Shortage of new aircraft prompts LATAM to refurbish its Airbus A319s

The LATAM Group has decided to take action while the shortage of new aircraft persists and has begun refurbishing most of the Airbus A319 jets in its fleet.

The Chile-based airline announced a retrofit project to update the passenger cabins of 37 of the 39 aircraft of this type.

At least two aircraft had already undergone the refurbishment and received new seats, USB A and USB C ports, and onboard Wi-Fi.

Of the 37 A319s, 19 are based in Peru and Ecuador and 18 operate in Brazil. Capacity, however, will remain the same, with 144 seats in economy class.

Retrofit work

The narrowbody jet is one of the oldest models operated by LATAM, having debuted in Brazil in 1999 with its predecessor, TAM Linhas Aéreas.

Among the aircraft currently in service, the oldest is the A319, registered CC-COU, which has been flying since 2003, while there are some newer jets, received in 2012.

LATAM planned to receive more new aircraft from the Neo family, but supply chain issues have delayed deliveries from Airbus and thwarted the carrier’s plans.

The group’s fleet consists of 356 aircraft, 280 of which are from the A320 family. There are also 37 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, ten 777-300ERs, and 29 767-300F freighters.

Retrofit work has already taken place on the A320s and A321s and began on their widebodies last year.

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Ricardo Meier

Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.

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