BQB Líneas Aéreas (Punta del Este) founder and CEO, Juan Carlos López Mena, is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to sell his troubled carrier to Bolivian operator, Amaszonas (Z8, La Paz El Alto), the Uruguayan press reports.
Airline sources who spoke to Montevideo's El Observador newspaper said that talks regarding the assignment of routes and frequencies were still ongoing with a result expected in the near future. On Wednesday, April 8, Mena reached an agreement with his staff concerning the retention of as many BQB staff as possible should a takeover occur.
Uruguay's civil aviation authority (Dirección Nacional de Aviación Civil e Infraestructura Aeronáutica - DINACIA) recently authorized the carrier to suspend scheduled flight operations for a period of 180 days to allow for the negotiations to progress and to allow for the transfer of BQB's route authorities to Amaszonas in the event an agreement is reached. As such, during its downtime, BQB will still retain full route authority and may resume services at any time therein.
Though two of the carrier's in-house ATR72-500s have been confirmed sold to another firm - believed to be Nordic Aviation Capital but not yet confirmed - BQB will retain its team of thirty-one MRO technicians for the foreseeable future.
It is understood the Bolivian carrier would re-equip BQB with smaller, more suitable aircraft should an agreement be reached.
BQB Líneas Aéreas is scheduled to operate its last scheduled flight on the evening of Friday, April 10.
