Above: an Airbus plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Latin America and the Caribbean will need 2,294 new passenger and freighter aircraft by the year 2033, according to Airbus’ latest global market forecast.

That number would include 1,784 single-aisle, 481 twin-aisle and 29 very large planes worth an estimated $292 billion, according to the company.

“A strong economy and growing middle class has set the stage for the region’s traffic to grow at an average of 4.9 percent annually in the next 20 years, outperforming the world average of 4.7 percent,” the company said. “As a result, traffic flows within Brazil, between the United States and South America and between Western Europe and South America will grow to be among the top 20 in the world by 2033.”

While today, North Americans and Europeans are the most willing to fly, the company said, in the next 20 years that could change.

According to Airbus, that could mean that Latin American and Caribbean travelers will travel twice as much to reach the levels in Europe today.

And that would mean intra-regional and domestic traffic within Latin America and the Caribbean could triple by 2033.

“In regards to long-haul market, while the top European and North American airlines carry nearly 40 percent of the traffic, the top airlines of Latin American and the Caribbean only carry 19 percent, foregoing valuable revenue to foreign competitors,” said Rafael Alonso, President of Airbus for Latin American and the Caribbean. “This year, we are finally seeing Latin America carriers reposition themselves to capture international traffic, but huge potential remains for regional airlines to increase their market share on long-haul routes.”

There are currently more than 550 Airbus aircraft in operation in the region.