Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos (2020–2022)

Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos Ltda. (also known as ITA or Itapemirim) was a Brazilian airline established in 2020 and belonged to Itapemirim Group. On 17 December 2021, the airline suspended all operations for internal restructuring.[1][2] In March 2022, it was announced that the Baufaker Consulting firm bought the company,[3][4] in which after the Owner Galeb Baufaker Junior defended the termination of the contract.[5] ITA had its Air operator's certificate permanently revoked on May 5, 2022.[6][7]

For the Brazilian airline defunct in 2000, see Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos (1990–2000). For the Italian airline, also known as ITA, see ITA Airways.
Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos
IATA ICAO Callsign
8I IPM AEROITA
Founded2020 (2020)
Commenced operations29 June 2021 (2021-06-29)
Ceased operations5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
HubsSão Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport
Focus citiesRio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport
Frequent-flyer programITA Clube
HeadquartersSão Paulo, Brazil
Websitewww.voeita.com.br
A former ITA Airbus A320-200 taxiing at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in 2021

History

This is the second time that Itapemirim Group has operated in the aviation sector. The first time was with Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos, which operated between 1991 and 2000. It had a cargo division, Itapemirim Cargo, which owned 6 Boeing 727s. It flew from Viracopos to Manaus and it also operated on the Campinas-Galeão-Recife-Fortaleza route. The other division was Itapemirim Regional, which operated flights between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with two Cessna 208 Caravans, between 1997 and 1998. It operated until the year 2000, when, without any aircraft, its air operator's certificate was revoked by the defunct Department of Civil Aviation.

Purchase attempts

On 3 July 2017, Itapemirim Group announced the purchase of Passaredo Linhas Aéreas. For two months, the airline management was shared between the former owners and Itapemirim Group. There was also a sharing of the airline's routes with the Viação Itapemirim bus routes. Counting the bus lines and the 20 cities where Passaredo operated, the integration between the aerial and road networks reached up to 2,500 Brazilian cities. The purchase was later undone by Passaredo. According to them, the reason was the Itapemirim Group did not comply with the agreement established.[8]

On 14 September 2020, Itapemirim Group purchased América do Sul Táxi Aéreo, sister company of ASTA Linhas Aéreas. ASTA confirmed that Itapemirim bought the sister company, without its Cessnas, which were left with ASTA. Later, Itapemirim Group confirmed the purchase and the change of the company's name to ITA Transportes Aéreos. The purchase of this company served to facilitate and streamline the certification processes of ITA, using the certificate of an existing air taxi company.[9]

AOC process and first flight

During the month of April 2021, ITA's first A320 made a series of test flights in order to obtain the airline certification, leaving Guarulhos airport and going to Belo Horizonte (Confins), Salvador, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro (Galeão). On 28 April 2021, the company was approved in the last phase of the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) assessments and on April 30, 2021, the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was issued. On 20 May 2021, The agency issued the concession grant for operating regular and non-regular public air transport services in Brazil.[10]

Ticket sales started on 21 May 2021. The company's inaugural flight was on June 29, 2021 (IPM-0001, from São Paulo-Guarulhos to Brasília) for guests only. Commercial flights started on June 30, 2021.[11]

On 31 May 2021, Itapemirim Group announced that ITA's former CEO, Tiago Senna, who had been in charge since the company's creation, was promoted to the position of Vice President of New Business at the Itapemirim Group, with the mission of strengthening the group's new multimodal ventures. He was replaced by Adalberto Bogsan, former CEO of ASTA Linhas Aéreas.[12]

Suspension and rebrand attempt

On 17 December 2021, ITA Transportes Aéreos ceased operations for internal restructuring.[13][1] Hours after the announcement, the Aviation Agency of Brazil suspended its air operator's certificate.[14][15]

As of February, the company was in advanced talking with two American private equity funds, by the agreement, the funds would assume the airline's debts but they want to offset its current President, Sidnei Piva de Jesus, from the company's management, making it an independent airline, reports said.[16][17][18]

The newspaper O Globo had access to exclusive material showing that the company had ANAC's approval despite a social capital of R$380,000 (US$70,501), insufficient for aviation operations, according to specialists. For comparison, Azul Linhas Aéreas started with a social capital of R$80 million (2008) (US$43.63 million), currently the company has a social capital of R$4.6 billion (US$853.43 million).[19][20]

In March 2022, the company announced that the Brazilian Baufaker Consulting firm acquired the company's debt of about R$180 million (US$33.4 million) and would return R$30 million (US$5.57 million) wrongly taken from Itapemirim.[4]

According to public information, the company Baufaker Consulting Finances e Representações Comerciais is headquartered in Taguatinga, Federal District, has a share capital of R$100,000 (US$18,553) and has no experience in civil aviation, the company declares to the Federal Revenue of Brazil that it operates in areas such as printing security materials, credit cards administration, retail, real estate, among others.[3][4]

In May 2022, Galeb Baufaker Junior, who had shown interest in purchasing the company, gave up the deal. The Judicial Recovery documentation points to legal uncertainties regarding Viação Itapemirim and Sidnei Piva, who got a freezing order by the Court of Justice of São Paulo, on 18 April.[21] Galeb left a far open window to renegotiate the asset after an upcoming meeting of creditors.[22][23]

