Aviation Week's Window Seat Podcast
Nov 5, 2026 · 21 min · 11 segments
Roberto Alvo, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group, the ATW Airline of the Year, talks with Karen Walker about what drives success and wider industry issues.
Roberto AlvoGuestKaren WalkerHostWe all know, and there's been a lot of discussion, there was a discussion at the Altair GM, of course, very tough environment to run an airline with the high fuel costs in particular.
uh infrastructure issues um you're absolutely right it starts through people if they're motivated they're going to do the best job for you but as the leader of this group how are you thinking about this current environment do you see it as a okay we just have to get through it or do you see it as sort of you know for the long term you've got to be a dealing with this
One is probably the context of fuel prices now that will be there, I think, for some time.
And then another one is probably more structural things that happen in the region that probably hamper a little bit the growth that we have.
So let me tackle the second first, which is more probably consistent over time.
Our flights per inhabitant here are a fourth or a fifth of what you see in the developed countries.
And air travel is even more important and more necessary in many, many, many aspects than other means of transportation, which we don't have.
But unfortunately, we have either lack of infrastructure, high taxation, high fees and public policy that in my mind hampered the growth.
This industry grew at close to 10% per year in the first decade of this century.
But the potential for developing the industry in the long term is still huge because it's 500 million people.
And we can provide that as Latam, and together with our competitors, grow this industry in our part of the world.
We all know, and there's been a lot of discussion, there was a discussion at the Altair GM, of course, very tough environment to run an airline with the high fuel costs in particular.
uh infrastructure issues um you're absolutely right it starts through people if they're motivated they're going to do the best job for you but as the leader of this group how are you thinking about this current environment do you see it as a okay we just have to get through it or do you see it as sort of you know for the long term you've got to be a dealing with this
One is probably the context of fuel prices now that will be there, I think, for some time.
And then another one is probably more structural things that happen in the region that probably hamper a little bit the growth that we have.
So let me tackle the second first, which is more probably consistent over time.
Our flights per inhabitant here are a fourth or a fifth of what you see in the developed countries.
And air travel is even more important and more necessary in many, many, many aspects than other means of transportation, which we don't have.
But unfortunately, we have either lack of infrastructure, high taxation, high fees and public policy that in my mind hampered the growth.
This industry grew at close to 10% per year in the first decade of this century.
But the potential for developing the industry in the long term is still huge because it's 500 million people.
And we can provide that as Latam, and together with our competitors, grow this industry in our part of the world.
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