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LATAM Airlines CEO Roberto Alvo and ALTA Executive Director and CEO Peter Cerda at the press conference in Mexico City.
MEXICO CITY—Persistently high jet fuel prices are unlikely to ease anytime soon and airlines should plan accordingly, LATAM Airlines CEO Roberto Alvo said.
“The safe position to take today is that the high prices will be in place for a long time,” Alvo said during a press conference at the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) AGM and Airline Leaders Forum in Mexico City.
According to International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s Jet Fuel Price Monitor, the average global jet fuel price was up 111.2% year over year for the week ending Oct. 9. The average price in Latin America was up 103.5% year over year for the same week.
“Throughout this year, many people have had the impression that the crisis in the Middle East would be shorter,” Alvo said. “The situation has not normalized.”
But he noted that so far demand for air travel in Latin America has not decreased, even as airlines have been forced to raise fares. According to IATA, demand in Latin America, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), rose 5.3% year over year in August—the highest rate of growth for any region in the world.
Latin American airline capacity, as measured in available seat kilometers (ASKs), increased 6.3% compared to August 2025, according to IATA.
Total global RPKs fell 0.8% in August compared to the previous year, with Middle East airlines’ collective RPKs dropping 14.6% year over year, IATA reported.
LATAM is operating under the assumption that the current fuel price environment will be the reality for the foreseeable future.
“The right thing to do is to plan as if this is going to be longer term,” Alvo said. “Hope is not a strategy.”
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