GABRIELA SOMMERFELD Executive President Aerogal

The official airline of the Galapagos offers high-quality low-cost national and international flights and a slew of new services to give them the chosen advantage

100-percent Ecuadorian company, Aerogal (Galapagos Airlines) is Galapagos’ official airline and has grown remarkably since 2002 when it carried only 700 passengers per month. Today the airline has an average monthly volume of 50,000 passengers and over one million per year. Under the watchful eye of its young and dynamic Executive President Gabriela Sommerfeld, Aerogal is working to increase its domestic routes, launch international flights to New York and Miami, and become Ecuador’s number one airline.

“Aerogal has set the goal of becoming the leading airline in the country by 2007- the leader in terms of size, customer preference, service and price,” states Ms. Sommerfeld. “How are we going to achieve this? With the quality of our human resources. Everybody who works for the airline has put their heart and soul into it and we have a very dedicated and special staff. Along with this, we have an aggressive marketing plan which has helped us to quickly capture a large market share and to grow at the rapid rate of 150 percent per year.”

Today Aerogal offers high quality flights at low prices between the Galapagos and the domestic destinations of Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca, Manta, San Cristobal, Baltra and Coco. In addition, it has presented an application to Ecuador’s National Aviation Council to open daily flights connecting Guayaquil with Miami and New York. Ms. Sommerfeld says that the new international routes have received a favorable response from government authorities. She adds that the airline is waiting for the new national civil aviation law to be passed so that Ecuador can obtain category one status with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This will enable Ecuadorian carriers to fly directly to the U.S.

Aerogal is already ahead of many of its competitors in terms of safety and product range. All of the airline’s planes, which include six new Boeing 737-200 advanced aircrafts, are serviced and maintained exclusively in the U.S. by the FAA-authorized Tucson-based company Hamilton. Also, the airline has been the first Ecuadorian company to offer the option of buying tickets online, which Ms. Sommerfeld says has been successful with international clients, and it has launched a number of innovative products such as VIP cards and Corporate Checkbooks to complement its customer service.

Aerogal has imposed an aggressive marketing plan, allowing them to grow at 150% a year.

“Service is our main priority so we have created special products that have helped our clients be more cost and time efficient,” explains Ms. Sommerfeld. “The Corporate Checkbook is a pre-paid book of flight coupons that companies can keep in their offices which are ready for flights. It entitles the passenger to all the privileges of VIP service and they can arrive up to half an hour before flight time.”

Ms. Sommerfeld supports Mayor Nebot’s drive to establish Guayaquil as the main entry point for tourists on their way to the Galapagos Islands, and says that the city is a strategic entry as it provides the most direct route to the archipelago. This allows customers to get the cheapest domestic flights to the islands and, as she points out, they will find themselves in a very enchanting city with an ample tourism offer.

“Guayaquil deserves everything that it has going for it at the moment. Everybody has their eye on the city for its development and push, for the order that has been established in the city, for how it has been cleaned up, and for how it has been beautified in such a short time,” she remarks. “Guayaquil is working hard to show the world that it can be part of a greater Ecuador.”