Photo: Ita Transportes Aéreos.
The Brazilian start-up ITA Transportes Aéreos has just launched its flights in Brazil. This newcomer aims to become one of Brazil’s most prominent players, planning to have a 50 aircraft fleet in the mid-term.
ITA is the newest airline to start flying in South America. According to CAPA, it is one of the eight startups that are planning to emerge in 2021 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The carrier first launched its flights in Brazil on June 29, connecting São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport with Brasilia International Airport. Then, on June 30, it officially started commercial operations.
ITA aims to have 35 destinations across Brazil in June 2022. So far, it has launched flights in eight cities: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro (Galeao Airport), Sao Paulo (Guarulhos), Brasilia, Salvador, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Porto Seguro.
On August 1, it will add five new cities, according to a press release. These cities are Recife, Maceió, Fortaleza, Florianopolis, and Natal.
Then each month, it will continue adding up new destinations until it gets to 35. You can see the whole list on this link.
A quick look at the business plan
ITA aims to be a low-cost point-to-point airline. The newcomer is backed up by Itapemirim Group, a bus company in Brazil that has over 50 years of experience. Yearly, Itapemirim Group carries 2.5 million passengers across 2,700 Brazilian cities, with a fleet of over 300 vehicles. The brand is well known across 19 Brazilian states.
But having a bus company is nothing like operating an airline. Fortunately for ITA Transportes Aéreos, Brazil has a big market.
According to the International Air Transport Associaton (IATA), prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil’s yearly trips per capita were under 0.5; there’s undeniable growth potential.
Moreover, many airports across the country are underserved. We can see that with the monopoly Azul displays on 80% of its routes, where it is the only operator. According to a study published last year, 98% of Brazil’s air passenger movements are concentrated in 65 of the 2,499 airports registered by the National Civil Aviation Agency.
On each flight, ITA will offer 162 seats, the smallest density across Brazil carriers. This allows the airline to provide more comfort and a unique travel experience, it said.
“Besides comfort, the airline will offer unique services, like free luggage for all travelers and the ability to choose their seats with no additional cost. Additionally, we will offer an on-board service, when it becomes possible, due to the pandemic,” said ITA
The fleet
Currently, ITA Transportes Aéreos has a fleet of four A320ceo aircraft. The airline intends to increase it to ten in the short term. Then, ITA believes it can grow and have up to 50 planes.
As we’ve stated before, each plane will have 162 seats, 18 fewer than the maximum configuration of the model. Each seat will have between 31 and 42 inches of pitch, said the carrier.
Plus, ITA hired NAVBLUE to provide in-flight services, said Airbus in a statement.
Finally, as stated before, there are many more Latin American and Caribbean airlines coming up shortly. According to CAPA, these are Ecuatoriana Airlines in Ecuador, FLY-CD in Bonaire, Flycana in the Dominican Republic, Aeroperu in Peru, AVA Airways in Curaçao, Nella Airlines in Brazil, and Ultra Air in Colombia.
Daniel Martínez Garbuno is a Mexican journalist. He has specialized in the air industry working mainly for A21, a Mexican media outlet focused entirely on the aviation world. He has also published on other sites like Simple Flying, Roads & Kingdoms, Proceso, El Economista, Buzos de la Noticia, Contenido, and Notimex.
