Four questions to Peter Cerda, Regional VP of IATA for the Americas

1. You have been Regional Vice President for the Americas in IATA for six years, and worked at IATA with a focus on the Americas for many more. What has surprised you most of the region, Latin America in particular, over the past few years? Have you seen significant changes?

The Americas region is so diverse when comparing the industry challenges in North America to Latin America. To put this into context, IATA's North American member airlines from the U.S. and Canada generated a profit of approximately $14.70 per passenger in 2018, compared to a global industry average of almost $7. However, in Latin America, our members lost $1.70 per passenger in 2018 and are barely breaking even in 2019, with a forecast of 50 cents per passengers.

So, while we deal with a very mature North American market, Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be a very challenging business environment and an expensive place for airlines to do business. Governments continue to see aviation as an industry of the rich and as a consequence, aviation is often heavily taxed and utilized as a cash cow.

However, over the past few years, it is great to see that governments across the region are beginning to understand the benefits which aviation can bring to their country, its economy and people. This has not only generated growth in many countries across the region, but has also opened up air travel to people who before never even dreamt of flying.

2. You recently released the newsletter Americas Focus, where you give a thorough update on the latest regional news affecting air transport. Could you tell us what challenges and opportunities you see affecting aviation in Latin America for the coming years?

While the Latin American region has overall shown a positive trend, especially in terms of growth, it is still an area which continues to be affected by political instability, protectionist government policies, volatile exchange rates, aging infrastructure and excessive taxes and charges. As stated above, there is also a perception among the general public in the region that aviation is an industry of the rich that is often treated as a cash cow by local governments. Hence, our main challenges are the provision of effective infrastructure, enabling the industry to operate at reasonable costs and taxes as well as ensuring that smarter regulation forms the basis for consumer protection.

Two further items which are at top of mind for us in the region are safety and sustainability.

With regards to safety IATA has worked with both airlines and regulators over the past years to further raise the level of safety in the region and we will continue to do so, as in aviation, safety always is the number one priority.

Last but not least, while the topic of sustainability might not yet be a prominent in Latin America as in other parts of the world, it is something we are keenly aware of. As an industry, I believe that aviation has always tried to limit its environmental impact. Just look at how aircraft emissions, fuel consumption or noise have been reduced over the last decades. But this of course in not enough when looking at projected growth, so the implementation of such programs as CORSIA or the development of sustainable aviation fuels are key.

3. What can Airbus as a manufacturer do to help facing this challenges and opportunities?

As a manufacturer, Airbus can play a constructive role in the field of safety, sustainability and capacity, both on the ground and in the air.

Looking at the aspect of safety, the manufacturers need to continue to be an integral part of training. After all you design the aircraft, and operators and pilots follow your guidance.

On sustainability, we need to continue to work closely in order to further reduce our environmental impact. Seeing that Latin America has the potential to produce sustainable aviation fuels, this is definitely an area where I would be looking to Airbus to play a key role. With capacity constraints, both on the ground and in the air affecting many airports in our region, we again need to leverage all of our expertise to see how we can streamline ground operations and air traffic management.

4. What else would you like to share with the readers of Noticias Airbus?

At IATA we refer to aviation as the business of freedom and our region is a case in point. We are helping to lift people from poverty, with aviation being a key contributor to GDP and economic growth. In many countries people can now opt to comfortably travel by plane at a reasonable price, covering distances in hours, which in the past used to take days by bus or car. I believe that this is an achievement that as an industry as a whole we can be proud of.

And as we expect passenger volumes to double over the next 20 years across the world, we look forward to making air travel even more accessible to more people across the region. To allow aviation to reach its full potential, we need to start today to prepare for this anticipated growth and doubling of passengers over the next 20 years. Connecting with each other, collaborating as an industry on these initiatives and consistently communicating with each other, will allow us to create the future we all hope to see. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Airbus and our joint industry stakeholders moving forward.