Flights to the US may use smaller planes – 06/07/2023 – Market

To reduce costs, Latin American airlines want to use smaller planes to fly to the United States, comments Arturo Barreira, Airbus director for the region. The change can help to make tickets cheaper, although the decision on this depends on each company.

Generally, flights from the Southern Cone region such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina use large planes to take passengers to the United States. These large models, capable of carrying hundreds of people, almost always have two aisles. Because they are bigger, they consume more fuel.

The idea under analysis is to use medium-sized, single-aisle aircraft, such as the A321XLR, on routes between the Americas, explains Barrera. According to him, three airlines in the region are studying flights to Florida with these medium planes.

The XLR has a maximum capacity of 220 travelers and can fly for up to 11 hours non-stop. A trip between São Paulo and Orlando, for example, takes around 9 hours.

The solution to increase autonomy is to take more fuel on board. “The A321XLR is basically an A321 with a central tank inside the structure”, said Barreira, in an interview with Sheet in Istanbul, during the general meeting of IATA (International Air Transport Association). Fuel is usually stored in the wings of the aircraft.

Another change airlines have been asking for is putting more seats on planes, which ultimately leads to thinner seats and less space per person.

“Companies try to reduce costs and for that they try to place more seats, densify the cabin space as much as possible. It is a trend that we had been observing before the pandemic. With competitiveness, it is something that will follow”, he says.

On the other hand, companies are also looking for new models of seats for business class, to attract passengers willing to pay more. These seats often turn into beds. More modern versions function as a kind of cabin, with side barriers that partially isolate the traveler from the rest of the plane.

Barreira says he is optimistic about the prospects for Latin America: the region continues to have strong demand for flights and should resume the volume of passengers transported before the pandemic later this year. However, local companies should end 2023 with a combined loss of US$ 1.4 billion, estimates IATA.

“Obviously, inflation, currency devaluation and rising fuel prices affect the economy of airlines a little. However, at the same time, demand from companies has remained very strong. There is a lot of demand for planes with the latest technology, which are more efficient and have less emissions [de poluentes]”, assesses Barrera.

The delivery of new aircraft, however, continues to face delays, due to problems in supply chains, first affected by the pandemic and then by the effects of the War in Ukraine.

Airlines say that the delay in deliveries delays the resumption of flights and routes that existed before the pandemic, due to lack of aircraft.

“The recomposition of the logistics and production systems has been a little more complicated. There is always a bit of uncertainty. It will take us several more months to reach where we expected”, comments Barreira.

Airbus maintained its 2022 target for 2023, of delivering 730 aircraft annually, with no growth this year. In Brazil, the company supplies aircraft to Azul and Latam.

“Over the next 20 years, the need for a fleet [de aviões] in Brazil will double and the number of trips per capita, too. We are optimistic about the growth rate we have in Brazil, which is one of the most important domestic markets in the world”, comments Barreira.