Airbus releases Latin America 20 year forecast at ALTA Leaders Forum

I recently returned from Panama City where we joined nearly 600 delegates at the Ninth Annual ALTA Airline Leaders Forum. Each year, I am amazed how this event gets bigger and bigger, attracting more and more of the industry’s top management from throughout the world.

In the more than 10 years Airbus has been an affiliate member of ALTA (Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association), the organization more than doubled in size and their mission to facilitate the development of safer, more efficient and environmentally-friendly air transport in the region has grown with them. But I can still remember the day when a very small group of us got a lot done with a lot less resources, so I think it is important to keep this original spirit top of mind and close to our hearts as ALTA and the industry continues to grow.

Like we do every year, Airbus released its Global Market Forecast (GMF) for Latin America during a press conference at the Forum. The report revealed that Latin American airlines will require 2,120 new aircraft between today and 2031, including 1,660 single-aisle, 420 twin-aisle and 40 very large aircraft estimated at $242 billion. With GDP currently growing above the world average, socio-economic indicators also predict Latin America’s middle class will double between 2012 and 2031.

As a result of this region’s dynamic economic growth, the Airbus GMF found that Latin America’s air traffic will rise 5.3 percent per year over the next 20 years, well above the world average of 4.7 percent. Benefiting from this, the region's airlines will grow their own traffic by almost 6 percent per year, the second highest growth globally, only exceeded by those airlines based in the Middle East. Increased aircraft demand is also leading the region’s airlines to ordering larger aircraft. In fact, between 2000 and 2012, average aircraft seat capacity increased by more than 13 percent, while the average age of Latin America’s fleet in service decreased below the world average to 10 years of age.

So as we see continued growth in our region and the maturing of organizations like ALTA and IATA to help promote and support that growth, let us not forget the aviation pioneers that paved the way for today’s promising industry, which each day serves more like a global case study of financial and executive management success.

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.