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Airbus: Demand for 2,000 new passenger aircraft in Latin America over 20 years
By Linda Blachly | November 21, 2011
Latin America will require 2,028 new passenger aircraft of more than 100 seats through 2030, according to the Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast (GMF). These aircraft include 1,653 single-aisle, 334 twin-aisle and 41 very large aircraft, worth $197 billion. At a time when the global economy is trying to stabilize, Latin America’s GDP is growing faster than the world at an average annual rate of 5%, while the region’s middle class is expected to surge 75% in the next 20 years, according to the report.
Airbus predicts that Latin American airline traffic will follow suit, growing more than 6% per year in the next 20 years. Overall, the region’s traffic is expected to triple in the next 20 years. Intraregional and domestic traffic in Latin America is predicted to rise 6.6% in the next 10 years, a faster rate than the 5.4% world average.
Europe and North America will remain the most important long-haul markets for the region and are expected to reach a share of 31% and 25% respectively by 2030, while interregional and domestic traffic will dominate market share at 35%.
“Latin America’s aviation sector has boomed in the last five years and as a result it has never been stronger. Economic growth is enabling the rise of a new traveling middle class,” said Rafael Alonso, Executive VP of Airbus for Latin American and the Caribbean.
LAN, TAM weigh alliance choice, eye Mideast carrier partnership
By Kurt Hofmann | November 21, 2011
LAN Airlines’ merger with TAM Airlines is on track to conclude in the first quarter of 2012, but a decision on which alliance to choose will come later.
TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna told ATW during the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) conference in Rio de Janeiro last week that the decision process was still ongoing.
As one of the approval conditions of the LAN/TAM merger, the Chilean government said the new group can be a member of only one global alliance. LAN is a oneworld member, while TAM is part of the Star alliance (ATW Daily News, Sept. 22).
“South America is a different aviation market, it is a final destination. And being a final destination continent any alliance has to be flexible,” Bologna said.
He said the new group will offer better flight connections across its integrated network. The consolidated group will have a fleet of around 300 aircraft.
TAM president Libano Barroso said the size and scale of the new group would allow the carriers to compete within the global trend of consolidation and open skies.
“Consolidation is the name of the game. We want to be one of the leading airline groups,” he said.
Barroso also said they were exploring potential opportunities to cooperate with a Middle East carrier, perhaps in cargo.
“Emirates has an interesting model, very efficient. We would like to develop synergies instead of seeing them as a threat,” Barroso said.
TAM grew domestic RPKs 15% RPK and international RPKs 12 % RPKs this year. Barroso said he expects growth in 2012 to be about 10%.
Latin American airlines are confident of future growth
By Aaron Karp | November 21, 2011
Officials attending the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) Airline Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro expressed optimism about the region's potential for strong air traffic expansion, though they cautioned that aging infrastructure and an uncertain regulatory environment could hinder carriers' growth.
The mood among Latin American airline CEOs is "very positive," ALTA executive director Alex de Gunten told ATW. "I was recently talking with airline executives in Europe and the mood in Europe is much more negative. If you look at Latin America, the market is … growing. The airlines are doing well."
"Our concerns are infrastructure and fragmentation of regulations [across borders]. But it's much better to have those concerns than worrying about where your next passenger is coming from or whether you'll be in the red," he said.
ALTA predicted that member airlines' aggregate passenger traffic will average 6.9% annual growth over the next 20 years, trailing only Chinese carriers' rate of growth. "The phenomenon we now see in Latin America already happened in the US in the 1950s, in Europe in the 1960s and in Japan in the 1970s—a migration from busses to planes," TAM president Libando Barroso said. "This business is no longer a luxury business. It is for the masses. This will be the trend."
But increasing congestion at Latin American airports is a concern, according to ALTA president and TACA chairman Roberto Kriete. "Three out of every 10 flights that depart from the region do so from a congested airport," he said. "There is an urgent need for infrastructure investment."
Through the first nine months of 2011, ALTA carriers' traffic increased 4.9% year-over-year to 155.82 billion RPKs on a 1.1% lift in capacity to 206.55 billion ASKs, producing a load factor of 75.4%, up 2.8 points.
