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Tag: Uruguay

Leonardo lands new helicopter contracts in Latin America at LABACE 2023

Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 10, 2023 – Leonardo (OTC: FINMY) confirms its leading position in the private helicopter transport market with new contracts in Latin America announced during official ceremonies held at LABACE 2023.

  • A distributor Agreement was signed at LABACE 2023 between Leonardo and Gruppomodena S.A. for the civil market in Uruguay and Argentina including, an order for two AW119Kx and an order for one AW109 GrandNew for a private operator in Brazil
  • Official distributor in Brazil for the AW09 latest generation single engine, Gualter Helicopters signs for three aircraft with private operators
  • Leonardo’s growth continues to leverage the Agusta brand’s exclusive solutions in the VIP/corporate market and through the new Service and Logistic Centre in Itapevi

Gruppomodena S.A. has been appointed official distributor of Leonardo helicopter types including the AW119Kx, AW109 legacy, AW169 and AW139 for the civil markets in Uruguay and Argentina. The distributor has also signed a contract for two AW119Kx single engine helicopters. A major player in Latin America for helicopter services, this partner is also an established operator of AW109 and AW139 helicopters for a range of roles including passenger transport, offshore transport, and rescue as well as an authorised service centre for the reference market. In addition, another private operator has placed an order for one AW109 GrandNew light twin engine helicopter, which will be operated in Brazil. All of these light helicopters announced at LABACE will feature customised VIP interiors and will be used for private/corporate transport in the relevant locations. 

Furthermore, Leonardo’s distributor for the latest generation AW09 single engine model in Brazil, Gualter Helicopters (Aero Service Representação) has signed contracts for three aircraft for executive transport with three different end-users in the country. These latest achievements for the AW09 in Brazil come two months after the appointment of Gualter Helicopters, which had signed preliminary sales contracts for 20 units in March, providing evidence of the already anticipated strong interest from potential operators in acquiring the new type. Acquired three years ago by Leonardo, the AW09 perfectly complements Leonardo’s product range in the Long Light Single segment, introducing an all-new design aircraft to sustain long-term competitive positioning in this weight category. 

With a 45% share over the last ten years, Leonardo is the world leader in the twin-engine VIP/corporate helicopter market including private, charter and VVIP/Government transport services, thanks to the most modern and largest product range. More than 900 Leonardo VIP/corporate helicopters are flying today globally, approximately 25% are based in Latin America. Leonardo is also leveraging the Agusta brand for today’s and future VIP market initiatives. This brand exemplifies the unique combination of best in class performance, latest technology, comfort and Italian style widely recognised in the market for Leonardo’s VIP-configured helicopters, delivering a unique service and flight experience. Moreover, operators benefit from the all new Service and Logistic Centre in Itapevi (São Paulo), which has allowed to further increase the level of quality localised technical assistance over the last two years, with the potential for a future expansion.

Delta and LATAM Receive Final Approval in Brazil for Joint Venture Agreement

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and LATAM (Santiago: LTM.SN) have received final approval, without conditions, of their commercial agreement (“trans-American Joint Venture agreement” or “JVA”) by the Brazilian competition authority – the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – after initial approval was granted in September 2020. The JVA seeks to enhance the route networks served by both airlines, delivering a seamless travel experience between North and South America. The Delta-LATAM agreement has also been approved in Uruguay while the application process continues in other countries, including Chile.

“This final approval in Brazil furthers our mission to provide customers in this important market with the world-class travel experience and options they deserve,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “Moving forward, we will continue working with LATAM to unlock more benefits for our customers and create the premier airline alliance of the Americas.”

LATAM Airlines Group CEO Roberto Alvo added, “This ruling  reinforces the benefits of this type of agreement for travelers and enables us to advance in our commitment to delivering greater and better connectivity between South America and the world.” 

The ratification by the Brazilian authority supports the work of both airlines to deliver a broader and more competitive network of benefits for their customers that will include, among others:

  • Code-share agreements between Delta and certain subsidiaries of the LATAM group, which allow the purchase of tickets to a larger network of destinations.
  • Members of the Delta SkyMiles and LATAM Pass programs can redeem points / miles on both airlines, accessing more than 435 destinations around the world.
  • Shared terminals and faster connections at Terminal 4 of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and at Terminal 3 of São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport.
  • Reciprocal lounge access: Customers can access 35 Delta Sky Club lounges in the United States and five LATAM VIP lounges in South America.

