Boeing 767-323ER American Airlines takes off for the last time from Afonso Pena Airport (Photo: Gustavo Ribeiro
The flight 203 of American Airlines took off from Afonso Pena Airport at 10:02 on Thursday (11) and marked the end of the operations of the US airline terminal in São José dos Pinhais.
The aircraft, a Boeing 767-323ER, registration N39356, left for Miami with a stopover in Porto Alegre, and reduced by 50% the amount of international connections to Curitiba in scheduled flights.
Without the flight coming straight from Miami and made a stop in Porto Alegre in the back, the airport Afonso Pena is replaced only link with Buenos Aires, the Southern, five times a week.
American Airlines decided to cancel the connection between Miami and Curitiba due to low profitability.The route, which was successful at the end of 2013 and early 2014, was losing passengers over time, especially in 2015, due to the high dollar and the crisis in Brazil.
In the farewell flight, employees of US company applauded the departure of the plane and did not hold the tears after takeoff towards Porto Alegre.
The airport Afonso Pena never had a vocation for international flights. The few attempts to go to Europe, via Paris, Milan and Frankfurt, lasted a short time. At most routes to Buenos Aires, Asuncion and Montevideo.
It is the result of a set of factors that end up bumping the infrastructure. Without a long track enough so that planes can take off full, direct flights to the United States and Europe become unviable. And, accordingly, they are not very attractive for airlines.
