Irelandia Aviation Update
Tony Davis, member of Irelandia Aviation’s advisory board discusses opportunities for ULCCs and LCCs in South America and challenges taxation and infrastructure those airlines face in spreading the model across the region.
Transcript
Tony DavisWell I think South America generally is very attractive for low cost carriers. We've been established in Colombia now for over five years. Recently we've set up Viva Peru. I think the potential is just amazing. It's clear that there's a lot of demand from consumers. People want to be able to travel affordably. Historically it's been very expensive to get around South America. The opportunity is clearly there. There are some challenges executing the model. It's still quite new to South America but we're absolutely confident it's gonna be a very, very big market for low cost airlines and the Viva group in particular.
So the low cost model in South America is still quite new. I think that's meant that some of the other stakeholders haven't yet adapted some of the models they've worked with historically for the legacy carriers. I think particularly with airports the pricing mechanisms are very rigid and bluntly, quite expensive. We come with a different proposition. We come with high volume, a lot of passengers. We need to help take the airports on that journey to understand that there are other revenue streams beyond just charging the airlines that they're gonna see as we bring a lot more passengers through the airport.
I think airport charging some of the issues with bringing parts and things into the country, the customs process is quite cumbersome. There's lots of operational challenges that we need to stakeholders on the journey and make sure they know the benefits for their country and for their travelers. We need their help to make sure the process can work as swiftly as possible.
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