NewsAvia, a popular aeronautical information portal written in Portuguese, is reporting that “sources of commercial aviation in Latin America” said that Southwest Airlines applied this week for authorization to fly to Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, and Brazil.
According to the article, which we ran thru Google Translate:
The company low cost US Southwest Airlines is seeking authorization to fly to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, revealed this week sources of commercial aviation in Latin America. After getting permission to fly between the Houston Airport (USA) and Mexico last March, the priority of the largest low cost airline in the world is pointing now to the Latin American market, “which is at its peak,” referred to newspaper specializing in travel and tourism ‘Reportur’ of Argentina.
The main focus of the Southwest, the paper said, is gaining market share in Latin American countries, with particular attention to Argentina, one of the few countries in the world where it is still not created an airline low cost. According to the ‘Reportur’ there are only seven countries in the world, where there is a domestic supply of more than 100,000 seats, where there is no low cost airline. And five are in Latin America – Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The other two are Russia and Iran. What happens, for example, in Brazil and Mexico, where about 60% of domestic flights have low cost characteristics.
And:
After authorization to fly from Houston (Texas) and Mexico City, Southwest shows up very interested in Brazil, a market that has grown in recent years abroad, while giving some signs of stagnation for economic reasons. The US company is not worried about a possible lack of passengers in Brazil or excess supply to the US, say industry sources. Is more concerned with getting the license from the regulatory authorities in Washington and Brasilia, it has urgency in setting up a Latin American network that guarantees founded expansion in countries with the highest economic potential and better growth rate of GDP of the continent.
Bottom Line:
Southwest has reportedly said that intends to serve 50 additional destinations in the next couple of years, and they have said to be looking at destinations outside of the United States. Could this be the start of more international service for Southwest Airlines?
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That would be awesome but how are they going to make it to Brazil, Argentina, or Chile with their 737s? It would defiantly require a stop somewhere or a new plane type… Venezuela is reachable tho
“Southwest has reportedly said that intends to serve 50 international destinations in the next couple of years, and they have said to be looking at destinations outside of the United States.”
Thank goodness. It’s a lot harder to find those international destinations inside the United States.
The -800 can make most of Brazil and Chile from Houston and the 737 Max set to enter service in a short two years will have the range to reach Buenos Aires and Santiago non stop with ease. No new aircraft type required.
The listed range on the 737 MAX is approximately 3600 nm. That’s about the range from FLL-GRU or FLL-SCL. It’s too far from HOU-EZE. Now HOU-LIM-EZE would probably work though.
Having the range in a 737 is one thing, having comfort that far is another imho.
@Chris – Thanks for pointing that out. Too much sun, fun and beer in Costa Rica! 🙂
Yes. The B737 would make it to Brazil. If the load factors are extremely high then the B787 would also make it to Brazil. 🙂
What a joke. There is absolutely no truth to this nonsense. Applications are in the public domain, even in South America, and we would be able to see the application.
How about Hawaii first? Seems a no brainer considering WN’s route map.
Other countries for sure, but Venezuela? They would be fools to do that. Airlines are fleeing (literally) the country as we speak because of the huge debt the government has with them, and the instability. So I do hope they think it twice before landing in CCS. And Im Venezuelan, and I love my country, but I know that until this government changes, NOTHING can prosper.
Interesting! Venezuela won’t happen any time soon though, due to the draconian currency exchange controls exercised by the government. Every airline flying into Venezuela has dramatically reduced it’s frequency or stopped flying altogether because they can not get their money out of the country. The airlines receive their payments in Venezuelan Bolivares but then the government there holds the money “hostage” by not allowing them to convert to U.S. Dollars or any other foreign currency… as a result, foreign airlines have a combined 4 billion dollars stuck in Venezuela for the moment…
Is it possible that SW might be stopping in the Panama Canal Zone.as I have close friends in Chitre ?
how about cuenca ecuador??? expats paradise, except for flights in and out ..
“Yes. The B737 would make it to Brazil.”
No way, not from the US. The current NG would barely make the northern part of Brasil, but GIG and GRU are non-starters. FLL-GRU is 3547nm. Even the MAX which has @500nm more range than the current NG shows a range of 3515nm for the 8 and 3350nm for the 7 which is best case max distance. It’s over 4000nm from HOU.