With Latin American air travel outpacing the industry’s global recovery, the region’s commercial fleet is projected to grow by more than 85% over the next 20 years, fuelled by the strength of domestic and intra-regional travel, Boeing released in its 2022 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO). The region is well-positioned for healthy recovery beyond near-term market disruptions.
According to Boeing’s 2022 CMO, the Latin American and Caribbean region will need 2,240 new airplanes by 2041. The CMO, an annual projection for commercial airplanes and services, forecasts that more than 2,000 single-aisle deliveries will more than double the current fleet to serve popular leisure routes between North America, Mexico and the Caribbean, while also expanding intra-regional networks. As the fleet grows, demand for commercial aviation services will grow as well, reaching US$165 billion in value over the forecast period.
More than half of new airplane deliveries will accommodate growth in commercial aviation across the continent, with the remaining orders replacing older airplanes with more fuel-efficient models such as the 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and 777X, according to Boeing. In the past decade, Latin American carriers have opened more than 200 city pairs across the region, a foundation for future single-aisle demand that will account for over 90% of deliveries.
Fleet renewal is a key component of Boeing’s strategy to decarbonise aerospace. New airplanes provide significant efficiency gains — each generation reduces fuel use and emissions 15-25%.