American Airlines, which last year flew over 720,000 passengers via Ezeiza (a 7% increase on the previous year) is now extending its operations to Córdoba with a flight to Miami as from last month aboard a Boeing 767-300. The novelty was announced by Jim Butler, American Airlines Senior Vice-President for International Flights and Freight who was in town for last month’s World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) meeting, and by Gonzalo Schames, the airline’s Ezeiza general manager.

The two men made the announcement following meetings with Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos (himself a native of Córdoba) and with executives of Aeropuertos Argentinos 2000 (which runs Ezeiza), in which they discussed the new investments American Airlines has lined up for Argentina. Butler described the latter meeting as “one of the best I’ve ever had between an airline and an airport with a real focus on making flying easier for the passenger.”

At the same time Butler highlighted that the new Córdoba flight would not only be transporting tourists but also over 27,000 kilos of freight with exports to improve Argentina’s trade balance such as fruit, seeds, fish, auto parts and medical samples.

Regarding other issues, Butler was not worried by the competition from low cost airlines. American Airlines is the world’s biggest airlines (one of the very few still operating in Venezuela, for example) with the biggest fleet and over 350 destinations – the industry was growing fast enough to leave room for everybody, he said. Nor did low cost airlines offer frequent flyer advantages.

American Airlines employs 600 people in Argentina between cabin, airport and sales staff.