On May 5, 2022, ITA had its air operator's certificate permanently revoked,[6][7] and on September 21, 2022 its bakruptcy was declared.[24]

Destinations

In December 2021, prior to the suspension of its services, ITA operated scheduled services to the following destinations:

Hub
Focus City
City Airport Refs
Belo HorizonteTancredo Neves International Airport[25]
BrasíliaPresidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport[26]
CuritibaAfonso Pena International Airport[27]
FlorianópolisHercílio Luz International Airport[28]
FortalezaPinto Martins International Airport[28]
Foz do IguaçuCataratas International Airport[29]
MaceióZumbi dos Palmares International Airport[28]
NatalGovernador Aluízio Alves International Airport[30]
Porto AlegreSalgado Filho International Airport[31]
Porto SeguroPorto Seguro Airport[28]
RecifeGuararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport[28]
Rio de JaneiroGaleão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport[25]
Salvador da BahiaDeputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport [25]
São PauloCongonhas–Deputado Freitas Nobre Airport[32]
São PauloGuarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport[26]

Historical fleet
Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos fleet[33][34][35]
Aircraft Total Operation Notes
Airbus A319-100 1 – As a Hi Fly Malta stored in Rio de Janeiro, never entered into Itapemirim service and returned to Europe.
Airbus A320-200 6 2021 All returned to Bank lessors in USA

See also

References
  1. "tapemirim cancela todos os voos e suspende operações". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 17 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  2. "Com dívida de R$ 180 milhões e sem autorização para voar, Itapemirim atrai atenção de investidores". AEROFLAP (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  3. "Após fracasso, grupo Itapemirim vende aérea por R$ 180 milhões". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 13 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. "Companhia aérea Itapemirim é comprada por empresa sediada em Taguatinga". Correio Braziliense (in Brazilian Portuguese). 13 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. "Empresário desiste de comprar ITA Transportes Aéreos" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Valor Econômico. 3 May 2022.
  6. "ANAC explica qual foi o fator decisivo para revogação definitiva da licença da Itapemirim". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  7. "ANAC cancela Certificado de Operador Aéreo da Itapemirim". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. "Venda da Passaredo para grupo rodoviário Itapemirim é desfeita". VEJA (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  9. Ulhôa, Lucas (2020-09-14). "Exclusivo: Grupo Itapemirim adquire a América do Sul Táxi Aéreo para o início da ITA". Contato Radar - Notícias de aviação (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  10. "SEI/ANAC - 5740682 - Decisão". sei.anac.gov.br. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  11. Andrade, Artur Luiz (2021-05-17). "ITA - Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos anuncia as 14 cidades que terão voos". Portal PANROTAS. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  12. "ITA anuncia Adalberto Bogsan, ex-Gol e Azul, como novo CEO" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  13. "Sem dinheiro, Ita Transportes Aéreos suspende operações". Portal PANROTAS (in Portuguese). 2021-12-17. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  14. "ANAC suspende Certificado de Operador Aéreo (COA) da Itapemirim". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 17 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. "Atualização sobre a situação da ITA". Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) (in Brazilian Portuguese). December 18, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  16. "ITA Transportes Aéreos poderá voltar com novos sócios". Capital - O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  17. "Em seis meses de operação, ITA Transportes Aéreos acumulou dívida de R$ 180 milhões". Capital - O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  18. "Itapemirim pode voltar a voar com novos sócios e novo nome". AERO Magazine (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  19. "Paralisada, Itapemirim começou operações com capital social de R$ 380 mil, valor considerado baixo para o setor". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  20. "Itapemirim começou com capital social de R$ 380 mil, valor baixo no setor". Exame. December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  21. "Justiça de SP bloqueia bens de Piva, suspeito de 'dilapidar' Itapemirim". UOL Economia (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 April 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. "Empresário de Brasília desiste de comprar a empresa aérea Itapemirim". AEROIN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  23. "Itapemirim: Comprador suspende negócio após Justiça bloquear bens da aérea". UOL Economia (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  24. "Fim da linha: Grupo Itapemirim tem a falência decretada na Justiça paulista". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  25. "Veja como foi a estreia da Itapemirim no Rio, em Belo Horizonte e Salvador". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 1 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  26. "É hoje: decolagem do voo inaugural da Itapemirim poderá ser vista ao vivo pela internet". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 29 June 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  27. "Itapemirim faz sua estreia no Aeroporto Afonso Pena". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  28. "Quais são os voos que a estreante Itapemirim terá nos próximos três meses?". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  29. "ITA vai começar a voar para Foz do Iguaçu em dezembro". Passageirodeprimeira (in Portuguese). 8 October 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  30. "Itapemirim começará a vender hoje (21) passagens aéreas por R$ 119". Exame (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  31. "Aeroporto de Porto Alegre também recebe com festa a estreia da Itapemirim". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  32. "Itapemirim se torna a mais nova empresa aérea a ter voos em Congonhas". Aeroin (in Portuguese). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  33. "Fleet" (in Portuguese). 4 February 2022.
  34. "2 Aircraft back to lessors" (in Portuguese). 4 February 2022.
  35. "N359CL" (in Portuguese). 25 April 2022.
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