Low-cost airline Flybondi will have more flights between Brazil and Argentina

The Argentine airline Flybondi will increase its offer of flights between Brazil and Argentina for next summer, with tickets starting at R$ 299 each way. There are routes connecting Buenos Aires to São Paulo (Guarulhos), Rio de Janeiro (Galeão) and Florianópolis.

To Rio, there will be three daily flights in high season, from January to March, totaling 21 weekly flights. There are currently 14. Tickets start at R$590 each way. Thus, round trips start at R$ 1,180

The route to Floripa will resume in December and should continue at least until April, with two daily flights starting in January. Tickets start at R$299 each way.

For São Paulo, there will be an increase from 6 to 7 trips per week, or one per day. This flight, however, departs at 3:15 am from Guarulhos and arrives at 6:20 am in Ezeiza. In other cities, there are flights scattered throughout the day. The ticket starts at BRL 364, one way, and has an average price of BRL 800.

Until Sunday (27), there is a Black Friday promotion. When using the code AMARELO, there is a discount of up to 30% on the purchase.

International tickets include the right to carry a backpack and hand luggage, as long as both, together, do not exceed 10 kg in weight. A checked bag of up to 20 kg costs from R$ 130 per journey. Seat assignment on flights is charged separately.

Flybondi was launched in 2018, with the aim of offering cheaper trips and replicating the low-cost model of companies such as the European Ryanair and the American Spirit. It currently has 10 aircraft in its fleet and plans to reach 17 by mid-2023. The company dominates around 20% of the Argentine market and serves 19 destinations.

In addition to Brazil, the company connects Buenos Aires to more than ten cities in Argentina, such as Bariloche, El Calafate and Mendoza. Brazilian tourists can also take advantage of promotions for these destinations, but it is necessary to purchase them separately, with a ticket from Brazil to Buenos Aires and another to circulate within the neighboring country.

“For the future, we are analyzing offering some new destination [no Brasil] and increase frequencies. If the market follows us, that is the objective”, says Javier Soto, commercial manager at Flybondi.

Soto says there are no regulatory problems or lack of space to expand operations in Brazil. “We had more difficulties in operating certain destinations in Argentina”, he compares.

To offer cheaper tickets, the company uses several strategies, such as increasing the number of seats on planes —which reduces legroom— and working with just one aircraft model, the Boeing 737-800.

The stops are also shorter, so that the same plane can make more trips per day. “On domestic flights, we spend about 30 minutes at the airport between flights. And our aircraft fly around 12 hours a day, while others are in the air between 7 and 8 hours a day”, comments Soto.

Flybondi does not have stores and concentrates sales on the website, which has a Brazilian version. There, you can buy tickets in reais.