Argentina’s state airline cuts staff, routes, passenger perks ahead of possible sale

Argentina's state airline, Aerolineas Argentinas, is slimming down for a potential sale, shedding 13% of its staff, cutting money-losing domestic routes and even removing snacks formerly available to passengers, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters. The cutbacks, many of whose details were previously unreported, are part of a backdoor attempt to trim the airline's burden on the state and lure private investment. The drive is progressing, even though libertarian President Javier Milei's plans to privatize the firm have generated pushback. The carrier, with Argentina's blue and white colors, is a major test case of Milei's pro-market reforms, which are yanking South America's second-largest economy in a sharply different direction after years of big government. They have improved the state's finances, but stunted economic growth and pushed up poverty. Reuters spoke to 10 company executives, officials, pilots, airline workers and union members, and saw a memo on the plans to streamline the airline for sale. The drive brought in blockbuster operating results for Aerolineas in 2024, a senior company source said ahead of the airline's release of full-year results next week. Part of that reflects the double-digit reduction in staff targeted in the earlier document seen by Reuters. "Our job is to get (Aerolineas) in order," the senior source said, adding that the carrier aimed to operate more like its private counterparts. "That way, when the time comes and the government enables its sale, the company is more attractive."<br/>