Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR, Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery) Chairman Luis Pablo Ceriani has told Reuters that the carrier is expecting compensation from Boeing for the grounding of the B737 MAX, possibly in the form of discounts on outstanding orders.

"Boeing has already agreed to compensation with other airlines. We are asking for equal treatment... The compensation can take different forms. It can be a direct payment or come by way of some other benefit, such as future deliveries," he said.

The state-owned Argentine carrier took its first B737-8 in November 2017. By the global grounding of the type in March 2019, it had added a further four. As it stands, it has a further 12 aircraft on order, including nine directly from Boeing and three through lessors.

In the same interview, Ceriani, who was appointed by the new president Alberto Fernandez in December 2019, said that Aerolineas Argentinas would work to increase inbound tourism to Argentina. To achieve this goal, the carrier plans to increase the frequency of flights to New York JFK from 3x weekly to 6x weekly and Madrid Barajas from daily to 10 x weekly.