Low-Cost Airlines Slow to Take Off in Latin America Agence France-Presse
go to original December 28, 2016

Latin America has few of the secondary airports that low-cost airlines love, and the distances tend to be longer (Reuters)

Latin America has long lured travelers with its history, music and natural beauty spanning from Mexico’s deserts to the Amazon rainforest to the glaciers of Patagonia. But air travel largely remains a privilege for the rich.

...Travel forums and tourist blogs are awash with comments on Latin America’s sky-high airfares, compared to those in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Latin America has few of the secondary airports that low-cost airlines love, and the distances tend to be longer. The lack of a common market like the European Union also means more burdensome regulations for airlines.

Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are the only countries in the region with established low-cost airlines. They run mostly domestic flights, at higher prices than in Europe.

“The business environment isn’t very favorable” for low-cost airlines in Latin America, said Bertrand Mouly-Aigrot, an air travel specialist at Archery Strategy Consulting in Paris. “But it’s changing,” he added.

“You’ve got a large population pool, mostly growing economies, a true middle class and a developing tourism sector. There’s no reason the low-cost phenomenon, which is sweeping every other region in the world, will not hit Latin America.”

Several start-ups are poised to change the landscape.

Read the rest at Malay Mail Online

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