Summary
- Sky Airline requested authorization to launch nonstop flights from Chile to the US, using its future Airbus A321XLR fleet.
- Chilean carriers are curious about the A321XLR’s range and capability for nonstop narrowbody flights to the US, aiming to open latest routes.
- Currently, the Chile-United States market is served by three American airlines and one Chilean airline, all using widebody jets.
Chile’s Sky Airline requested authorization from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to eventually launch direct flights from Chile to america, employing its future Airbus A321XLR fleet.
Seeking to launch latest long-haul flights
Recently, the ultra-low-cost carrier Sky Airline filed a request to the DOT to operate non-stop flights from Chile to america. Initially, the airline intends to serve the US market on flights to and from america operated by the controlled affiliate, Sky Airline Peru. This branch currently flies day by day from Lima International Airport (LIM) to Miami International (MIA).
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Sky Chile intends to serve the US market through the display of its H2 designator code within the flights operated by Sky Peru.
Nonetheless, once Sky Airline begins receiving the brand new Airbus A321XLR planes, the corporate would shift to operate its Chile-United States flights on a nonstop basis, employing them. Airbus believes the A321XLR can have a variety of 4,700 nautical miles (8,704 kilometers), allowing this narrowbody jet to fly directly from Santiago de Chile to certain US cities, comparable to Miami. Currently, the one method to fly nonstop between these two countries is onboard a widebody.
The Chile-United States market
Three Chilean carriers wish to acquire the A321XLR. Sky Airline is ready to be the primary operator of the model in South America and has an order for ten units of this next-generation model. JetSMART, an ultra-low-cost competitor, is expecting to receive 14 A321XLRs. Finally, LATAM Airlines is ready to receive ten XLRs.
Through this model, the Chilean carriers look to open many latest routes and city pairs across the Americas. Specifically, they’re very curious about the aircraft’s range and capability to launch nonstop narrowbody flights to america.
The market between Chile and america currently has 4 airlines: three American (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines) and one Chilean (LATAM Airlines). All of them fly employing widebody jets.
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American Airlines operates two day by day routes from america to Chile. It flies from Dallas Fort Price (DFW) and Miami to Santiago de Chile, averaging 234 and 273 seats per departure, as of December 2023, with the Boeing 787-8 and 777-200 fleets.
Delta Air Lines operates one route only, connecting day by day from Atlanta to Santiago de Chile onboard the airline’s Airbus A350 fleet (339 seats per departure on average).
United Airlines employs its Boeing 767-300 aircraft day by day from Houston Intercontinental to Santiago de Chile. It averages 203 seats per departure.
Finally, LATAM Airlines operates three different routes from Santiago de Chile to america. It serves Recent York JFK Airport, Los Angeles, and Miami. On each route, it employs each the 787-8 and 787-9 fleets, averaging 270.6, 269.0, and 297 seats per departure. The path to JFK is day by day; the one to Los Angeles has five flights per week, and the one to Miami has 11 flights per week.
JetSMART can be seeking to compete on this market with an aircraft that would have as much as 244 passengers in a single-class configuration.
Are you excited in regards to the Airbus A321XLR? Which routes could you see this aircraft opening up? Tell us within the comments below.