JetSMART sees slower growth as high fuel prices curb expansion (updated)

American Airlines

20/10/2026 23:23

Adds details throughout
By Kylie Madry
MEXICO CITY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - JetSMART scaled back its expectations for 2026 capacity growth to about 14% versus a year earlier, as high fuel prices prompt the South American budget airline to tread more cautiously, Chief Executive Estuardo Ortiz told Reuters on Tuesday.
Ortiz, speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association conference, said growth could also be held back next year if fuel stays expensive.
JetSMART is pushing ahead in key markets, Ortiz said, as it keeps adding planes and bets there is still room to win market share in South America. The carrier will use newly approved rights for its Chilean unit to fly routes within Argentina to squeeze more use out of planes and crews, according to the executive, a way to support margins despite the recent fuel-price shock.
JetSMART last week received approval to operate passenger and cargo services inside Argentina as well as onward international flights, known in the industry as "cabotage."
The approval will not trigger a major capacity push in Argentina, the executive said, but will let JetSMART run some flights more efficiently - for example, by extending a Santiago-Buenos Aires service to another Argentine city or to Brazil.
"It's not about adding a lot more volume," Ortiz said. "It's about using the regulatory framework we now have to operate better."
Ortiz also said JetSMART is taking a fresh look at Venezuela, a market he said was "not on the radar" before but has become more attractive as airlines return. He said JetSMART has sought some route permits but has no concrete launch plan yet.
The airline is also continuing to deepen its commercial partnership with American Airlines AAL.O, with a wider rollout of codeshare flying planned through the rest of this year and into 2027, he said.

 (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito)
 ((anthony.esposito@tr.com;))