By: Staff Writer
October 29, 2024
A senior executive of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) said that airfares have fallen by 50 percent over 20 years as a result of investment in technology and other improvements across airlines in the region.
Roberto Alvo, president of ALTA’s executive committee, said at the Alta Forum being held at the Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas that: “This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Alta Leaders Forum, a good moment to reflect upon what the industry has done over the last 20 years. Between 2004 and 2024, the number of passengers that have been carried in Latin America has grown by 3.6 times.
Hailing this as a “amazing achievement,” Alvo continued: “I’ll expect that this year, 480 million passengers will fly within the region and to the region. In this period, aviation has increased its present GDP by 53 percent and has directly and indirectly created hundreds of thousands of jobs, while, at the same time, has made air travel significantly more affordable.
“Alta estimates that during these 20 years airfares have fallen by 50 percent as billions of dollars have been invested in fleet operating improvements and technology, and at the same time, this industry has become significantly more efficient in terms of emissions, seeing its emissions spike 31 percent.”
Alvo also said: “In 2023 on average, only .65 passengers who are inhabitants flew within Latin America. This is a third or a fifth of what we see in developed economies, in a region of long distances are often measured in thousands of kilometers, with poor road infrastructure, with immense geographical barriers, such as mountains, deserts, jungles and oceans, the necessity for air travel is clearly evident.”
He added: “However, despite these important achievements, the industry’s profits are still meager. It’s a mere, on average, $1.90 per passenger. This is equivalent to only 5 percent of the cost of jet fuel.
“Isn’t it amazing how despite of all these efforts, still our profits are so meager. And as we face the next 20 years, I think it’s an important moment to reflect on the challenges that we see that this period will bring long-term traffic projections for the industry, measured by Airbus and Boeing estimate that this industry will grow by 5 percent per year of the next 25 years. This means that by 2050 this industry will be triple in the current size.”
ALTA is expecting 400 attendees at this year’s event which is being held in the Caribbean region for the first time in nine years in The Bahamas, an archipelago of 700 islands located about 300km (160nm) southeast of the US mainland and is a prime example of a place where this kind of connectivity is desperately needed. The government recognizes that, and its state-owned carrier is doing its best to work within its possibilities.