The aviation industry has been (is going through) a tumultuous period over the last five years with the pandemic, closure of Russian airspace, increased rivalry with China, and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. But how have the US’s flight connections fared with South America? This article will compare the US’s flight connections for November 2019 and November 2024 with South America using data from Cirium (an aviation analytics company).
5-year change in US flights to South America
Comparing November 2019 flights (just before the pandemic) to those scheduled for November 2024 shows that, overall, flights between the United States and South America have increased by around 11%. Meanwhile, seat capacity is up 17.5%, and the ASMs are up 13.5%. There are around 630 more monthly flights between the United States compared to five years ago. On average, higher-capacity aircraft are being used, as while the flights have increased by 11%, the seats have increased by over 17%.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
This is in contrast to China, where international flights have been down almost across the board (with some exceptions, including to Middle East hubs) over a five-year period.
US-based airlines:
Flights Nov. 2019:
Flights Nov. 2024:
Difference:
American Airlines:
1,836
2,026
+10.3%
JetBlue:
379
274
-27.7%
Delta Air Lines:
481
650
+35.1%
Spirit Airlines:
421
460
+9.3%
United Airlines:
738
848
+14.9%
Five US airlines currently fly to destinations in South America – with American Airlines operating around half of the total flights. US airlines flying to South America are 
Photo: Mihn K Tran | Shutterstock
November 2024 airlines with most US/South America flights:
American Airlines: 2,026 LATAM Airlines: 1,186 Avianca Airlines: 1,173 United Airlines: 848 Delta Air Lines: 650
These cities are easily accessible from the United States.
5-year change in South American flights to US
The two South American airlines operating the most flights to the United States are Colombia’s Aviancaand Chile’s LATAM Airlines Group. Flights from South America to the United States have increased with LATAM leading the largest rise in flights. LATAM’s monthly flights have increased by 31.5% or around 284 flights from 902 monthly flights to 1,186 monthly flights.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Select South America-based airlines:
Flights Nov. 2019:
Flights Nov. 2024:
Difference:
Avianca Airlines:
1,081
1,173
+8.5%
Azul Linhas Aereas:
208
252
+21.2%
GOL Linhas Aereas:
94
146
+55.3%
LATAM Airlines Group:
902
1,186
+31.5%
BoA Boliviana de Aviacion:
38
60
+71.4%
Photo: Ovidiu Dugulan | Shutterstock
It comes as little surprise that the two South American airlines dominating the list are LATAM and avianca. LATAM Airlines Group is the largest airline in Latin America and offers flights all across South and Central America and beyond. LATAM flies to Boston, New York, Orlando, Miami, and Los Angeles in the United States.
Nov. 2019:
Nov. 2024:
Change:
Total US/South American flights:
6,632
7,365
+11.1%
Total US/South American seats:
1,389,095
1,631,612
+17.5%
Total ASMs:
4,682,519,991
5,314,549,606
+13.5%
Avianca operates flights from South American airports to Miami, New York (JFK), Orlando, and Washington, DC. It also operates many flights from other Latin American destinations in Central America, but those flights fall outside of the scope of this article.
Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and is one of the oldest airlines still operating in the world. It was first established in December 1919 (under the name SCADTA) and is the second-largest airline in South America after LATAM. It is regarded as the world’s second oldest extant airline (after the Netherlands’ KLM) and the oldest airline in the Western Hemisphere. Delta is one of the oldest airlines in the US, but it was founded in 1925 (with passenger services starting in 1929).
Photo: Gerard van der Schaaf | Shutterstock
Leading US/South American routes
Miami dominates the list of the top five busiest US routes to South America – boasting four of the five busiest routes.
The busiest route between the US and South America is from Aeropuerto El Dorado in Bogotá, Colombia, to Miami International Airport. In July, this route had 620 roundtrips (around 10 daily roundtrips). The second-busiest route is from Miami International Airport to Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez in Lima, Peru (with 394 monthly roundtrip flights).
Photo: Azul Linhas Aéreas
The third-busiest route was also from Miami to Colombia (but to Colombia’s city of Medellín, with 338 flights). The fourth busiest is Colombia’s Bogota to New York JFK (with 248 flights), and the fifth is Brazil’s São Paulo Guarulhos to Miami, with 248 flights.
The longest route between the United States and South America is 6,156 miles from Brazil’s Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo-Guarulhos to Los Angeles.
In June, 15 airlines provide over 1.6 million seats for passengers looking to travel between the US and South America.
US flights to other international destinations
The increase in US flights to South America mirrors the United States’ increased flight connections to Africa (where flights are up 33%—from 640 monthly flights to 852 monthly flights). The US flights to South America highlight how few flights there are between Africa and the United States (around 11.5% of the flights to South America).
Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock
Meanwhile, the closure of Russian airspace, the rise in geopolitical tensions with Great Power Competition, and the decline in Chinese international tourism have led flights between the US and China to crash by 74% over the same period. This is even more dramatic with Canada where Canadian-Chinese flights have plummeted an eye-watering 91%.
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Publish date : 2024-10-26 15:33:00
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Author : theamericannews
Publish date : 2024-10-27 02:35:34
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