MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two weekly flights Santiago-Pto Natales Torres del Paine park

Air Comet a Chilean subsidiary of the Spanish Group Marsans is expanding domestic flights in the country and announced two weekly flights to Puerto Natales, in the extreme south of Chilean Patagonia.

Puerto Natales is located in Magallanes Region, north of Punta Arenas and is next to the world's renowned Torres del Paine national Park. The announcement was made this week in Santiago by Enrique Meliá, general manager of Air Comet and commercial manager Isabel Bachler. "Flights to Puerto Natales are scheduled to begin next January 19", announced Mr. Meliá who also anticipated, hopefully, flights to Easter Island, and the success of the recent "schedules to Concepcion, Temuco and Coyhaique". Air Comet will be flying with Boeing 737-200 which has a capacity of 102 passengers, 8 in business and the rest tourist. Air Comet, previously Aerolíneas del Sur, had a significant expansion in 2007 with an 85.4% increase in the number of passengers. Regarding Easter Island one of the problems is to coordinate with the company's main schedule to Europe from Santiago. "We'd like to sell Easter Island as an extension of the flight to Santiago but our timetables coincide with those of Lan and the local airport at the island, according to aviation rules, can only manage and park one aircraft at the time" admitted Meliá. .