Last ‘incredible’ airline opportunity opens in Argentine skies

The skies over Argentina have airline industry veterans lining up planes. The nation’s vast territory and a young working population in Buenos Aires with links to faraway hometowns are two attractions. Join those with a government willing to open virtually untapped markets -- currently served almost exclusively by state-run Aerolineas Argentinas -- and the potential is huge. That’s what Michael Cawley is betting on. The former Ryanair Holdings COO sees similarities between Argentina now and Poland in the early 2000s, countries with comparable populations where high fares and limited competition prevail. After low-cost carriers entered, air travel in Poland tripled. “Argentina is probably the last such country on the planet where there is an incredible opportunity,” said Cawley, now an investor in low-cost startup carrier Flybondi. “The metrics in Argentina show an incomparable opportunity. Much much better than Ryanair ever encountered in Europe.” Cawley, alongside former Wizz Air executive Michael Powell and other investors from Argentina, Europe and Asia, just poured $75m into Flybondi, in a financing led by Cartesian Capital Group, the US-based $2.6b private equity fund. And opportunity is not just in Argentina -- the entire region is ripe, as evidenced by the arrival of eight discount carriers, including Viva Air Peru -- backed by Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan -- and JetSMART in Chile. Story has further details.<br/>