Airbus responds to market challenges with the right products, services, training

Few doubted that 2022 would be a difficult year for the aviation sector; but the scope and sources of these difficulties came as a surprise to manufacturers and airlines alike. Volatile financial markets, interest rate increases, currency devaluation, inflation, continued supply chain woes and geopolitical unrest combined have created one of the most challenging landscapes in decades.

And, the faster-than-expected recovery of the industry to pre-COVID traffic levels, now projected between the beginning of 2023 and mid-2024, along with market consolidation, have made airlines to pivot quickly to meet current passenger traffic demands while also planning for tomorrow’s fleet requirements.

Airbus has responded quickly and creatively, taking Latin America’s unique aerospace needs into account.

On the freight side, Airbus’ A330P2F (passenger to freighter conversion) has captured the interest of the market thanks to its versatility and efficiency. On the passenger side, the A321XLR remains uniquely positioned to connect the region with North America and Western Europe, consolidating existing markets or developing new opportunities at low risk.

The latest Global Market Forecast for the Latin America and Caribbean region reveals that domestic and regional markets will remain the main driver of air traffic evolution with four percent CAGR* growth over the next 20 years. This bodes well for single-aisle aircraft like the A220 – tailor-made for regional and domestic operations, but also address intra-regional routes that require the range of larger single-aisle, in a more appropriate 100-150 seat category.

On the services side, the Airbus Airframe Services’ portfolio continues to help operators optimize existing fleets by adapting the capacity to the growing demand while reducing their unit costs. Furthermore, as the aviation industry has set a long-term global aspirational goal on net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, sustainability solutions have been deployed during 2022 in the region as a first step towards this goal. Airbus is set to continue accompanying customers in their decarbonization journey.

Finally, Latin America and the Caribbean need pilots. Over the next 20 years, the region will require 38,000 more of them. Airbus is also ready to do its part, having celebrated the first anniversary of our training center in Chile, and an established network in Miami, Mexico and Brazil, steering the future needs of the industry.

In spite of the challenges 2022 had in store, our team is always prepared to provide solutions and open the door to new opportunities. We will continue to support Latin America’s region in 2023 and beyond to address growing traffic, sustainable transformation and the right aircraft and services to make it all possible.

*CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate