What trends will drive 2017

After another record year of orders and deliveries in 2016, one has to wonder if Airbus has any plans of slowing down in 2017. Some say it is unsustainable to see the same level of activity year after year, but I tend to be more bullish about an industry that continues to double every 15 years or so, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, where we expect continued growth, even as we see some economies like Brazil and Colombia’s having slowed.

So let’s look at a couple of trends driving what we expect to be a strong 2017.

Training - Airbus will continue responding to its customers’ demand for training in Latin America by offering more signature flight training services, which also allows Airbus to directly support our customers’ growth and productivity. Why? Because pilot demand in Latin America is expected to increase by nearly 5 percent per year in the next 20 years, keeping Latin America an aviation training hot spot for some time to come. So we can expect that more training facilities throughout the region will be added to our growing list of training and maintenance centers in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Aviation demand & LCCs - Yes some economies have slowed, but we are already seeing some signs of recovery. Aviation demand remains strong in the region, and a surge of new entrants are establishing their foothold. The launch of Viva Air in Peru, JetSmart in Chile and Wingo in Colombia, shows how the LCC model is spreading further throughout Latin America and introducing the magic of air travel to millions of new travelers each month. With a backlog of nearly 450 passenger aircraft, representing nearly 70 percent of the market, Airbus looks forward to maintaining its market leadership in this space.

And this year, Airbus will look to you to tell us what is driving the industry where you are. I am proud to invite you to the third edition of the Noticias Airbus Market Survey. Via this link, we request that you take a few minutes to share your valuable market insights. Before too long, we look forward to sharing the trends that will define Latin American aviation in 2017, as you see them.

Rafael Alonso is President of Airbus Latin America and Caribbean. With more than three decades in aviation, Rafael has spent most of his career promoting the industry, its evolution and influence throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. 


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