2021: A year of recovery

Fortunately, 2021 marked the beginning of a recovery for the aviation sector, and for Latin America as well. The speedy rollout of vaccines in the region led people to take to the skies in greater numbers, a reminder of the importance aviation has in keeping us connected.

For Airbus in Latin America, 2021 was a year filled with the achievement of key milestones and the return of in-person events, a continued emphasis on quality and innovation as well as ambitious goals to continue improving aviation’s environmental footprint.

Airbus managed to surpass projections, delivering 37 commercial aircraft to customers in Latin America, notably the first A321neo for SKY in July. Airbus customers in the region also ordered 92 A320neo aircraft, confirming its position as the world’s most popular single-aisle aircraft, thanks to its improved range, superior performance and fuel-efficiency.

Airbus also welcomed two new operators in the Airbus family -- the Colombia startup Ultra Air and Mexican cargo carrier mas.

In addition, Airbus achieved a large services order intake, with Avianca’s selection of Airbus Services for a complete cabin reconfiguration of its existing A320 Family fleet, LATAM’s upgrade of its A320 Family fleet with Airbus’ fuel-saving Descent Profile Optimisation (DPO) function and SKY’s selection of our FHS-Components services.

In 2021, Airbus also officially inaugurated its Chile Training Centre, which houses a full-suite of A320 pilot training equipment and has the capacity for 1,800 trainees a year, and celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Airbus Mexico Training Centre, which has had more than 5,500 trainees.

Last year we also experienced a steady return of aviation events and trade shows in Latin America. By the fourth quarter of the year, Airbus participated in FAMEX in Mexico, SITDEF in Peru and Expodefensa and the ALTA Leaders Forum in Colombia.

The aviation sector also continued to embrace the road to net-zero emissions by committing to decarbonize the industry by 2050, while Airbus continued to double-down on its zero-emissions ambitions by hosting the Airbus Summit in Toulouse, where the industry came together for the first time to address the necessary steps for a decarbonised future in air travel.

For its part, the Airbus Foundation continued to play a role in the region, by collaborating with the Chilean Red Cross to distribute health kits to support the country’s vaccination efforts, and provided humanitarian relief for Haiti after its devastating earthquake. The Foundation also brought its signature STEM-inspired Discovery Space youth development program, formerly known as the Flying Challenge to children in Brazil and Mexico.

With 2022 already off to a great start, Airbus looks forward to returning to FIDAE 2022 in April after four years, which will be a great opportunity to reconnect with our customers as we continue to forge the path ahead for the years to come.