Volotea, the Barcelona-based low-cost regional airline, has announced it is entering into a joint venture (JV) with Abra Group, the parent company of avianca and Brazilian low-cost carrier GOL. 

In a post published to LinkedIn, Volotea outlined some details of the agreement, which aims to facilitate connectivity between Latin America and Volotea’s extensive European network via Madrid (MAD). 

Volotea does not currently have a large presence at Madrid-Barajas Airport, since its focus is on connecting second and third tier airports across Europe (mostly in Spain, France and Italy). However, interestingly, it has announced its willingness to base approximately 15 to 20 aircraft in the Spanish capital. 

This move would be directly connected to the outcome of the ongoing acquisition of Air Europa by its direct and larger competitor, Iberia. 

The acquisition is currently under the scrutiny of European regulators. It is feared that the merger could negatively affect competition in routes between Spain and Latin America, where the combined entity would have a dominant position. 

Through the joint venture, Volotea and Abra Group can establish themselves as an alternative should the European competition watchdog dictate some remedial measures, such as the redistribution of slots or frequencies, as a condition to approve the deal. 

According to Cirium data, as of June 2024, Avianca operates nonstop flights between Madrid and Bogota (BOG), Medellin (MDE) and Cali (CLO) in Colombia as well as San Salvador (SAL). 

Volotea operates a fleet of 40 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft across 450 routes in Europe. From Madrid it currently flies to Lyon (LYS), Nantes (NTE), Olbia (OLB), Murcia (RMU), Toulouse (RLS) and Verona (VRN), a network that could expand significantly if these plans finally go ahead.