The Latin America inflight catering market is poised to witness a CAGR of more than 3% during the forecast period.

  • The primary factor driving this market is the fast-growing aviation sector due to an increase in travel and tourism, both domestic and international.
  • The major restraint to the market is the slump in the Latin American economy, which has grown majorly by the global commodity price crash.
  • Airport development and expansion plans that are in progress in the region are expected to offer opportunities for inflight catering service providers to expand their presence in the region, which can propel the growth of the market in the coming years.



Key Market Trends

The Overview of Latin America Aviation Market

The aviation industry in Latin America has grown at a moderate pace over the past few years. For the past three years, the annual passenger traffic has witnessed a modest growth of 3.5 Y-o-Y. In 2019, the Latin American passenger traffic was over 300 million, wherein domestic carriers accounted for approximately 76% of the passenger traffic. The introduction of favorable government initiatives has bolstered the connectivity of the region with the introduction of more than 270 new routes, both domestic and international. The increasing investments towards the development of critical aviation infrastructure in the existing and new airports for efficiently handling a rapidly growing passenger traffic are expected to propel the growth of the aviation market in the region. The socio-political instability, coupled with the fluctuating economic conditions prevalent in Latin America, is hampering the growth prospects of the regional aviation industry. In 2019, five airlines, namely TAM Bolivia, Peruvian Airlines, Avianca (in Argentina and Brazil), Fly Jamaica Airways, and Aerol?nea de Antioquia, ceased operations. Furthermore, the grounding of B737 MAX aircraft has had a grave effect on the envisioned fleet expansion plans of airline operators in the region. The factors mentioned above are anticipated to have a similarly profound impact on the Latin America inflight catering market.

Brazil to Dominate the Latin America Market during the Forecast Period

Brazil’s domestic aviation market is the largest in Latin America. The country’s economy is steadily recovering after the country’s economy had hit its low point in 2015. The aviation industry, in response to the economic slump, has fought hard to maintain stability. The government is introducing various initiatives like canceling international flight fees (lowing the operational costs of non-domestic flights) and investing more into the regional aviation industry to enhance air passenger traffic and support the aviation industry. With such initiatives, the international airlines began their routes to Brazil as well as attract new investors to set up domestic airlines in the country. The introduction of the latest airlines and routes during the forecast period will open new market opportunities for infight catering coming. Also, the efforts of the major airlines in the country, like GOL and LATAM Airlines Brazil, to increase their fleet capacity, proved to be fruitful, thereby increasing the growth of the aviation market. For instance, Azul placed an order of 51 Embraer E-Jet E2 family of aircraft and had received six aircraft by the end of 2019. The increase in the fleet of domestic operators is anticipated to open new routes in the country, which will further bolster the growth of the market of inflight catering in the country. In addition to this, LATAM introduced a new dining concept for economy class passengers on long-haul international flights over seven hours, with free meals. The growing passenger traffic and initiatives, like the introduction of free inflight meals, are likely to propel the inflight catering market in the country.

Competitive Landscape

GCG Catering, Gate Gourmet, LSG Sky Chefs, Air Culinaire Worldwide, LLC., and Newrest Group are some of the prominent players in the market. The Latin American consumers show a preference for ethically produced and healthy food products, which the caterers, as well as carriers, can keep in mind when planning value addition and service differentiation. Catering providers can also keep in mind the preferences of the economy class passengers while designing the menus, as economy class flights are increasingly becoming the most preferred among the people in the region. Catering providers in the region are also incorporating concepts, like restaurant in the sky, on-board chefs, and collaborations with star chefs, to enhance the inflight dining experience of the passengers. This is also expected to open opportunities for reputed restaurants to penetrate the inflight catering businesses, thereby increasing the competition.

Reasons to Purchase this report:

  • The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
  • 3 months of analyst support