|
Argentina: Leader in Business Environment Prospects
Avianca most on-time airline worldwide, Copa leads in Latin America.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
Argentina is among the top two countries worldwide that are projected to have the fastest-improving business environments over the next five years, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
“Argentina’s sharp improvement in score largely reflects the free-market reforms that we believe the administration of the president, Javier Milei, will introduce—in particular, policies to boost private enterprise and competition and attract foreign investment,” EIU says.
EIU’s Vector Autoregression (VAR) model suggests that these improvements may result in an uptick in real GDP per capita growth, investment spending and foreign direct investment (FDI).
The VAR model measured two decades’ worth of data, successfully predicting which countries and territories were on the verge of notable economic growth, and which were, therefore, favorable destinations to direct future investment spending.
Its proprietary business environment index not only includes quantitative forecasts such as growing market opportunities, but also incorporates hard-to-measure indicators with strong predictive power, such as likely upcoming policy changes, demand from key trading partners and changes in the institutional environment.
The EIU business environment rankings also show the Dominican Republic among the seven countries worldwide with the greatest improvement.
“In the Dominican Republic, the current Abinader administration, which we expect to be re-elected in May, will continue its business-friendly policies,” EIU says. “It is encouraging investment into the tourism sector (for example with port upgrades for cruise ships), and improving logistics infrastructure to become a regional transport and distribution hub.”
AVIANCA, COPA WIN ON-TIME AWARDS
Colombian flag carrier was the world leader in on time performance last year, followed by Brazilian low cost carrier Azul, while Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM ranked sixth globally, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
When looking at Latin America flights alone, Panama’s Copa was the leader on on-time performance.
Meanwhile, El Dorado airport in Bogota, Colombia was the fourth-best airport worldwide in terms of on-time performance.
Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, and Brasilia International Airport secured second, third and fourth in the medium airports category and the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador leads the small airport category, with Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport in Guayaquil in third place.
The Avianca on-time global award is a first for the airline in its 104 year history.
“Avianca succeeded in reinventing itself following its emergence from bankruptcy in December 2021 with a plan to modernize its fleet, improve customer satisfaction, increase operational efficiency, and to help fill the void left by the cessation of operations by low-cost Colombian carrier Viva,” David White, Senior Director of Advanced Initiatives at Cirium, wrote in an analysis. “When its bid to merge with Viva and rescue the ailing carrier was denied by the Colombian civil aviation authority, Avianca adapted to fill the void by adding more seats to its A320 aircraft, expanding its network, and lowering prices.”
In a ceremony March 21 in Bogota, Jeremy Bowen, Chief Executive Officer for Cirium, presented the award to crew members and other leaders in the organization representing all who make on-time happen for Avianca and its customers. The ceremony was attended by Adrian Neuhauser, Executive Vice Chairman, Grupo Abra Group, Frederico “Fred” Pedreira, Chief Executive Officer, Avianca, representatives from the ministry of tourism, Colombia immigration services, the Avianca executive team, members of the media, and over 200 Avianca team members.
“Behind this achievement is the commitment of more than 14,000 people from the Avianca team who, in coordination with authorities and allies, work to ensure that our customers reach their destinations safely, on time and with their suitcases,” Pedreira said. “And of course, we thank the more than 32 million passengers who trusted us to fly during 2023. We are proud of this recognition that puts us on a par with world-class airlines and Colombia as an international benchmark in the airline sector.”
© Copyright Latinvex
