Source: http://worldcityweb.com/home/MIA/publications/magazine/7/545/

Q&A with Robert Booth

by Mary Dempsey

Robert Booth is not a household name unless you’re an aviation insider in Latin America. To the members of that club, Miami’s airline guru is simply Bobby.’ In 1950, Booth was hired as a ticket agent for Pan American World Airways in Montevideo. A year later, he moved to Braniff, and he’s been hooked on Latin American airlines ever since. Braniff posted him to Panama and Colombia before dispatching him to Lima as vice president for Latin America. He briefly left the aviation world to take over an advertising agency in Peru, but it wasn’t long before he was back with the jets and flyboys. Booth says he has little interest in aircraft he prefers dirt bikes but he’s fascinated by the industry. Since 1988, he’s been at the helm of his own consulting firm, Aviation Management Services, keeping an eye on Latin America’s skies.

What is the most brilliant aviation moment you’vewitnessed in Latin America?

It’s still to come.

**

Seriously.

I guess I would say the launching of Grupo TACA in Central and later South America. And then LAN’s incredibly successful approach to establishing an airline network in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and the Dominican Republic.

Is there a moment that stands out as the most disheartening?

There have been a number, the end of Braniff, the Air Florida failure, not to mention PanAm. But what most affected me personally was the death of [TACA CEO] Federico Bloch a year and a half ago. He was one of the most brilliant, creative and visionary airline guys I have ever dealt with.

Latin American airlines have had lots of ups then downs. Why is the region so difficult for carriers?

It takes really brilliant individuals to be successful and the region has more than its share, as evidenced by the success stories that we can brag about: LAN, Grupo TACA, Brazilian airline GOL, Panama’s Copa…. The basic problems are government control and intervention, the lack of a really free-market environment and the inability of the airlines to understand that cooperation among the national carriers is the way to go forward. Also air transportation demand is based on economic growth. Without sustained growth the airlines have a hard time dealing with lack of demand.

Is there any advantage the region holds over the United States or Europe?

The greatest difference is that less than 10 percent of the 500 million people who live in Latin America use air transportation. This provides for a tremendous opportunity, especially as lowcost carriers are taking off in the region. I’m talking about GOL, Chile’s Fly, Mexico’s Click and more that are soon to come.

What has been the region’s most exciting development in recent years?

Definitely GOL in Brazil. It has clearly taken the models of Southwest Airlines and low-cost carriers in Europe and adapted them to Brazil and South America. It has been profitable every quarter since its second year of operation. It has successfully sold shares on Wall Street, is expanding its service to Argentina and plans to introduce service to other South American destinations from Brazil. It’s also involved in an equity partnership to launch a low-cost start-up in Mexico.

So it’s a successful airline. Why is it more notable than others?

Because low-cost carriers did not exist in Latin America prior to GOL, and it is the one region of the world that provides incredible opportunity for low-cost, affordable, point-to-point air transportation. It’s a market of millions of people who are discovering air transportation for the first time. In Brazil, GOL is stimulating the market and creating airline customers among people who previously used a car or bus.