Apex captures seat capacity and departures on all scheduled routes operated by airlines based in Latin America. This article aims to identify how LATAM Airlines' network contributed in 2024 to Latin America’s air connectivity based on seat concentration, a commonly used metric in the aviation industry to measure connectivity.
Findings
Chart 1 illustrates a market overview of the seat share among the largest players in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 (outbound and inbound), including all subsidiaries for airlines with operations across the region.
- LATAM Airlines is the largest carrier in Latin America, offering 25% of the seats provided by airlines based in the region.
- Top operators in the region include Avianca, Azul, Gol, and Volaris, which complete the top five airlines in terms of capacity.
Chart 1: Seat Share in Latin America
As show in Chart 2 LATAM Airlines' dominance is unsurprising, given its robust domestic and diverse international network in Brazil, the largest economy, most populous country, and widest territory in the region. LATAM allocates 50% of its total capacity to Brazil, with 90% of this capacity dedicated to the Brazilian domestic market.
Among its other subsidiaries, LATAM also boasts robust domestic networks. Chile and Peru have the most significant concentration of international seats, with 20% of total seats allocated to international flights. This contrasts with the Colombian and Ecuadorian subsidiaries, where less than 10% of seats are assigned to international routes. Paraguay, on the other hand, is the only subsidiary with international flights, and its capacity is fully connected to the three biggest subsidiaries in the region, as shown later in Chart 3 suggesting that its traffic has a strong percentage of connecting passengers.
Chart 2: LATAM's seat share among subsidiaries
Table 1 shows that 95.76% of LATAM's seats are concentrated in South America, reflecting once again the substantial domestic operations of each subsidiary. Nevertheless, LATAM's international market reach is impressive, with a clear strategic allocation of seats to leverage the geographical location of its hubs. For example, 79% of LATAM's seats to Europe are served from its hub in São Paulo Guarulhos, while 100% of its seats to Australasia are served from its hub in Santiago.
Table 1: LATAM's seat share among global markets
This international connectivity is complemented by a good connectivity among their subsidiaries as shown in Chart 3 where the allocation of international seats to other subsidiaries is shown.
Chart 3: International seats between LATAM's subsidiaries
Conclusion
Overall, LATAM Airlines offers robust connectivity within South America, particularly in the domestic markets of its subsidiaries. However, the majority of LATAM's international seats are concentrated in its two largest subsidiaries, limiting direct international flight options for customers in Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay. This adds to travel time and may not be as convenient for those seeking direct routes. There is room for improvement in providing more direct international options to unserved or underserved markets. The incorporation of the A321 XLR into LATAM's fleet will enable the airline to serve more international markets directly, especially from South America to North America, where LATAM has the highest concentration of international seats.
Banner image by Davi Costa on Unsplash
