LATAM Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo aircraft, as the airline added 13 aircraft of the type to its backlog.
The aircraft was received on lease from the aircraft lessor AerCap, with the airline having a total “committed backlog of 76 A321neo aircraft,” according to Airbus’ announcement. The manufacturer detailed that the Southern American airline group now has a total of 111 Airbus A320neo family aircraft scheduled for delivery.
Airbus delivered the A321neo, registered as PS-LBB, on September 30, 2023. The group’s Brazilian subsidiary, LATAM Airlines Brasil, received the aircraft when it arrived at the country’s Fortaleza Pinto Martins International Airport (FOR) following a one-stop journey from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW), according to flightradar24.com data.
The A321neo stopped at Espargos Amilcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Cabo Verde, on its way to FOR.
Ramiro Alfonsin, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of LATAM Airlines Group, said: “Our fleet renewal and modernization strategy is fully aligned with our sustainability commitment and brings us closer to the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral group by 2050.” Alfonsin added that the group will continue renewing its fleet “with next-generation aircraft to further improve our connectivity while caring for the environment”.
Christian Scherer, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Head of Airbus International, reiterated that the move to order more A321neos accelerates the Southern American airline group’s “decarbonization trajectory as the A321neos are at least 20% more fuel-efficient, emitting 20% less CO2 and 50% less noise compared to previous generation aircraft”.
According to ch-aviation.com data, all of LATAM Airlines’ subsidiaries throughout South America have operated the Airbus A319ceo, A320ceo and A321ceo, the predecessor generation of the Airbus A320neo aircraft family.
In total, the LATAM Airlines Group carriers have 222 Airbus A320ceo family aircraft that are either active, stored, or undergoing maintenance, per ch-aviation.com records.
Meanwhile, only two LATAM Airlines carriers, LATAM Airlines Brasil and LATAM Airlines Peru, operate 20 Airbus A320neos (excluding the now-delivered A321neo).