Just as we have been announcing since the 7th of November, Air Horizont will connect Zaragoza with direct flights to Alicante, Seville, Rome and Munich, though the goal is to continue increasing the number of destinations. According to El Economista, the flights will begin in the month of April with ticket sales starting at 39 Euros.
Despite having competitive prices, Air Horizont is not a low cost airline because it provides better services for its clients. For example, in-flight refreshments and a checked bag are included in the ticket cost, as well as other services. Moreover, they will fly to main airports. This new company was born in Zaragoza propelled by two pilots: Juan Luís Díez and Manuel Salhi, who have been working on the project since 2011.
Flight Details
The objective is for Air Horizont to start operating the flights in the second half April, after Easter break, with two weekly sets to the four locations, though they don’t discard incorporating more destinations later depending on the increase in their plane fleet. Initially, Air Horizont will use a Boeing B737-400, which has a 162 person capacity. For the summer season the company hopes to add another plane of the same type.
For its flights, the company will offer tourist, tourist plus and business fairs. The tourist plus fair will consist of more advantages such as more space. The business fair will be aimed mainly at the flight to Munich. The prices will start at 39 Euros for national flights and 59 Euros for international flights. Ticket sales will begin at the end of February.
According to information posted in the blog SoyDeZaragoza, the flights to Munich will be Fridays and Monday, to Rome Thursday and Sunday, to Seville Sunday and Friday and to Alicante Thursday and Monday.
Presentation
This morning, El Heraldo reported that the company presented itself “with institutional support and good expectations for the future”. During the presentation the information given previously was confirmed. The promoters explained that they will try to be a “leader in the Spanish regional model and to achieve recognition on the European level”.
Subsidies
According to the same article, the project has begun with private capital, “financed by Sodiar and Avalia, tools that are not really subsidies”. In a previous publication in Heraldo.es on the 26th of January, the chief director of Transport and Infrastructural Planning said that the Government of Aragón has the capacity to subsidize Air Horizont. The Department of Economics has collaborated with the financing of the project but there still isn´t a subsidy of the flights from Zaragoza. They have, however, been in “contact”. In any case, he insisted that the government has agreements with other companies for two years which cannot be revised and must be kept.
Photo: A British Airways 737-400 operating in Alicante, by Pablo Rada – Flickr
