Latin America Fleet to More than Double During Next 20 Years

From 2016-2035, Latin America will require 2,570 new passenger and freighter aircraft, including 2,030 single-aisle and 540 widebody, worth an estimated US$350 billion. According to the most recent Airbus Global Market Forecast, Latin America's passenger and freighter fleet will surpass 3,000 in the next 20 years, more than double the fleet in-service today.

Fueling this aircraft demand is Latin America's passenger traffic growth, which is forecast to grow on par with the world average by 4.5 percent annually until 2035. This growth rate takes into account the 3.8 percent increase traffic between Latin America and other continents as well as the 4.9 percent increase in Latin America's domestic and intra-regional traffic in the next 20 years. Latin America's middle classes will also play a role in prompting growth, reaching half a billion people by 2035, more than double the number in 2006.

In Brazil, where the aviation industry contributes over US$32 billion to the country's GDP, fleets serving the country will require over 1,400 aircraft by 2035 to meet market demand. This will be driven by an increase in Brazilians' propensity to travel, predicted to double the amount of trips per capita, and the acceleration of traffic growth which is forecasted to increase by 4.8 percent annually in the next 20 years, above the region's and world's rates.