The boom in tourism and the recovery of air travel have encouraged a modest airline from the Canary Islands – essentially focused on travel between islands and to the African continent – to decide to make the leap to the Peninsula. On February 1, Binter inaugurated a corridor between the archipelago and Madrid with the aim of competing with large airlines, from Ryanair to Iberia. For the company it is a milestone. And fly to Barcelona? It could be “an option for the future” if the route with the capital works, its managers pointed out.
Binter argues that it offers its customers different services than other competing airlines. The company calls it “flying in canary mode.” For example, the space between the seats is greater. Their Embraer E192-E2 planes, which are the ones that will travel between Madrid and the Canary Islands, also have rows for two passengers on each side of the central aisle. The traveler can also enjoy a free courtesy menu, in-flight entertainment service and hand luggage in the cabin included in all rates.
Connections to the smaller Canary Islands are also included in the ticket price. That is, a traveler can depart from Madrid to Tenerife or Gran Canaria with the possibility of connecting with La Palma or La Gomera at no additional cost. Binter carries out 210 flights every day on average within the archipelago.
More offer and more competitive prices. In the Canary Islands-Madrid corridor, Binter has up to 112 weekly connections. The president of the airline, Rodolfo Núñez, highlighted this week that for them it is “a dream that has become a reality.” But they don't want to stay there.
Binter showed its interest in taking over the routes released by the acquisition of Air Europa by IAG. The British group is currently negotiating with the European Commission a proposal to transfer certain routes so as not to violate competition regulations. Binter wants to be there, which, according to its president, aspires to keep 22%-23% of the traffic between the Canary Islands and Madrid that is currently owned by the Globalia airline.
Binter, therefore, wants to play in the league of large airlines. Nuñez highlighted this week the investment of “hundreds of millions of euros” in acquiring aircraft. Last year, the Canarian company announced that it had financing from CaixaBank, Santander and BBVA to acquire six Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. In total, to begin operations with the capital, Binter has invested 900 million dollars, detailed its president.
The Canarian airline currently has 2,000 employees. For the Canary Islands it is an essential company. Ángel Víctor Torres, Minister of Territorial Policy and former president of the Canary Islands until less than a year ago, highlighted this week that the airline acted with an important responsibility during the pandemic, “maintaining services to guarantee connectivity and the transfer of health personnel between islands. ”. It was an “excellent example of public-private collaboration,” Torres added.
Binter is also an airline that will carry out autohandling. That is, through Drago Handling, it will offer ground service to its planes and passengers. The Embraer E195-E2 fleet will be able to receive maintenance in Madrid, in a facility initially staffed with 25 people including engineers, maintenance technicians and material managers, with plans to gradually incorporate personnel until forming a team of 40 people. Ambitious plans for an airline that does not rule out flying beyond the capital.
million the company has invested in starting operations between the Canary Islands and the capital since last February 1
