EasyFly, Fresh Off Acquiring Two New Planes, Launches New Flight from Bogotá to Manizales

Colombian discount airline EasyFly today began operating a new flight from Bogotá to Manizales, offering at least one new route in a country currently dealing with fewer air travel options due to the ongoing pilot strike at Avianca.

The small Bogotá-based airline, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, is counting the new flight from the national capital to the capital of the Caldas department as part of its larger expansion efforts to increase service in Colombia.

Currently, nearly half of its roughly 30 routes include a stop at Olaya Herrera Airport, the smaller of the two airports that serve Medellín. Adding a flight from Bogotá to Manizales will provide both business and tourism travelers another option, as Manizales is the largest city in Colombia’s coffee region and the closest city to the popular Los Nevados National Park.

This news comes fresh off the heels of EasyFly acquiring two new planes. The two aircraft are both French ATR 42-600s and each cost around $18 million USD, although they were procured through a leasing arrangement, according to Colombian magazine Portafolio. The first reportedly arrived from Europe on September 14.

Prior to the additions, EasyFly was operating with only a fleet of 13 ATR 42-500 aircraft, each with capacity for 42 people, per Portafolio. The company’s president, Alfonso Ávila, has said that one key goal of adding more planes is to begin servicing the western part of the country, including Cali, Pasto, Tumaco, and Chocó, where EasyFly has not had regular flights.

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons)