Uruguay´s airlines and market analysis

Uruguayan air transport, in terms of movement, is one of the smallest in Latin America. Most of Uruguay’s destinations are international and it focuses on flights to Argentina, Brazil and Chile, with Spain, the United States, Panama and Perú as secondary -yet important- markets.

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The largest and busiest airport in Uruguay is Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco in Montevideo. While Aeropuerto Internacional de Laguna Sauce is focused on the touristic demand of Punta del Este, Piriápolis, and its surroundings, it is the second most important airport in the country. We could give honor to Aeropuerto “Binacional” de Rivera, in the north of the country, which serves both the Uruguayan and Brazilian sides. In the last decade, two major airlines operated at the airport: the extinct BQB Lineas Aéreas and Two Flex, operating as a feeder for Gol Linhas Aereas.

The market is largely dominated by the LATAM Group. Previously, BQB and Pluna covered more than half of the country’s air movement but after they ceased operations in 2015 and 2012 respectively, it was very difficult to replace them. Although Alas-U or Amaszonas Uruguay tried to fill that void, so far, they have not been able to fill that market niche, leaving international airlines to cover the missing demand.

The AirBridge Aeroparque – Montevideo, has been the most important route in the country for years, with peaks of 500.000 passengers annually, but it started losing relevance. Currently, Montevideo – San Pablo is the most important route.

Uruguay Fleet

Amaszonas Uruguay

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Founded in July 2016 as a subsidiary of the Amaszonas Group, along with Amaszonas Lineas Aéreas. It operates mainly from Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco and the average age of its fleet is 15.5 years.

The company is waiting for its second Embraer E-190, which should have arrived in March but was delayed due to the pandemic.

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Seats
Embraer E-190	1	1	114

Air Class Líneas Aéreas

It is a cargo airline based in Montevideo created in 1996 that operates flights within the country and to Argentina and Paraguay.

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Seats
Boeing 727-200F	1	–	Cargo configuration
Fairchild Metro III	2	–	Cargo configuration

Aeromas

It is an airline created in 1983 that operates passenger, mail and cargo flights with an Embraer 110 and a Cessna 208 Caravan.

Aeronave	In service	Orders	Seats
Embraer 110	1	–	21
Cessna 208 Caravan	1	–	9

Additionally, this company has a flight school called Aeromas Training Center founded in 2000 and it has more than 100 graduates.

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Seats
Piper PA38 Tomahawk	2	–	2

 

Previous operators

Collaboration: Gastón Sena