The CEO of LATAM highlighted the signal of the Argentine government's opening and said they are analyzing opportunities in the market.

The LATAM CEO highlighted the opening signal from the Argentine government and said they are analyzing opportunities in the market. Roberto Alvo clarified, however, that the company's priority remains international business; from the industry warned about the high costs of air navigation. - 5 minutes reading' BUENOS AIRES.– The LATAM CEO, Roberto Alvo, highlighted the opening signal from the Javier Milei government in air transport and assured that the company is analyzing new opportunities in the Argentine market, although he clarified that, for the moment, their priority remains international business. The company, which knew how to operate domestic flights in the country, took advantage of the open skies agreement between Argentina and Chile to reconnect Buenos Aires with Miami again last year, through a flight departing from Santiago and using the rights of fifth freedom of the air. According to data from September from the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC), LATAM was the airline that transported the most international passengers in the Argentine market, with a participation of 20.02%, followed by Aerolíneas Argentinas, with 16.97%. “For LATAM, Argentina is an extremely important market. It is the largest one we have south of our hubs and has always been and will continue to be fundamental for our network. Today we have more than 30 international flights daily from our connection centers and direct flights, such as Buenos Aires to Miami,” Alvo said during the 22nd ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum, the main meeting of the air transport industry in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this context, he highlighted the government's decision to proceed with the deregulation of the sector. “The opening signal given by the Argentine government is very good. 20 years ago, this was a totally closed continent and today almost all barriers have fallen,” he stated. The executive maintained that the elimination of restrictions allows evaluating alternatives that were not previously possible. “We always analyze opportunities and we know that this reduction in barriers means we can see options that were previously simply not feasible. We will communicate it,” he added. However, he dismissed a return to the domestic Argentine market for now, from which LATAM withdrew in 2020. “Our priority in Argentina is in international business,” he clarified. The counterpoint on costs Alvo shared the conference with Peter Cerdá, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) and regional vice-president for the Americas of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), who highlighted that the Argentine government opened new avenues of dialogue with airlines after several disagreements over sector costs. In May, IATA had questioned the ANAC's decision to approve increases in charges for air navigation services provided by the Argentine Air Navigation Company (EANA). The entity called the measure unilateral and asked to suspend its application until convening a formal consultation instance with the companies. “Following those announcements, we had a positive dialogue with the government. Three working groups were agreed upon that we hope will allow for greater transparency, especially in the way costs charged to airlines are managed,” explained Cerdá. However, he warned that Argentina has the highest air navigation costs in the region. According to him, this year a 15% increase in charges for international overflight and landing was announced, added to the 18% applied last year. “If we compare with Chile, Argentina charges US$2761 for every 1000 kilometers, while the neighboring country charges US$228. We are talking about very significant differences,” he noted. In this regard, he maintained that although it is necessary to improve infrastructure, investments should be discussed with the companies. “The most important thing is to have an open and transparent dialogue and to know how the investments will be carried out, because in the end, those who pay are the passengers and the airlines,” he affirmed. Cerdá highlighted that over the last four months progress was made in forming the working groups, which will allow the sector to participate in discussions about investments and costs. The challenge of making air transport more accessible Beyond the Argentine situation, both executives agreed that Latin America has a significant growth potential, although they warned that taxes, rates, and infrastructure costs remain obstacles to its development. “In countries like Brazil, Argentina, or Colombia, we are still competing with buses. A large part of the population still travels by land,” Cerdá noted, who considered that governments should work together with airlines to improve connectivity and promote tourism, instead of increasing the tax burden. For his part, Alvo defended the evolution of airfares and maintained that the industry passed on the efficiency improvements obtained during the last decades to the passengers. “Today it is much more accessible and cheap to fly than at any other time in history. The industry has democratized air transport,” he stated. As an example, he mentioned that in Chile, average fares, measured in real terms, were two and a half times higher 25 years ago than those recorded last year. “The industry has done its part. Let's see how many passengers flew 30 years ago, what the average fares were, and what is happening now,” he concluded.