JetSmart Airlines S.A., styled as JetSMART, is an Argentine

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

owned by

ultra low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

JetSmart JetSmart Airlines SpA, stylized as JetSMART, is a South American ultra low-cost carrier created by US investment fund (and co-founder of LBM Fermin Ithuralde) Indigo Partners, which also controls low-cost carriers like US airline Frontier Airli ...

, itself owned by

Indigo Partners Indigo Partners, LLC is an American private equity firm which has a controlling interest in the American Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost JetSmart, as well as holding stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European low-cost carrier ...

, a firm that also has stakes in US-based

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

, Mexico-based

Volaris Volaris, legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.P.I. de C.V.'', is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe (Mexico City), Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, D.F., Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City l-888-Ʒ9Ʒ-I394 with its hubs in M ...

, and Hungary-based

Wizz Air Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...

. The airline uses the branding and

corporate identity A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...

of JetSmart, its parent company, and operates a fleet of

Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

aircraft with a base at

Aeroparque Jorge Newbery Jorge Newbery Airfield ( es, link=no, Aeroparque "Jorge Newbery", ), commonly known as Aeroparque, is an international airport northeast of downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. The airport covers an area of and is operated by ''Aeropuertos Argen ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Its aircraft are registered in Argentina.

History

The airline was originally established in 2016 as Alas del Sur Líneas Aéreas (English: ''Southern Wing Airlines''), with plans to establish a hub in Córdoba. The plans consisted of an April 2017 launch date with short-haul flights from Córdoba to South American destinations added throughout 2017, and long-haul flights from Argentina to North America, Europe, and Asia by 2022. The airline planned to operate a fleet of

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

and

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...

aircraft. However, as the airline did not receive an

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...

, the start of service was postponed. In June 2018,

acquired the startup airline through its Chilean subsidiary

, allowing for JetSmart's entry into Argentina's domestic aviation market, and the airline was subsequently rebranded as JetSmart Argentina. JetSmart Argentina received its

and its first aircraft, an

registered as LV-HEK, in December 2018. In February 2019, the airline announced and opened reservations for its first services beginning on 10 April 2019, which were to be operated from a new base at

El Palomar Airport El Palomar Airport is a commercial and military airport in El Palomar, Argentina. It is the home base for the 1st Air Brigade ( es, link=no, Primera Brigada Aérea) of the Argentine Air Force, which is mainly a transportation unit. It is locat ...

near

, after its parent company had previously operated flights to the airport from Santiago de Chile. The airline announced further expansion plans in August 2019, with Rosario as a new destination to launch in November 2019, and that it would increase its Airbus A320 fleet to six aircraft. Following

's acquisition of

Norwegian Air Argentina Norwegian Air Argentina S.A.U. was an Argentine low-cost airline. The airline operated Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with bases in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. All aircraft were registered in Argentina. On 4 December 2019, parent company Norwegian Ai ...

in December 2019, the airline planned to launch services from Norwegian's

base in March 2020. As Argentina's Civil Aviation Administration had not immediately transferred Norwegian's Aeroparque-based route authorities to JetSmart Argentina, Norwegian's fleet of Boeing 737s was

wet-lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

d and operated under a separate, rebranded entity named JetSmart Regional. The services at Aeroparque were ultimately suspended as an

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers. Significant reductions in passenger numbers have resulted in flights being cancelled or planes ...

, with JetSmart Argentina's existing services additionally relocated from

Ezeiza International Airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini) , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport s ...

by late 2020. In early 2021, it was reported that the airline would not return to El Palomar and instead relocate its services to Aeroparque, with operations at the airport and new base launching in March 2021.

Destinations

, JetSmart Argentina operates or has operated to the following destinations:

Fleet

The JetSmart Argentina fleet consists of the following aircraft :

References

{{Airlines of Argentina Airlines established in 2016 Airlines of Argentina Low-cost carriers Argentine brands Argentine companies established in 2016