04/22/2024 – 18:12
Latam Airlines' participation in Brazil's domestic air market reached its highest level in 11 years in March, data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) showed this Monday, 22.
+Latam increases Brazil-Chile flights by more than 30% between May and July
Rival Gol, which is undergoing judicial recovery in the United States, on the other hand, continued to lose share.
The Brazilian unit of Chilean Latam reached a market share of 41% last month, according to data from Anac measured by passenger-kilometers transported (RPK), which the company said was its highest level since the 41.6% reached in July of 2013.
Latam has led the domestic segment in Brazil since 2021, when it overtook Gol — which, in turn, has seen its market share decline since it entered judicial recovery in January.
The airline, which was once the sector leader in Brazil, had a domestic market share of 29% in March, with a drop of 13.4% in the RPK measure compared to the previous year, losing second place to rival Azul , which reached 29.5% after traffic growth of 6.7% year-on-year.
Gol, which faces high debt and delays in deliveries by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, filed for judicial recovery in the United States earlier this year to restructure its debt.
Latam, in turn, emerged from judicial recovery after the pandemic with an $8 billion reorganization plan at the end of 2022 and resumed growth, while Azul had to complete a broad debt restructuring last year.
“In 2024, Latam expects the arrival of more planes and new growth of 7% to 9% in its domestic operations in Brazil, compared to 2023,” the company said in a statement. “In practice, more than 3 million company seats will be added in the country this year.”
Latam traffic, measured by RPK, grew 11% in March compared to the previous year. At the end of last year, Latam had a 37.8% share of the Brazilian domestic market, while Gol and Azul had 33.3% and 28.4%, respectively.
Azul recently raised its forecast for profit in 2024, saying demand has been healthy and more routes are expected to be added this year. According to Anac, total demand for air travel rose 1.4% in March compared to a year earlier.
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