Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino) and Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR, Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery) signed a joint-business agreement (JBA) to improve the passenger experience and connectivity options between Italy and Argentina, as well as beyond these countries.
The JBA follows a code-share agreement signed by the carriers last year. The carriers will coordinate their schedules and connections, and potentially can launch new routes in collaboration.
"This agreement will allow us to consolidate our international operation in a smart way: collaborating with a strategic partner as Alitalia. Building on this partnership, we want to improve the air bridge between Argentina and Italy with benefits for both free competition and consumer choice," Aerolineas Argentinas President Mario Dell'Acqua said.
Italy and Argentina enjoy a close historical relationship with as much as 25 million people living in Argentina, nearly two-thirds of all, having some Italian ancestry.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the two airlines are currently the only operators connecting Italy and Argentina, serving the Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini-Rome Fiumicino route 7x weekly each. Aerolineas Argentinas deploys an A330-200 on this service, while Alitalia flies to Argentina with a B777-200.
Under the terms of the code-share agreement signed in 2017, Alitalia puts its code on a number of domestic services in Argentina, as well as flights to São Paulo Guarulhos and Rio de Janeiro International. For its part, Aerolineas Argentinas puts its code on Alitalia's services out of Rome Fiumicino to a number of domestic and European destinations, as well as the route to Abu Dhabi International.
