Why Caribbean carriers should renew their fleets

While the Caribbean market is small, as compared to neighboring Mexico, Central and South America, its constantly growing tourism sector has always represented enormous opportunities for local and international airlines. But in spite of the millions of passengers flocking its white sandy beaches year after year, the majority of the airlines in this region have yet to renew their fleet with latest generation aircraft.

With aircraft in the Caribbean averaging about 17 years of age – seven years older than the world average – and with some fleet operating aircraft a quarter of a century old, it is a mystery to me why airlines are not taking advantage of current market opportunities – in particular the availability of A319s and A320s from leasing companies – to achieve huge economic savings. The fuel burn of these aircraft compared to 737Classics or MD80s will be between 25 and 30% lower, while maintenance costs can dramatically drop to 40%. These two reasons, combined with a higher utilization – usually 500 to 700 hours more per year – quickly offset the small leasing cost difference we see in today’s marketplace and this could represent a savings of $200,000 per month.

In addition, the A320 would provide airlines with a more spacious cabin, increased reliability, greater range capability, fly-by-wire technology and the associated benefits of operational savings and higher revenue potential thanks to more seats or larger cargo capacity.

For local airlines in the Caribbean, this could represent better competitiveness against the LCCs and North American carriers that make up such a large segment of the market.

I encourage our Caribbean friends to take a page from its neighbors book. Integrating newer and more efficient aircraft into their fleets will not only represent better operating efficiencies and increased revenues, but their passengers will surely notice and enjoy a whole new travel experience.

With more than 30 years in the aviation industry, Rafael Alonso is the Executive Vice President of Airbus Customer Affairs for the Latin America and the Caribbean region, responsible for all Airbus commercial activities and customer relations in more than 40 countries.