A drastic decision was made Viva Air in the face of the economic crisis it is going through. The airline reported that as of February 21, 2023 they will stop operatingr five planes and, by the way, 300 workers will be affected by this.
Latam Airlines would also be interested in acquiring Viva Air
The airline of Chilean origin considers that this potential operation would be the best option to strengthen the conditions of free competition
The company noted that after taking advantage of the Decree 560 for the Business Recovery Process they presented themselves important negotiations with the owners of the planes seeking to reach agreements, but despite this they were notified by one of them that they must leave five of the planes on the ground for the moment until further notice in the USA.
This was confirmed by the lawyer. Carlos Roncanciowhich represents the union organization of Colombian air transport workers, logistics and related services (Sintratac).
Viva Air partner denied that he received an offer from JetSmart and sees an integration with Avianca better
Castlesouth Limited reported that the Chilean airline only requested more information for the due diligence process on the Colombian airline
Roncancio assured RCN Radio that “Viva Air has been in defaultToday the company is in very bad shape financially. We found out that tomorrow five planes are leaving, with which practically 300 direct workers Their employment will be affected.”
In addition, he stressed that these planes that were being leased will cause pilots, flight attendants and technicians to remain unemployed in the performance of their duties.
“In the circle of the company’s workers this information is known, the airline will make the announcement in the next few hours,” he told the outlet, indicating that 5,000 Viva airline workers are full of uncertainty about a possible disappearance of this source of employment.
The lawyer noted that those 5,000 workers are linked directly and indirectly, since the company built for more than ten years formal and quality jobs, adding also the economic development that allowed various regions of the country the possibility that gives access to air transportation to all Colombians.
Because of this, Latam Airlines disposed of their seats to rearrange the Viva Air passengers who will be affected by the decision.
Viva Air partner asked Gustavo Petro to allow integration with Avianca
Castlesouth Limited insisted that it has not yet received official offers from Latam Airlines or JetSmart
According to this, the re-accommodation would be made in the seats available on Latam Airlines flights for passengers affected by rescheduling or cancellations. who have a flight date between February 21 and 27and who have purchased their tickets before February 20.
“This offer was made available to Viva Air Colombia in order to help protect its passengers,” Latam stressed.
Regarding the request for the integration of Viva Air with Avianca so that it does not disappear, and in which presumed interested parties have emerged (Latam Airlines and JetSmart), but who did not make formal proposals, Roncancio told RCN Radio that he proposed to suspend the negotiation for a week, in order to assess whether the Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) You will have a favorable response on the integration request.
In addition, if there is a request, it would be subject to an additional waiting period to obtain the applicable regulatory authorizations, time that Viva Air does not have to stay in the market.
The Aerocivil announced how the integration process of Avianca and Viva Air is going. Through Resolution 300 of February 17, 2023established that the process will continue under article 10 of the Law 1340 of 2009by means of which rules on the protection of competition are dictated.
With this he decided to communicate to the Transportation Superintendencyas an entity that exercises control and surveillance, so that, if considered appropriate, it intervenes in the process in order to provide useful elements for the analysis of the projected operation, warning that it will have a period of fifteen days, in accordance with the law.
Similarly, the aeronautical authority ran fifteen business days for Avianca and Viva Air to rule on what was provided by third parties. And also, that both companies have three days to rule on the alleged offers from interested third parties that would have to Aerolíneas Argentinas, Ultra Air, Wingo, Latam Airlines and JetSmart.
