The State carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas made two significant announcements this week. First, the company unveiled its new partnership with the Abra Group, a holding encompassing avianca airlines and GOL Linhas Aéreas. Then, Aerolíneas informed it entered the capital market and raised $100 million through a trust. Abra Group’s new partner On Thursday, Abra Group announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aerolíneas Argentinas. This partnership is aimed at strengthening collaboration and exploring opportunities between the two organizations, specifically in commercial, operational, and technological areas, they said in a statement. Pablo Ceriani, President of Aerolíneas Argentinas, said the new partnership will allow both parties to generate a virtuous circle that benefits the parties involved, the passengers who choose them, and the entire region. He believes these types of alliances are the future of the business and an essential pillar for the growth of the aviation industry. Grupo Abra members and Aerolíneas Argentinas will maintain their complete independence, autonomy, brands, teams, and culture during this partnership, which does not include any changes in the ownership structures of the group or the State carrier. [caption id="attachment_78172" align="aligncenter" width="728"] Photo: Aerolíneas Argentinas[/caption] Constantino de Oliveira Junior, Chief Executive Officer at Abra Group, said the new alliance with Aerolíneas Argentinas will allow the airline holding to strengthen its presence in the southern region of South America (particularly Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) and seek new opportunities in various areas. In the future, both parties will deepen existing agreements, including interline agreements, codeshare agreements, frequent flyer programs, and cargo agreements. Aerolíneas enters the capital market Announced on Friday morning, Aerolíneas Argentinas announced the raising of $100 million through a trust administered by BICE Fideicomisos S.A, a company of the Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior, a public bank of Argentina. Pablo Ceriani said: “It is very important for us to have obtained this trust because it represents a vote of confidence from bondholders in the management of Aerolíneas, and we achieved it with a high credit rating. Thanks to this operation, we announce that Aerolíneas will not request or receive funds from the national government in 2023.” By obtaining this amount, the State company is looking to move away from government funds. Despite being unprofitable since 2008, the airline has recently been improving its financial performance. In the first half of 2023, Aerolíneas Argentinas did not use any of the public funds appointed to the carrier for this year’s budget.