What is Latin America’s Most-Flown Business Aircraft

According to WingX Advance, the Cessna 208 Caravan led the list of the ten most-used business aircraft in Latin America, by departures between January 2024 and April 2024.

Cessna’s versatile turboprop model recorded more than 11,000 departures – significantly more than what the Beechcraft King Air 200 (second most popular with 5,912 departures), and the King Air 90 (third most popular with 5,869 departures) recorded during the same timeframe.

Indeed, according to the experts, it should come as no surprise that three turboprop models topped the list.

While their lower hourly operating costs certainly play a role in their popularity, for Leonardo Fiuza, President at TAM Aviação Executiva of Brazil – a country with approximately 200 Cessna Caravans and a fleet of roughly 650 Beechcraft King Airs – there are two distinct reasons why the popularity of turboprops is so high.

“The Caravan is the most-operated aircraft by air taxi companies, and specifically the ones located in the North Region (around the Amazon rainforest),” he explains.

“Regarding the King Airs, they are the top option for agribusiness customers – one of the pillars of the Brazilian economy (and responsible for a significant part of the country’s GDP) – due to their flexibility to land on unpaved runways.”

Operational Advantages of Turboprops in LATAM

Turboprops have an ‘operational advantage’ over jets in the region, says Carlos Cueva, General Manager at ATSA.

For the Peru-based operator, their King Air B200 is currently leading in terms of demand, with approximately 2,000 accumulated hours through 2023, followed by ATSA’s Beechcraft 1900D (which flew approximately 1,800 hours during the same period).

“Price per hour is certainly an important advantage when choosing a turboprop aircraft,” Cueva argues. “Nonetheless, we consider that they also top the list due to their great versatility and performance, which allows them to perform in a diverse array of missions or configurations.”

But the region’s infrastructure also, ultimately, plays a big role in the popularity of turboprops across LATAM, with many unprepared runways in remote locations across the continent, some of which are restricted and uncontrolled airfields, notes Jairo Ochoa, Chief Commercial Officer at Flapz.

Indeed, Perla Fagundez, CEO at Aerowise, a Business Aviation services provider based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, reckons that turboprops are the only option to connect a region where 70% of the runways are unpaved.

“They are ideal for short flights due to their low operating costs,” she adds.

Do Business Jets Have a Market in Latin America?

The first business jet to appear in the WingX Advance ‘Most-Flown’ list for the LATAM region is the Embraer Phenom 300, with more than 4,000 flights between January and April 2024.

Manufactured by Brazil-based Embraer, the versatile Light Jet is a popular option, while the Hawker 400 and Cessna Citation II are the only two other business jet models to appear in WingX’s Top 10.

Business jet generate mixed responses in the still-developing Latin American Business Aviation market. 

For instance, Cueva reckons jets are essentially geared towards another segment, being mostly used to transfer executives to hub airports in South America.

“We believe that jets will not play an increasingly significant role in the future due to rising operational costs such as fuel, hourly labour costs for maintenance, and their limitations in landing on unprepared or short airfields,” he projects.

Ochoa disagrees, however, believing jets do indeed have a bright future in the Latin American market, mainly because the demand for air travel will increase in the coming years.

“In addition, the comfort and efficiency of business jets are superior to the scheduled airlines,” he notes. “However, aircraft offering more competitive hourly rates will be required, such as Bombardier Learjet models, Hawkers, Embraer Phenoms, and other Light and Mid-Size Jet models.”

For Fiuza, increasing demand for business jets is already apparent, with many Ultra-Long-Range models – including Bombardier Globals, Gulfstreams, Dassault Falcons, and Boeing BBJs – having a presence in Brazil.

Fagundez agrees, adding that she is seeing an increased demand specifically for long-haul [business] jets in Argentina and throughout the region.

Emerging Business Aviation Markets Within LATAM

With Brazil and Mexico leading the way in the LATAM region, WingX Advance data shows that Colomba, Argentina and Venezuela comprise the ‘Top Five’ markets in the region regarding business aircraft movements, which is one of the important variables that determines the potential of a Business Aviation market.

“Looking around Latin America we see markets like Chile, Colombia, and some places in Central America generating demand these days,” reveals Fiuza.

For ATSA, whose main markets are Peru and Chile, provision of air ambulance services, calibration of ground-based air navigation systems, and passenger and cargo transport for the mining, oil, and insurance sectors are required, along with the provision of regular passenger transport services.

Flapz’s main market is Colombia while Chile is another, and the company hopes to also see increasing sales in Mexico in the near future. “It is possible that in the coming years, Central America and the Caribbean destinations will see an increase in demand due to tourism,” Ochoa adds.

In Summary…

Price per hour is clearly an important advantage for LATAM’s business aircraft buyers and private charter users, leading many to choose turboprop models.

These aircraft have the capacity to take off and land in short and unprepared fields, of which there are many within this region – so turboprops offer an operational advantage over business jets in such scenarios.

“Having, approximately, more than 1,000 aircraft operating in its 3,000 unprepared airfields, Brazil currently leads in terms of turboprops use,” Cueva concludes.

More information from:
Aerowise: https://aerowise.aero
ATSA: www.atsaperu.com
Flapz: www.flapz.app
TAM Aviação Executiva: www.tamaviacaoexecutiva.com.br