LATAM Airlines remains willing to operate other types of single-aisle aircraft other than the Airbus A320 family.
However, although it is evaluating aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and the Embraer E2, no decision has been made on the matter.
The statement was made by the CEO of the Brazilian division, Jerome Cadier, during the announcement of the Chilean group’s results on Friday.
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According to him, since 2023 the airline has been looking for other types of aircraft besides the A320 and its derivatives in order to strengthen the fleet due to the growing demand.
A little less than a year ago, LATAM made a bold move by sending a letter to the lessors of Gol’s 737 MAX stating that it was interested in leasing them.
The move sparked protests from its rival, which had filed for Chapter 11 in the US in order to renegotiate its debts with creditors.
Regarding Embraer’s E2 aircraft, Cardier did not rule them out, but any decision would depend on market prospects.
Last year, Embraer began talks with LATAM and Gol, encouraged by the Brazilian government, which appealed for them to operate the company’s aircraft.
Despite some favorable rumors, no order was announced.
Significant positive results in 2024
The Latam Group reported very positive results in 2024, with a net profit of almost US$ 1 billion.
82 million passengers were transported, a record high. The company also recorded liquidity of US$ 3.4 billion, with a ratio of 1.7 times net debt.
The year ended with a network of 151 destinations in 27 countries and a fleet of 347 aircraft, 16 of which were received in the last 12 months.
Possible Gol-Azul merger still unclear
Jerome also responded to several questions about Gol and Azul’s intention to combine their businesses.
The rivals, which are experiencing financial difficulties, signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which they set out the steps to study a possible merger.
According to the CEO of LATAM Brazil, “it is too early to make any assessment since the memorandum is very generic.”
For him, until the business proposal is revealed, there is not much to say about it. The executive once again noted that any potential association will have to include very clear measures to mitigate the repercussions.
With 60% of the domestic market, Azul and Gol claim to have only 10% overlap in routes, but Jerome Cardier stated that each airport will have to undergo a specific assessment since some of them have a massive presence of both airlines.
He once again stated that the situation of the two competitors – high debt – cannot be resolved with a merger but rather with restructuring.
“And in the world we have seen several mergers of smaller companies that ended up not being approved,” Cardier recalled.
