South American airline behemoth LATAM is “bullish” on the prospects for growth of international air travel from Brazil, the company’s CEO said. At the same time, it also awaits delivery of its first Embraer E2s to support the carrier’s domestic expansion.
Jerome Cadier, CEO of LATAM Airlines Brasil, said at the Routes Americas 2026 conference that the new generation of Embraer aircraft would allow the carrier to add connections and frequencies to markets that cannot sustain the larger Airbus A320-family of aircraft.
The conference, held this year in Rio de Janeiro, provides a meeting place for airlines and airports to discuss new route opportunities.
LATAM Brasil ‘bullish’ on future growth
Speaking to delegates there, he said: “I am bullish in terms of what international markets we can offer out of Brazil.”
Cadier, who led the creation of the LATAM brand, said that the introduction of the E2 was central to the airline’s growth strategy.
São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport has been developed as a hub for the carrier, with long-haul services operating into GRU from across the Americas and Europe.
From GRU, LATAM operates a significant short-haul operation, which benefits connecting passengers, and the entry into service of a new regional aircraft supports the carrier’s plan to grow.
How the Embraer E195-E2 will support LATAM’s plans
The carrier has an agreement with Embraer for up to 74 Embraer E195-E2s. The order includes 24 firm deliveries and 50 purchase options. Deliveries of the aircraft will start in November or December, Cadier said, with flights soon after pending regulatory approval.
The E2s will herald a “new wave of growth given the smaller gauge of the aircraft”, he said.
LATAM Brasil has a fleet of 90 Airbus A320s, another 49 A321s and 18 A319s. But with the lower seat count and reduced operating costs versus those Airbus types, the Embraer E-jet will enable LATAM to increase frequencies and enter new markets.
Cadier said this would initially be limited to domestic Brazilian destinations but did not rule out international expansion for its E2s within South America in due course.
The expansion fits a pattern for LATAM. Since 2021, the group has expanded its network from 129 to 160 passenger destinations – a 24% increase.
Charting a new course for LATAM post-restructure
LATAM Airlines Group and its Brazilian subsidiary successfully emerged from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in November 2022, having filed in May 2020 in part due to the pandemic.
With LATAM’s restructuring behind it, Cadier forecast a “significant growth” in the number of people flying in Brazil, stating that the airline serves approximately 20 million customers annually (some of whom are frequent fliers) – a fraction of the country’s nearly 220 million people.
“When we look at capacity, we have to make sure that growth is profitable,” he added. “This is a change [in how we operate], but [post Chapter 11] you have to grow profitably.
“We invested a lot into making sure our product is a more competitive one. So when we look at what we did, not only in the last few years, after the Chapter 11, but this started way back in 2018, it was really making sure that this company operates in a very controlled [way].”
The airline executive said that consolidation and restructuring that started in 2012 with the merger of Chile’s LAN Airlines and Brazil’s TAM Linhas Aéreas, and continued through the Chapter 11 process, had resulted in a single brand identity for the carrier, which was “really paying off”.
Customers are clear about the product they are getting, and connecting passengers can be sure that each of their flights on LATAM-painted aircraft would offer the same level of service, he said.
But Cadier noted that in order to ensure medium- and long-term growth, beyond the next decade, the Brazilian government would need to start having a conversation with industry about infrastructure expansion, as the capacity of existing facilities may in some circumstances be exhausted within the next 10 years.
Featured image: Travers / stock.adobe.com
