Mariano Recalde on the merger of Aerolineas and Austral: “It was something that was pending”

The former president of Aerolineas Argentina Mariano Recalde confirmed that the merger of that company with its regional flights division Austral was “a pending decision” and that it became “essential” in the face of the crisis that installed the coronavirus pandemic and that threatens to all companies in the commercial airline sector.

“It is a pending decision, something logical. But in this context, it seems to me that it was essential, as a set of other measures that the company, the State, and workers will have to apply, in order to sustain this public service that today has zero income, “Recalde said.

He reminded the current senator, in statements to La 990 radio, that the flag carrier “always had a lot of costs” that were “more or less weathered with the income and contribution of the State”.

“But at the moment the income is zero and that forces that, like the rest of the airlines in the world, measures are taken to see how to sustain the jobs and especially the service,” he warned.

Recalde highlighted the efforts of the current AA authorities to look for a scheme that allows overcoming the crisis because, he recalled, that is “an essential public service for our country.”

Regarding the merger plan, the former owner of the company considered that “it gives more efficiency to the operational and economic operation of the company. They save a lot in duplicate costs, they are not going to lose any job but they are going to improve a lot in efficiency ”.

“It is a saving that is not negligible,” he said.

AA reported yesterday, through a statement sent to its workers, that the merger process began, which will also contemplate the creation of new business units to offer maintenance and cargo transportation services.