Chile’s SKY Orders 10 A321XLRs to Expand International Footprint

SKY, a Chilean-based ultra-low-cost carrier, has signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for 10 A321XLRs. The airline will expand its international route network with the new aircraft.

The A321XLR is the next evolutionary step in the A320neo/A321neo Family, meeting market requirements for increased range and payload in a single-aisle aircraft. The A321XLR will deliver an unprecedented narrow-body airliner range of up to 4,700nm, with 30% lower fuel consumption per seat compared with previous-generation competitor jets, allowing airlines to expand networks by making new longer routes economically viable.

“This new aircraft fleet will allow us to expand our offer of international and wide-ranging routes, always under our successful low cost model and its extremely convenient ticket prices. Now passengers can enjoy new and very attractive destinations on the most modern airplanes in the market,” said Holger Paulmann, CEO of SKY.

Arturo Barreira, President of Airbus Latin America, said: “We are delighted that SKY has selected the A321XLR to further expand its fleet of all Airbus aircraft. The A321XLR will allow SKY to offer its customers new destinations, such as direct flights from Santiago in Chile to Miami in the U.S.”

According to the latest Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF), Latin America will need 2,700 new aircraft in the next 20 years, more than double today’s fleet. Passenger traffic in Latin America has doubled since 2002 and is expected to continue growing over the next two decades. Specifically in Chile, traffic is expected to increase from 0.89 trips per capita to 2.26 trips in 2038.

In parallel to the growing fleet, according to Airbus’ latest GMF, there will be a need for 47,550 new pilots and 64,160 technicians to be trained over the next 20 years in Latin America. To cover this necessity SKY also selected Airbus as its flight training provider, making the airline the launch customer for the new Airbus Chile Training Centre. The centre will offer flight crew training for Chilean pilots and will include a full-flight A320 simulator.

SKY has been an Airbus customer since 2010 and became an all-Airbus operator in 2013. The airline’s fleet of 23 A320 Family aircraft serves national and international routes connecting Chile to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay.

Airbus has sold 1,200 aircraft, has a backlog of more than 600 and more than 700 in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 60% market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured nearly 70% of net orders in the region.

Embraer Welcomes Amaszonas to the E-Jets Family

São José dos Campos, Brazil, October 15, 2019 – Amaszonas Línea Aérea of Bolivia is the newest Embraer E-Jet operator. The airline started flying an E190 today between Santa Cruz de la Sierra’s Viru Viru Airport and La Paz. Amaszonas is adding a total of six E190s to its fleet. The airplanes will fly to several domestic and international destinations.

“We have been working with Amaszonas for a long-time. To see the E190 flying in the airline’s colors is really rewarding for Embraer,” said Reinaldo Krugner, Vice President, Latin America & Caribbean, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “The E190 is the ideal aircraft to support the airline’s growing capacity in a very disciplined way. Amaszonas is taking advantage of the E190’s low operating cost.”

The first two E190s are leased from GECAS and configured with 112 seats in a single class layout. The other four aircraft will be leased from CDB Leasing and have 110 seats in a single class layout. The airline will also operate the E190s at Montevideo’s Carrasco International Airport in the future.

“The range of the E190 allows us to replace our smaller regional jets and support our expansion plans in Bolivia and Uruguay,” Sergio de Urioste, President & CEO of Amaszonas Línea Aérea. “Our E-Jets give us the flexibility we need to add more frequencies and destinations. We know our passengers are going to love the comfort of the E190 cabin.”

Embraer and Amaszonas have also signed a Flight Hour Pool Program agreement until 2024 to provide repairable component support for the carrier’s fleet of up to six E190s. The multiyear program features both the Pool Program and repair management services for the carrier’s fleet of E-Jets, including material services engineering and advanced component exchanges from Embraer’s spare parts distribution center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.