User:LeadSongDog/Air Pampas

AirPampas is a low-cost airline in Argentina and was expected to begin operations at the end of 2007. It planned to operate to 26 domestic destinations using a fleet of Boeing MD-80s.

History
The airline was founded in 2007 by Antonio Mata, the former head Aerolíneas Argentinas, and is expected to begin scheduled services in December 2007. In August 2007 the airlines received its permit from the Argentinan transport ministry to operate Boeing MD-80 aircraft and subsequently began hiring flight and cabin crews. Mata also tapped into Aerolíneas Argentinas to fill key management positions and staff to facilitate with the day-to-day running of the airline. The airline is expected to follow the same low-cost formula as other European and U.S. carriers, such as easyJet and Southwest Airlines, and hopes to compete in the domestic market with Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral which together currently share 85% of the domestic market.

A protracted dispute with the government of Argentina left Air Pampas without an Air Operator Certificate.

Destinations
The airline plans to fly to 26 domestic destinations eventually, pending government approval, from its hub in Buenos Aires. Initially the airline planned to fly to Bariloche, Calafate, Córdoba and Mendoza as its key destinations and the basis of its network.

Fleet
Mata had reportedly come to an agreement to lease some of American Airline's Boeing MD-80s. AirPampas will start services with an initial fleet of 3 MD-82s, increasing to 10 by late 2008 and rising to 25 MD-82/83s by the end of 2009.