Brasilia International Airport

Brazil airport privatisation plan comes under attack at ALTA forum

Brazil’s new plan for privatising three of its largest airports has already started to draw criticism from Latin American carriers as well as IATA and the Latin American airline association ALTA. The upcoming privatisation of Brasilia, Sao Paulo Guarulhos and Viracopos-Campinas airports was a hot topic at last week’s ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro.

ALTA, which represents airlines throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and IATA are concerned the three concessions as currently outlined will result in higher fees and a large chunk of the generated revenues not being reinvested in modernising the airports. But ALTA, IATA and the airlines in the region widely recognise the potential benefits of airport privatisation as Latin America struggles to cope with infrastructure challenges that are now threatening to curtail continued growth.

TAM, Brazil’s new global airline, consolidating domestically, leveraging internationally

TAM, Brazil's network carrier now provides both a comprehensive domestic network and is fast expanding its intercontinental reach. This, the third in a CAPA series on Brazil's airlines, looks at TAM's rise, resilience and outlook.

Airline alliances in Latin America provoking major changes. How TAM helps Star

Despite strong growth in several markets, Latin America’s aviation scene is in flux—perhaps more so than any other geographic region on the globe. Political and economic instability have been rampant across the region and continue to be a part of the 21st century landscape. The latest difficulties have been manifest as political unrest in Venezuela and continuing economic turmoil in Argentina, to name just two.

COPA. An airline that makes money!

In an industry where sustainability is seen as a phantom, some of Latin America's airlines, a small but growing sector of the aviation marketplace, are unexpected bright spots. And many of the assumptions previously made about those airlines need revision. Panama's COPA is one such case, a profitable and expanding partner of Continental Airlines. With Continental about to move from SkyTeam to Star Alliance, COPA hopes to maintain its profitable path.