Welcome to the second instalment of our Latin America Aviation series. Following analysis of capacity within Latin America in part one, we now look outwards at its international markets outside the continent. Comparing November 2023 capacity data with November 2024, there are some interesting findings which highlight the growth of connectivity of the Latin America region globally.

Capacity between Latin America and North America – largely due to geography and trade - accounts for a larger share of capacity (45%) than capacity within Latin America (42%). However, capacity within the continent is growing faster with an increase of 7.7% year-on-year (above the average). Whereas airline capacity between Latin America and North America is growing at a slower rate of 4.3%, slower than the overall trend of 6.0% growth year-on-year.

North America Remains an Important Market

In November 2024, there are 6.3 million seats on offer between North America and Latin America.

Five of the Top 10 Busiest International Flight Routes in Latin America this November connect the continent to North America:

• Orlando – San Juan (MCO-SJU)
• Cancun – Toronto (CUN-YYZ)
• New York JFK – San Juan (JFK-SJU)
• Punta Cana – Toronto (PUJ-YYZ)
• Bogota – Miami (BOG-MIA)
  
  
• Busiest Routes Worldwide This Month | View Data

The largest country market is Mexico, accounting for more than one-third of all seats - 35% -  of total Latin America to North America capacity.

While the overall Latin America – North America market is growing at a slower than average rate, capacity between Mexico and North America continues to see strong growth, up by 7.9% year on year.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Volaris are the largest players on the cross-border market, accounting for almost half of all capacity (47%).  Delta combined with Aeroméxico are the second biggest although the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision earlier this year to terminate its approval of Delta and Aeroméxico’s Joint Cooperation Agreement will likely alter the competitive environment further.

How About Connectivity With Europe?

Although very much smaller, the third largest region served from Latin America is Europe, which accounts for just 12% of Latin America’s international capacity. This market is experiencing strong growth with an increase of 12.1% compared to last November.

The Latin American countries with the most connections to Europe are Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Combined the three countries account for almost half of capacity between Latin America and Europe with 0.8 million seats, and an average of 605 flights per week this November. Spain is the largest country market, with 0.6m seats from a number of countries across Latin America. The busiest Latin America – European airline route operates between Bogota and Madrid and is considerably larger at 82,000 seats this month than the next biggest route between Mexico City and Madrid which has almost 50,000 seats this month.

The country pairs seeing the largest growth are Brazil – Portugal, where capacity has increased by 8% year on year, and Colombia – Spain, up by 7% on last November. 

Latin America to the World?

Capacity to the rest of the world from Latin America is much smaller, accounting for just 0.8% of the total, equivalent to just over 113,000 seats.

Given the great distances involved between the continents, North America and Europe have traditionally been the transit regions for Asia-Latin America traffic, but the Middle East has also emerged as a hub for connections to the region. Gulf carriers, such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad, have made significant inroads into the Asia-Latin America market.  Turkish Airlines also has a presence in the Asia-Latin America market, leveraging its geographical advantage and strong connections in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Ethiopian airlines also offer connections between the regions.

Despite this, Asia Pacific capacity is expanding, driven by new routes connecting major cities in China and South Korea to destinations in Mexico. 

There are now direct flights from Beijing to Tijuana, and Shenzhen to Mexico City (although this China Southern route operates via Tijuana on the return leg) while Incheon and Narita have established links to Monterrey.

The challenge for connecting Asia with Latin America is largely geographical – the Shenzhen – Mexico City route is one of the longest flight routes in the world at a distance of 14,124 kilometers. This route operates via Tijuana on the return leg because of the high altitude at Mexico City and the distance of the route, meaning that this extended range is challenging operationally.

Connections to Australia and New Zealand also remain limited to just 3 services between Santiago to Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.  Again, the distances involved here are considerable, with Melbourne – Santiago operating at a distance of 11,318km.

As of now, the connectivity between Latin America and Africa remains limited, especially from South America. There are only a few non-stop routes between the two continents. TAAG Angola Airlines operates flights between Luanda, Angola, and São Paulo, Brazil. Ethiopian Airlines also offers flights connecting Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to São Paulo.

GOL, LATAM Airlines and South African Airways operate non-stop flights from Brazil to Johannesburg, South Africa. South African also fly direct between Sao Paulo and Cape Town. The limited number of direct flights means that most passengers traveling between Latin America and Africa must transit through Europe or the Middle East.

Stay tuned for the next part of this series, where we'll delve into the fascinating world of Latin America's largest airlines. We'll be examining the key players, their strategies, and the trends shaping the future of air travel in Latin America. In the meantime, discover the biggest airlines, airports and more statistics on our Latin America market dashboard.