The economic and political difficulties affecting Latin America will not be an obstacle to the robust expansion of commercial aviation businesses in the coming years, with a jump in the aircraft fleet and the opening of new short and long-haul routes, manufacturers and airlines predict.
As part of the international aviation fair (Fidae), which is taking place this week in Santiago, industry executives expressed optimism about the expected growth for airlines, the lack of maturity of the passenger market in Latin America and the emergence of megacities in the region. “I have no doubt about the future of the region. We are going through some crises, but look at the ratio between the size of the population and how many seats per capita we have and compare it with the United States. So, we are newborns,” Avianca Holdings CEO Germán Efromovich told Reuters. Latin America has 0,4 passengers per capita, a sixth compared to the United States, according to industry data.
Under this scenario, Boeing, the world’s largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, has forecast that the region will need 3.050 new aircraft by 2035, valued at $350 billion. Over the past five years, annual growth in air travel demand in Latin America has been around 7%, above the global average of 5%, a trend that is expected to continue over the next 20 years, when the region is expected to grow by around 6%. “Airlines will continue to acquire new, efficient aircraft to provide greater connectivity,” said Simon Newitt, vice president for Latin America at Embraer’s Commercial Aircraft division.
While airlines such as Latam Airlines, the region’s largest commercial airline, have recently reduced their fleet and others are looking to delay aircraft arrivals due to the current climate in the region, the long-term outlook is positive. “By 2034, we will see 9 of the world’s 31 megacities in Latin America, making the region one of the most important emerging air markets on an international scale,” said Rafael Alonso, Airbus President for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Reuters - 30/03/2016
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