In recent years, the Peruvian air market has proven to be one of the most competitive in the region, and within the framework of the progressive recovery of the industry, JetSMART had applied last April to Peru’s Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) for permits to start domestic operations.
After seven months, Indigo Partners’ ultra-low-cost carrier finally received the approval for the creation of JetSMART Airlines Perú S.A.C. through resolution number 0588/2021, allowing it to operate scheduled air transport of passengers, cargo, and mail.
According to the resolution, JetSMART Peru will have a base at Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) and four sub-bases: Arequipa (AQP), Trujillo (TRU), Piura (PIU), and Chiclayo (CIX); with A320 aircraft with a capacity for 186 passengers, although it has not been clarified how many Airbus will be available.
Such will be JetSMART’s third subsidiary after those operating in Chile (since 2017) and Argentina (since 2018), while they are also studying the possibility of landing in countries such as Colombia or Brazil.
The group has a fleet of eleven Airbus A320ceo and seven Airbus A320neo but has an order for thirty-seven A320neo, 45 A321neo, and fourteen Airbus A321XLR to be delivered between 2022 and 2027 that will be distributed among its subsidiaries.
Peruvian news
The Peruvian domestic market was JetSMART’s next target. The discontinuation of Peruvian Airlines, LC Peru, and Avianca Peru created additional space for the ultra-low-cost carrier, where it will have to compete in the same segment against VIVA Air Péru and SKY Peru, founded in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
LATAM Airlines currently dominates the domestic market with a 67.12% share, followed by SKY Peru with 16.20%, and, closing the podium, VIVA Air Peru has 6.87%. Star Peru has 6.47% and ATSA 1.56%.
What to expect from JetSMART Airlines Peru?
The ultra-low-cost carrier already operates in Peru through its Chilean subsidiary, with flights from Santiago (SCL) to Trujillo (TRU), Lima (LIM), and Arequipa (AQP) and from Concepción (CCP) to the Peruvian capital.
JetSMART stands out for operating both core and new routes without transiting through its main base, which it commercially calls «SMART Routes». In Chile it has fourteen interregional connections, being the promoter of this modality in the country. In Argentina, it has four interprovincial connections without passing through Buenos Aires.
Peru is a great example of the lack of connectivity between secondary cities since all airlines have their flights centered in the overcrowded Lima airport. The country’s high mountainous geography allows for intra-regional connections that are currently served by ground means with travel times of around 14 hours between cities. The links requested by JetSMART would help reduce those connections to as little as 45 minutes of flight time in several cases.
Based on the application, JetSMART was approved to operate the following routes:
- To and from Lima (LIM): Andahuaylas (ANS), Arequipa (AQP), Ayacucho (AYP), Cajamarca (CJA), Chiclayo (CIX), Cusco (CUZ), Huaraz (ATA), Ilo (ILQ), Iquitos (IQT), Jaen (JAE), Jauja (JAU), Juliaca (JUL), Pisco (PIO), Piura (PIU), Pucallpa (PCL), Puerto Maldonado (PEM), Rioja (RIJ), Tacna (TCQ), Talara (TYL), Tarapoto (TPP), Trujillo (TRU), Tumbes (TBP) and Yurimaguas (YMS).
- To and from Cusco (CUS): Arequipa (AQP), Cajamarca (CJA), Chiclayo (CIX), Iquitos (IQT), Jaen (JAE), Jauja (JAU), Juliaca (JUL), Pisco (PIO), Piura (PIU), Pucallpa (PCL), Puerto Maldonado (PEM), Tacna (TCQ), Talara (TYL), Tarapoto (TPP), Trujillo (TRU) and Tumbes (TBP).
- To and from Arequipa (AQP): Ayacucho (AYP), Cajamarca (CJA), Ilo (ILQ), Jauja (JAU), Juliaca (JUL), Puerto Maldonado (PEM), Tacna (TCQ), Tarapoto (TPP) and Trujillo (TRU).
- To and from Iquitos (IQT): Chiclayo (CIX), Piura (PIU), Pucallpa (PCL), Talara (TYL), Tarapoto (TPP), Trujillo (TRU).
- To and from Pucallpa (PCL): Piura (PIU), Tarapoto (TPP) and Trujillo (TRU).
- To and from Cajamarca (CJA): Juliaca (JUL), Piura (PIU) and Tacna (TCQ).
- To and from Tarapoto (TPP): Chiclayo (CIX), Piura (PIU), Tacna (TCQ) and Trujillo (TRU).
- To and from Trujillo (TRU): Cajamarca (CJA) and Piura (PIU).
The connections from Lima are authorized to operate between two and fourteen flights per week. In contrast, routes without transiting through Lima were authorized to operate a maximum of up to two flights per week.
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