Emerging companies take off
O Estado de S. Paulo 07/26/10
The 70s marked the birth of the regional aviation in the country. At that moment, Brazil was divided into five regions and, thanks to subsidies, companies like TAM, Rio Sul and Nordeste emerged and got strong. Such model collapsed in the 90s with the end of the areas of concession. The most competitive companies became national, regional aviation went downwards and several cities ceased being served. More recently, however, companies like Trip and Passaredo became representatives of a new wave of expansion in the sector.Founded in 1998 by the Caprioli family, of the interior of São Paulo, Trip is the best example of the current phase in the sector. Four years ago, it attracted the investment of the Espirito Santo group of road transport, Águia Branca. But it was in 2008 that it gained another status, with the admission of Sky West, the largest regional aviation company in the United States, as a partner. Now, the path is to professionalize Trip for a possible IPO. Trip, the largest regional aviation company in the country, hired Fundação Dom Cabral to structure the process. With 35 aircraft (six made by Embraer and 29 by the French-Italian ATR) and operation in 90 cities, the company expects to grow 70% this year and achieved earnings of R$ 760 million (US$ 422.2 million).
Smaller, but no less optimistic than Trip, the São Paulo based Passaredo inaugurated four flights in the last 30 days. After May, it incorporated another three Embraer jets to its fleet of 13 aircrafts. Until the end of the year, another two may integrate the company. About three months ago, a team of five executives who left Webjet (most also with experience in TAM) was called to help executing the growth plan. Founded in Ribeirão Preto (SP) by José Luiz Felício 15 years ago, Passaredo stopped operating between 2002 and 2004. In its return, it gave up the charter flights to focus only on regional aviation. "We really believe in the interior of São Paulo and in the Northeast", says José Luiz Felício Filho, President of Passaredo. Two months ago, for instance, it started flying from Ribeirão to Recife and inaugurated the route between Vitória da Conquista (BA) and São Paulo that was not being operated by anyone else.
Two years ago, concerned with the vanishing of several regional routes since the 90s, the Ministry of Defense began outlining measures stimulate the segment, such as the creation of a fund to guarantee credit for the purchase of aircrafts and providing flexibility to safety standards in smaller airports. But the most controversial of the measures is a bill of law that seeks to resurrect the grant of the regional companies, mainly in the most distant corners of Brazil. Unlike the model of the 70s, the idea is that the Federal Government should be the source of funds.