30, 2020 – Today, Pablo Ceriani, president of Aerolíneas Argentinas, received from Paola Tamburelli, president of the Argentine Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC), the operator’s certificate evidencing the merger between both companies, which, as from tomorrow, will start operating their flights under the same code.
In this way, Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral have completed the process commenced in May, which aims to promote efficiency in the different areas of the company, to achieve a status that will allow the company to face the demands of the market, to form a more dynamic structure and to unify and integrate processes so that they become more agile.
From an operative point of view, it entails the unification of areas such as maintenance, pilots and crews, thus eliminating the existing duplicated structures. This will ensure higher efficiency and a considerable reduction in associated costs.
It is worth pointing out that, in October, an agreement was reached with the Argentine Airline Pilots Association (Asociación de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas: APLA) and the Argentine Airline Workers Union (Unión de Aviadores de Líneas Aéreas: UALA), the trade unions that represent the pilots of Aerolíneas and Austral respectively. This agreement provides for all pilots to become part of the Aerolíneas Argentinas staff under a single corporate hierarchy.
In the same vein, during the last hours, the agreement with the representatives of the Argentine Association of Cabin CrewMembers (Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes: AAA) in order to unify the corporate hierarchy with respect to cabin crew members was confirmed.
Pablo Ceriani referred to this issue through his Twitter account (@ceriani_pablo):
“Today is a historic day for Argentine aviation and for @Aerolineas_AR. We have completed the merger process with Austral and, as from tomorrow, our operations will be unified. This decision was promoted by the President @alferdez and the merger has been completed within the estimated period.
Our company was formed with the merger among 4 companies in the 50’s and today, a few days from the 70th anniversary, a new merger will become a landmark in its history. We set out to overcome this crisis and emerge stronger to face a complex future. The merger is an important step towards this goal.
I would like to thank the members of @Aerolineas_AR and Austral who were part of the merger process for the huge work they carried out. As from tomorrow, our flag carrier will be a bit closer to the efficiency standards that we are all seeking”.
Besides and as a consequence of the higher operative efficiency derived from the merger, the company is working towards the creation and formalization of two new business units: on the one hand, a new cargo division, and, on the other hand, a new unit for third-party maintenance, which will allow Aerolíneas Argentinas to generate new sources of income.
It was a complex process that involved the direct participation of more than 500 people working for the company, a comprehensive plan and 16 specific plans distributed per key area, more than 200 business meetings, 20 external institutions and bodies, the amendment of 68 operative documents and 540 IOSA items (IATA Operational Safety Audit) among other key actions for the legal-corporate and regulatory-operative process.
In 1990, there was synergy between Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral, which were managed by Iberia. Later, in 2001, on the verge of bankruptcy, they were sold to the Marsans Group. In 2008, with both companies going through a major crisis, the Argentine Government recovered control over Aerolíneas – Austral. During the 2008-2015 term, the company carried out its fleet renovation plan, build a flight simulation center, enabling the professional training of pilots in the country, build the Hangar 5 (the biggest hangar in the region), entered the SkyTeam alliance, and inaugurated new federal routes, intersegments and corridors.
It was a complex process that involved the direct participation of more than 500 people working for the company, a comprehensive plan and 16 specific plans distributed per key area, more than 200 business meetings, 20 external institutions and bodies, the amendment of 68 operative documents and 540 IOSA items (IATA Operational Safety Audit) among other key actions for the legal-corporate and regulatory-operative process.
In 1990, there was synergy between Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral, which was managed by Iberia. Later, in 2001 on the verge of bankruptcy, they were sold to the Marsans Group. In 2008, with both companies going through a major crisis, the Argentine Government regained control over Aerolíneas – Austral. During the 2008-1025 term, the company carried out its fleet revamping plan, built a flight simulation center, enabling the professional training of pilots in the country, built the Hangar 5 (the biggest hangar in the region), joined the SkyTeam alliance, inaugurated new federal routes, segments and corridors.
