Successful first day of the ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum

With more than 500 participants and 47 airline CEOs, a record for the event, the 18th edition of the ALTA Annual General Assembly and Leaders Forum began in Buenos Aires, bringing together the leaders of the sector in the region with its 154 members , which account for 80 percent of Latin American and Caribbean traffic.
The Argentine capital is transformed for 3 days into the capital of Latin American aviation, with a conference that covers various aspects of the sector always with the post-pandemic recovery in the midst of a challenging global economic outlook due to the increase in oil prices and the dollar and the challenges represented by the environmental goals of the sector (being 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, the Executive Director & CEO of ALTA, José Ricardo Botelho, remarked that: “We have a lot to do as a regional association and we have phenomenal potential. May this Forum serve to create a State Agenda. As I always say, where aviation is, there is development. There isn't a single place on the entire planet where our industry is present and we don't have infrastructure development, jobs, and 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 incorporated 24 new members only throughout 2022, reaching 154 members that represent almost 90% of all traffic in the region. We want to invite you to participate in the association. We are here for you, for you. The entire chain involved. We currently have 57 actions in progress simultaneously”, Botelho pointed out to the main executives of the region.
“As people we feel that we are coming out of the Pandemic, but the industry continues to suffer since it did not receive any type of support from the States. In addition, we are the only industry that is 100% committed and involved and took concrete actions to decarbonize the sector with the aim of protecting our future. But we have to do it jointly without losing the opportunity and potential of our region for the generation of SAF”.
During his speech as the new President of the ALTA Executive Committee, Adrián Neuhauser reviewed the critical issues for the industry, with a mixture of good news and a review of the challenges of the sector. “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, it continues to be a region with few trips per inhabitant and expensive for a poor society with challenges of costs, infrastructure, legal frameworks, taxes and the environmental challenges that come to us as World. As an example, an average inflation rate of 14.6% throughout the region - albeit unevenly - severely affects the industry, with very high volatility in fuel costs, as well as challenges in the human resources area that we are going to have to deal with and also infrastructure. Also the tax pressure is very strong with tickets whose more than 50% of the value without taxes. In the midst of a volatile context marked by economic indicators that once again challenge us, the market demands of us more than ever strength, competitiveness, diversification and flexibility”.
In the inaugural press conference, and in his role as outgoing president of the ALTA Executive Committee, Roberto Alvo, CEO of LATAM, highlighted the relevance of the event while stating that "there is a brisk, dynamic recovery of the market in Latin America and the Caribbean after of the pandemic and after several ups and downs in the last 2 years.” And he recalled that in the midst of a pandemic they operated at 4% and 5% of the capacity of the airlines, and then in 2021, although many countries were opened, although they experienced problems due to the different rebounds of the Covid virus- in different magnitudes.
“We are seeing a more definitive recovery period. ALTA has worked very intensively with governments to accelerate the reopening of markets, being the only region in the world that did not receive any type of state support and with macroeconomic variables playing against it. We are in a period of reconsolidation that will continue in 2023 and we hope that by 2024 the industry will return to total normality. 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 the invitation to be part of the meeting and highlighted in his message that “The member states of ICAO recognize that air transport is an important engine of prosperity. The pandemic has shown us the strategic factor of aviation to overcome crises and has helped us to reflect on the importance of standards in reactivating travellers' confidence”.
“In addition, the industry is at a crossroads. This turning point that was analyzed at the 41st ICAO Triennial Assembly. With a very ambitious long-term goal to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. There are measures that give us reason to trust that emission-free flights can be a reality in a few decades. ICAO plays a central role and is open to discussions with all public and private actors. Latin America and the Caribbean have favorable conditions and we can lead the production of sustainable fuels throughout the world,” added Salazar.
Matías Lammens, Minister of Tourism and Sports, gave a few words where he briefly reviewed his management: “In December 2019 we took office as a government with a very high expectation of generating progress with tourism as a generator of foreign exchange and generator of quality work. . And in March 2020 we all watched as the companies were left with zero turnover due to the Pandemic”.
“For us, the airlines are fundamental partners to build tourism in an engine for the sustained growth of Argentina. We seek to create conditions for companies to invest in our country, earning money to invest again. We estimate to exceed 100 percent capacity in domestic traffic in these last months of the year, exceeding the levels of 2019. Our objective is to build tourism into an engine for the sustained growth of Argentina,” the official asserted.
In his turn, the Secretary of Transportation, Diego Giuliano, welcomed the participants and stated that “for us, this international Forum is very important because it aims to take concrete actions to make it safer, more accessible, and more sustainable. Our generation was challenged by the Pandemic and by the war that forces us to think of new scenarios. Welcome to this Forum to reinforce our strengths for an increasingly united and connected Latin America”.
Lic. Paola Tamburelli, head of the ANAC (National Association of Civil Aviation of Argentina) as host of the meeting, highlighted that "our continent has 88% recovery, placing it behind North America, which has 90%. In the month October there are no restrictions on the entry of passengers and there is no country in Latin America and the Caribbean that could pose an obstacle to flights from the region.Last year's conference in Bogotá focused on the resilience of the system: this forum finds us in a different scene. The trend this time is expansion.” And she 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 governments agree with the approval of the entire industry,
“In Argentina in particular, the number of passengers transported 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”, explained the official.
In his turn and during his presentation entitled "Perspectives for socioeconomic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean", Michael Linenberg, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., spoke about the recovery in the region. “The current situation is positive with 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 continue to grow, while suppliers and manufacturing will experience more difficulties. In addition, the inflationary process in various markets affects the cost chain and makes it very difficult to stimulate demand, leading the industry to a marked diversification of income”.
The academic agenda of the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum deals with topics such as the necessary policies for the deployment of the production and distribution of sustainable aviation fuels in the region, new technologies for more efficient operations, best practices from other regions, perspectives and future plans for legacy, low cost and regional airlines, operational security, 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 will be able to know details of the development of the event with the #ALTAforum. 
ALTA thanks the prime sponsors who make this conference possible – the first in the industry to offset carbon: 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.