JetSmart gets approval to launch subsidiary in Peru; will reinstate Brazil flights

Chilean low-cost carrier JetSmart has been granted approval to launch a subsidiary in Peru, and will restore routes to Brazil in the course of the year. “We have decided to open up a new operation in Peru,” says Estuardo Ortiz, the company’s CE. “We just got the [air operator certificate] for JetSmart to become a Peruvian airline,” he adds. “We plan to start sales within the month and domestic operations by the second part of the year." According to Cirium networks data, the airline currently operates flights between Chile’s capital Santiago and the Peruvian cities of Lima, Trujillo and Arequipa. JetSmart, owned by US private equity firm Indigo Partners, announced plans to establish a Peruvian subsidiary in July 2020, and had expected approval in mid-2021. Ortiz says that once Chile’s Covid-related entry restrictions are relaxed, the carrier will reassess its post-pandemic growth strategy across numerous markets on the continent. “It has been almost two-and-a-half years with no growth,” Ortiz says.<br/>