Argentina hosts Latin American and Caribbean aviation leaders at ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum

• From October 16-18, 2022, the senior executives of the commercial aviation industry and government authorities will gather in Buenos Aires to conduct a cooperative international dialogue at the highest level, generating a collaborative agenda with concrete actions aimed at fostering even safer, more efficient and sustainable aviation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

With more than 500 participants and 47 airline CEOs, a record for the event, the 18th edition of ALTA’s Annual General Meeting and Leaders Forum began in Buenos Aires, bringing together industry leaders in the region with its 154 members, representing 80 percent of Latin American and Caribbean traffic.

For three days, the Argentine capital is transformed into the capital of Latin American aviation, with a conference that covers various aspects of the sector, always with the post-pandemic recovery amid a challenging global economic outlook due to the increase in oil and dollar prices and the challenges posed by the environmental goals of the sector (to be carbon neutral by 2050) as central axes.

During the official opening of the meeting, which was attended by the Minister of Tourism and Sports of Argentina, Matías Lammens, and the Secretary of Transportation, Diego Giuliano, ALTA’s Executive Director & CEO, Jose Ricardo Botelho, remarked: “We have a lot to do as a regional association and we have phenomenal potential. Let this Forum serve to create a State Agenda. As I always say, where there is aviation, there is development. There is no single place on the planet where our industry is present, and we do not have infrastructure development, jobs, or economic growth. I hope to move forward to remove unnecessary regulations and laws that affect our industry at this time when the famous revenge tourism is taking place, where people want to fly again and connect with the region.”

“ALTA added 24 new members over 2022 alone, reaching 154 members representing almost 90% of all traffic in the region. We want to invite you to join the association. We are here because of you, for you. The whole chain is involved. We have at this moment 57 simultaneous actions in progress,” highlighted Botelho before the region’s leading executives.

“As people, we feel that we are coming out of the Pandemic, but the industry is still suffering as it did not receive any support from the States. Moreover, we are the only industry 100 committed and involved and took concrete actions to decarbonize the sector to protect our future. But we have to do it jointly without losing the opportunity and potential of our region for the generation of PBS.”

During his speech as the new Chairman of ALTA’s Executive Committee, Adrian Neuhauser reviewed the critical issues for the industry, with a mix of good news and a review of the sector’s challenges. “Latin America has led the global recovery in aviation. We have countries that are already over 100% recovery compared to 2019, and all at very high levels, mainly in the domestic sector that has led with a fairly clear correlation between border openings and recovery with underlying demand,” he expressed.

“The challenge is that recovering 100% is not enough, and it is still a region with few trips per capita and expensive for a poor society with challenges of costs, infrastructure, legal frameworks, taxation, and the environmental challenges that come to us as a World. As an example, an average inflation rate of 14.6% throughout the region – although unevenly – has a strong impact on the industry, with very high volatility in fuel costs, as well as challenges in the area of human resources that we will have to face and also in terms of infrastructure. Tax pressure is also very strong, with tickets whose value is more than 50% of the value without taxes. Amid a volatile context and marked by economic indicators that once again challenge us, the market demands from us more than ever solidity, competitiveness, diversification, and flexibility”.

At the opening press conference, and in his role as outgoing president of ALTA’s Executive Committee, Roberto Alvo, CEO of LATAM, highlighted the relevance of the event while affirming that “there is a spirited, dynamic recovery of the market in Latin America and the Caribbean after the pandemic and after several ups and downs in the last two years.” And he recalled that at the height of the Pandemic, they were operating at 4% and 5% of airline capacity, and then in 2021. However, many countries were opened, although they experienced problems due to the various Covid-virus revolts in varying magnitudes.

“We are seeing a more definitive recovery period. ALTA has worked very hard with governments to accelerate the reopening of markets, being the only region in the world that did not receive any state support and with macroeconomic variables playing against us. We are in a period of reconsolidation that will continue in 2023. We expect the industry to return to full normality by 2024. Although we must be optimistic about the recovery of passenger traffic, we must not forget that we are coming from the deepest crisis in the history of aviation”, said Alvo.

