LCCs in Latin America: Peru’s rise as an economic star could draw attention from potential operators

As Latin America attempts to climb out of a two year long recession, Peru has emerged as a bright spot in the region - based on air passenger growth and the country's economic performance. For the seven months ending Jul-2016 Peru recorded 9% passenger growth to 11.2 million, driven by growth of 10.2% in the country's domestic market.

Peru's air passenger growth continues to remain promising, as the country's largest airline - LATAM Airlines Peru - calculates that the country's trips per capita are slightly below the still-emerging markets of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, whose passenger growth potential should remain robust once the country's economy begins to fully recover.

Periodically speculation arises over the potential opportunity for a low cost airline to break into Peru's market. The country's growth prospects certainly warrant examination of stimulative opportunities in Peru, but so far the country lacks a true low cost airline.