A new Airbus report forecasts a need for 164 new airliners in Chile’s burgeoning travel market through 2032, the airframer announced this week.
Domestic travel in Chile has soared 83 percent in the past 10 years, while international traffic is up 80 percent.
“Of the 15 largest countries in Latin America, Chile currently has largest GDP per capita, making it possible for their travel economy to grow at an impressive rate” said Rafael Alonso, Executive Vice President of Airbus for Latin America and Caribbean, in a statement. “In fact, by 2030, Santiago is expected to become one of the top hundred largest long-haul gateways with more than 10,000 daily passengers.”
To move all those passengers, Airbus says Chilean carriers need to order 108 single-aisle jets (like the A320 family), 53 twin-aisle aircraft (like the A330 or A350) and three very large aircraft (like the A380). If they were to buy all of them from Airbus, the total market value would be around US$19.8 billion.
Airbus sees a need for about $200 billion worth of new jets for all of Latin America over the next two decades, including 1,653 single-aisle airliners, 334 twin-aisle and 41 very large aircraft.
With more than 700 aircraft sold in Latin America and a record backlog of more than 350, over 400 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet, while delivering more than 60 percent of all aircraft operating in the region.