On the other hand, Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of ICAO, thanked for the invitation to be part of the meeting and highlighted in his message that “ICAO member states recognize that air transport is an important driver of prosperity. The Pandemic has shown us the strategic factor of aviation in overcoming crises and has served us to reflect on the importance of standards in reviving travelers’ confidence.”

“In addition, the industry is at a crossroads. This turning point was discussed at the 41st ICAO Triennial Assembly. With a very ambitious long-term goal to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Some measures give us reason to be confident that zero-emission flights can be a reality in a few decades. ICAO plays a central role and is open to discussions with all public and private stakeholders. Latin America and the Caribbean have favorable conditions, and we can lead the production of sustainable fuels worldwide,” added Salazar.

Matías Lammens, Minister of Tourism and Sports, gave a brief review of his administration: “In December 2019, we took office as a government with a great expectation of generating progress with tourism as a generator of foreign exchange and a generator of quality jobs. And in March 2020, we were all left watching how companies were at zero turnovers because of the Pandemic”.

“For us, airlines are fundamental partners to transform tourism into an engine for Argentina’s sustained growth. We seek to create conditions for companies to invest in our country, earning money to reinvest. We estimate to exceed domestic traffic at 100 percent of capacity in these last months of the year, surpassing 2019 levels. Our goal is to build tourism into an engine for Argentina’s sustained growth,” asserted the official.

In turn, the Secretary of Transportation, Diego Giuliano, welcomed the participants and said, “for us, this International Forum is critical because it aims to bring concrete actions to make it more secure, accessible, and sustainable. Our generation was challenged by the Pandemic and the war that forced us to think about new scenarios. We welcome this Forum to reinforce our strengths for an increasingly united and connected Latin America”.

Paola Tamburelli, head of ANAC (National Association of Civil Aviation of Argentina), as host of the meeting, highlighted that “our continent has an 88% recovery rate, behind North America, which has 90%. In October, there are no restrictions on the entry of passengers, and there is no country in Latin America and the Caribbean that could be an obstacle to flights from the region. Last year’s conference in Bogota focused on system resilience: this Forum finds us in a different scene. The trend this time around is expansion.” He added that “we have the opportunity to rebuild a global air network, better than before, in a more sustained, more inclusive, more resilient way and also, as we governments agreed with the approval of the whole industry, sustainably.”

“In Argentina in particular, the number of passengers carried on domestic and international flights has a sustained recovery. In August 2019, Argentina handled 1,463,000 passengers. This year, we have 1,267,000 passengers, which translates into a recovery of 87%, mainly in cabotage,” the official explained.

Michael Linenberg, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., spoke about the recovery in the region during his presentation entitled “Prospects for socioeconomic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean .” The current situation is favorable, with a capacity exceeding 2019 levels in several markets. Latin America expects GDP growth of 3.5% in 2022, but in 2023 it is expected to be 1.7%, according to the IMF. Estimates are that services will maintain the growth path, while suppliers and manufacturing will face more difficulties. In addition, the inflationary process in several markets affects the cost chain and makes it very difficult to stimulate demand, leading the industry to a significant diversification of income”.

The academic agenda of the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum addresses topics such as the policies necessary for the deployment of sustainable aviation fuel production and distribution in the region, new technologies for more efficient operations, best practices from other regions, perspectives, and plans for legacy, low cost and regional airlines, operational safety, regulatory harmonization, blockchain and the future of NFTickets, among others.

For more information on the event, you can visit https://altaairlineleaders.com/. In addition, through our social networks – Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram – you can learn details of the development of the event with the #ALTAforum.

ALTA thanks the prime sponsors that make this conference – the first in the industry to offset carbon – possible: Embraer, IBS Software, Sabre, and SmartKargo. And to the sponsors: Continuum, Exolum, GE, Hahn Air, Hitit, Honeywell, Kiu, LATAM Airlines, Pratt & Whitney, Safran, SITA, Terpel, TravelX, Accelya, Airbus, Amadeus, Avianca, Delta Tech Ops, CFM, Boeing, JetSmart and Flybondi.