Photo by: Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Latin American airline group Latam Airlines on Friday hosted a media tour of the latest addition to its fleet – an Airbus A350 XWB – which operates on its route between Sao Paulo, in Brazil, and Johannesburg.
The plane, with the capacity to transport 30 business and 309 economy class passengers, started operating on the route on August 1.
During the media tour at OR Tambo International Airport, Latam UK, Africa and Nordic countries commercial manager Guido Blanco said the Airbus A350 XWB had a 60 to 70 minute quicker flying time from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo than the other aircraft in the Latam fleet.
He added that this Airbus model was also about 30% less noisy and emitted 25% less greenhouse gases than other aircraft used for long-haul flights.
More than 70% of the structural weight of the aircraft comprised composite materials, titanium and advanced aluminium alloys, enabling a lighter and more productive aircraft that was more corrosion- and wear-resistant than other aircraft.
Additionally, Blanco said the Airbus A350 was the most technologically advanced aircraft in use in Latin America. The aeroplane's 32 m wings had been designed with the aerodynamics of birds as their inspiration – the wings can change shape to adapt to the pressure of the outside air and optimise flight performance. This allows for a 25% reduction in operating costs, including fuel costs.
Blanco noted that the aircraft used an intelligent lighting system to mitigate the effects of jet lag and created a relaxing environment, while a sophisticated ventilation system recycled air every three minutes and maintained pleasant temperatures in the cabin.
Latam started flying from Sao Paulo to South Africa in 2016 with three flights a week, which has since increased to five flights a week.
The airline offers flights to 143 destinations across 25 countries across Europe, the US, the Caribbean, Oceania, Africa and Asia. The airline also has six domestic operations in Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The company employs about 41 000 people globally, operating about 1 300 flights a day, transporting 69-milllion passengers a year.
Latam has 317 aircraft in its global fleet, including the most modern plane models such as the Boeing 787, Airbus A321, Airbus A350 and A320neo.