Airbus: Demand for 2,000 new passenger aircraft in Latin America over 20 years
By Linda Blachly | November 21, 2011
Latin America will require 2,028 new passenger aircraft of more than 100 seats through 2030, according to the Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast (GMF). These aircraft include 1,653 single-aisle, 334 twin-aisle and 41 very large aircraft, worth $197 billion. At a time when the global economy is trying to stabilize, Latin America’s GDP is growing faster than the world at an average annual rate of 5%, while the region’s middle class is expected to surge 75% in the next 20 years, according to the report.
Airbus predicts that Latin American airline traffic will follow suit, growing more than 6% per year in the next 20 years. Overall, the region’s traffic is expected to triple in the next 20 years. Intraregional and domestic traffic in Latin America is predicted to rise 6.6% in the next 10 years, a faster rate than the 5.4% world average.
Europe and North America will remain the most important long-haul markets for the region and are expected to reach a share of 31% and 25% respectively by 2030, while interregional and domestic traffic will dominate market share at 35%.
“Latin America’s aviation sector has boomed in the last five years and as a result it has never been stronger. Economic growth is enabling the rise of a new traveling middle class,” said Rafael Alonso, Executive VP of Airbus for Latin American and the Caribbean.
LAN, TAM weigh alliance choice, eye Mideast carrier partnership
By Kurt Hofmann | November 21, 2011
LAN Airlines’ merger with TAM Airlines is on track to conclude in the first quarter of 2012, but a decision on which alliance to choose will come later.
TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna told ATW during the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) conference in Rio de Janeiro last week that the decision process was still ongoing.
As one of the approval conditions of the LAN/TAM merger, the Chilean government said the new group can be a member of only one global alliance. LAN is a oneworld member, while TAM is part of the Star alliance (ATW Daily News, Sept. 22).
“South America is a different aviation market, it is a final destination. And being a final destination continent any alliance has to be flexible,” Bologna said.
He said the new group will offer better flight connections across its integrated network. The consolidated group will have a fleet of around 300 aircraft.
TAM president Libano Barroso said the size and scale of the new group would allow the carriers to compete within the global trend of consolidation and open skies.
“Consolidation is the name of the game. We want to be one of the leading airline groups,” he said.
Barroso also said they were exploring potential opportunities to cooperate with a Middle East carrier, perhaps in cargo.
“Emirates has an interesting model, very efficient. We would like to develop synergies instead of seeing them as a threat,” Barroso said.
TAM grew domestic RPKs 15% RPK and international RPKs 12 % RPKs this year. Barroso said he expects growth in 2012 to be about 10%.
Latin American airlines are confident of future growth
By Aaron Karp | November 21, 2011
Officials attending the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) Airline Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro expressed optimism about the region's potential for strong air traffic expansion, though they cautioned that aging infrastructure and an uncertain regulatory environment could hinder carriers' growth.
The mood among Latin American airline CEOs is "very positive," ALTA executive director Alex de Gunten told ATW. "I was recently talking with airline executives in Europe and the mood in Europe is much more negative. If you look at Latin America, the market is … growing. The airlines are doing well."
"Our concerns are infrastructure and fragmentation of regulations [across borders]. But it's much better to have those concerns than worrying about where your next passenger is coming from or whether you'll be in the red," he said.
ALTA predicted that member airlines' aggregate passenger traffic will average 6.9% annual growth over the next 20 years, trailing only Chinese carriers' rate of growth. "The phenomenon we now see in Latin America already happened in the US in the 1950s, in Europe in the 1960s and in Japan in the 1970s—a migration from busses to planes," TAM president Libando Barroso said. "This business is no longer a luxury business. It is for the masses. This will be the trend."
But increasing congestion at Latin American airports is a concern, according to ALTA president and TACA chairman Roberto Kriete. "Three out of every 10 flights that depart from the region do so from a congested airport," he said. "There is an urgent need for infrastructure investment."
Through the first nine months of 2011, ALTA carriers' traffic increased 4.9% year-over-year to 155.82 billion RPKs on a 1.1% lift in capacity to 206.55 billion ASKs, producing a load factor of 75.4%, up 2.8 points.
