Latam Airlines is relaunching in Italy with 12 weekly flights to Milan and Rome.
Italy is Latam’s 3rd European market
“Italy is the third most important market in Europe, behind Spain and the United Kingdom, with which the difference is minimal,” and this winter the airline is increasing the capacity on offer, said Davide Ioppolo, regional commercial director for Europe, the Middle East and South Africa.
Over 300,000 Italian passengers since January
“We will operate five frequencies a week from both Milan and Rome to Sao Paulo, which from November will increase to six from both airports. Compared to pre-pandemic 2019 - when we operated only from Milan and with a smaller aircraft - we find ourselves with almost double the number of seats. Since the beginning of the year we have carried around 300,000 passengers on the two Italian routes, with an average load factor of around 93-94%, and this summer the increase in travellers was +30%.”
Load factors above 90% levels
The 2024 closure forecast for the Italian market points to “400,000 passengers, while globally we will reach 80 million.” And for next year which in Italy will be a Jubilee Year, estimates are also positive: “demand is very healthy and forecasts for the future equally so. In a couple of years, we could see a slowdown at a global level: but the problems related to aircraft deliveries will affect the industry, leading to a sort of balancing act with the lower demand allowing us to maintain prices and load factors above 90%, levels we have been accustomed to over the last two years.”
Most sales pass through travel agencies
The collaboration with the agency channel is a constant strategy: “this is where the majority of sales pass through and we are also close to the agencies with training activities. The increase in sales from the trade - adv, retail and consolidators - stands at +25-30% and South America still has a very strong and partly unexplored growth potential: this is why it is essential to join forces, not only with the airline and the tourism board, but with the entire supply chain.”
